Steve from ‘Blue's Clues’ says he’s proud of us — 25 years later
All of a sudden it’s 2002 again! The original actor who played Steve on Nickelodeon’s “Blue’s Clues” is back in honor of the show’s 25th anniversary and his latest video is going viral.
Steve, played by actor Steve Burns, popped up on the Nick Jr. Twitter account on Tuesday with a sweet diatribe about his time on the show.
Burns, in character, begins the video talking about his “abrupt” departure from the show in 2002 to go to college. He goes on to say that university was “really challenging” but great because he got to “use my mind and take a step at a time.”
He adds that now he’s doing all the things he set out to do.
“Then look at you and look at all you have done and all you have accomplished in all that time,” Burns says.
“I mean, we started out with clues,” he says. "And now, it's what — student loans and jobs and families? And some of it has been kind of hard, you know?”
“I know you know.”
Burns, now 47, starred on the show from 1996 to 2002. He concludes the video by saying he's proud of all his fans for growing up and helping him to do the same.
“I wanted to tell you that I really couldn't have done all of that without your help,” he says. “I'm super glad we're still friends.”
Fans immediately took to the video to share their emotional responses. Dozens of people tweeted memes about crying and how much they’d missed him.
“It’s honestly nice hearing Steve still talking to us in character after all these years,” @SuperiorArtemis tweeted. “No matter how much time has passed since we said goodbye, it just makes the next time we say hello all the more joyful.”
“Ok well I wasn’t expecting to break down crying today!!!,” @emmahausler replied with a photo of her meeting Burns as a child. “I love you Steve!!!”
"I’m proud of you too, random stranger. You’ve probably had things to deal with that you felt could break you, that you could never get passed, but you’re here right now. That means a lot. So even if you think no one else will say it, I’m proud of you," @FinnGeneration replied.
Some fans even brainstormed some legit spinoff ideas for an adult Steve character:
“Can Steve come back and compassionately tell me how to get a Clue as an adult. Like how to qualify for a mortgage and meal prep?” @ManiacDrapto posted.
Nickelodeon has planned several events to celebrate "Blue's Clues" turning a quarter of a century old. In addition to several nostalgic videos about the show on social media, the network is also slated to make a film about the show's current star and the iconic cartoon dog in the coming months, the Associated Press reported.
“Blues Clues & You” — the rebooted version of the show starring Joshua Dela Cruz —is also scheduled to air a special “It’s Your Birthday” episode on Sept. 17. The episode will ask young viewers to also celebrate their own birthdays.
While many of Burns' original fans might be too old to tune into that particular episode, they can definitely appreciate the compliment at the end of Tuesday's video.
“You look great, by the way,” he quips. “Whatever it is you’re doing, it’s working.”
Thanks, Steve!
CORRECTION (Sept. 8, 2021, 9:18 a.m.): An earlier version of this featured an image that was not Steve Burns but Tom Mizer, who played the role of Steve in "Blues Clues Live!"