Have Mercy! John Stamos might be best known for his role as the handsome and charming Uncle Jesse from "Full House" — and its revival, "Fuller House." But the actor, musician and producer recently added a new title to his resume: dad.
The 54-year-old became a father for the first time on April 10 when he and wife Caitlin McHugh welcomed a boy, Billy. And even though baby Stamos is just 3 months old, the little one has a fan club — and a secret Instagram account.
When we caught up with Stamos in New York City during a Lindt Excellence dark chocolate tasting, we had to ask about his parenting style, what tips he's learned from his fellow cast members, and if his kid is going to make a cameo on TV anytime soon.
What was it like having your "Fuller House" family meet Billy?
Lori (Loughlin) tried to steal him. She's obsessed with babies in general. She texts every day, "How's Billy? Can you send a picture of Billy?"
Do you send Lori daily Billy photos?
He has a private Instagram. So, they get their fill on that, if I remember. But if I don't remember, they ask, "Where's a picture?" When Caitlin leaves, and I have him alone, I just Instagram him. I put weird stuff on his face. Like today, I put a dancing meme, a Bitmoji, doing the chicken dance on his head.
What advice did you get from Candace Cameron Bure, Lori Loughlin and the other parents in the cast?
They are such good parents. Lori, I've asked a few things. Lori bought him this beautiful baby book. That's not advice, but you can put in pictures and write things in it. Dave (Coulier) and Bob (Saget), too, are incredible parents. Look how well those kids turned out. All of them! It's so weird that I just had a baby, and they have these grown kids that are flying airplanes and stuff. Lori's kids are so kind.
What did working with babies and young children on "Full House" teach you about fatherhood?
Probably patience. I have an affinity toward children. I'm telling you, I'm a baby whisperer. It better work on my kid. I get them to stop crying. But the best part is, I keep waiting for someone to yell "Cut!" and take my kid from me. I'm not making a joke. I really have that phobia of that. So, that's a good thing — I don't have to give him back. That was always the bummer. The kids would only come in (briefly). Mary Kate and Ashley (Olsen) would come in more, and they had their own playroom. We spent a lot of time with them.
How is your parenting style similar to or different from Uncle Jesse’s?
I'm not going to run the kid around, diaper him in Scott towels and fan him with a fan. Dave was over when the baby was very little — it was when he was first born. Dave wanted to re-enact the scene from "Full House" — the first scene where we can't find a diaper and we wrap (Michelle) up, squirted the hose on her. I was like, "Are you kidding? We are not doing that with my kid!" He's like, "Just do it. It will be funny for Instagram."
Any chance Billy will make a cameo on "Fuller House"?
I feel I'm pimping him out too much as it is (laughs). I don't think so. But I'm going to do an episode in a couple of weeks. I'm going to bring him down for everyone to see.