Why John Stamos Loves Playing a 'Jackass'
When famed television actor John Stamos heard that producer David E. Kelley wanted to hire him for Big Shot, his new sports show on Disney+ his first reaction was to remember that he is definitely “not a sports guy.”
Big Shot is a series about a hothead former college coach whose temper gets him kicked off his championship NCAA basketball team and he tries to redeem his career by coaching the Westbrook private girls’ school basketball team. The much-anticipated season 2 premieres on Disney+ on Wednesday, Oct. 12.
Related: What We Know About Big Shot Season 2
Best known for his family-friendly shows, Full House and later Fuller House, the youthful actor says he has enjoyed his many career opportunities on ER, Glee, Scream Queens, You, and now, his leading role in Big Shot.
Not only is disgraced coach Marvyn Korn a fish out of water in the world of a private girls’ school, with all of its rules and regulations, but his teenage daughter Emma (Sophia Mitri Schloss) decides to move from Wisconsin to California to live with him and attend the school where he works.
There are father-daughter conflicts, coach-player conflicts, lots of teen angst, and an overall bumpy ride. There is also a great deal of growth as he learns some new skills both on and off the court.
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“Although I was clearly not a sports guy, I had to do it because it was challenging for me since I don’t know that world, I’d never played a coach,” Stamos exclusively tells Parade.com.
“Honestly, I think it was easier for me to go into ER to play a doctor than it was to play a basketball coach. It just is so foreign to me,” he adds. “It was a big challenge, so I think I worked really hard on trying to figure out how to bring that guy to life.”
Read on for what John Stamos learned from working with the extremely capable teen girls in this family-friendly series on Disney+.
How would you describe Marvyn’s evolution as a dad, as a coach and as a man?
He is evolving, and the beauty of this character is that he can evolve one way and then he goes backward another way and gets called on it. This was part of my ploy, my tactic to get it picked up for a second season. This show is 98% female diverse. In its DNA; it’s a show about women's empowerment and female-forward stories. That part we have.
It’s sort of a safe place for Marvyn to be a jackass and to sort of go kicking and screaming into this modern-day man that we all have to kind of conform to. It highlights how stupid some of us are when it comes to just equality. I really try to lean in on that with the show.
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Related: John Stamos Reunites With The Beach Boys for a Moving Tribute to Bob Saget
Talk about working with this group of very talented actresses, but they are young girls looking for positive role models. Many girls and women have had to put up with feeling like we were second best to boys.
Right, and that’s terrible. My dad was a great example of how to treat women. The respect that he showed them stayed with me. It’s a weakness; it’s a silly, ridiculous insecurity when a man can’t put a woman equal or above. This is what I like about the show. Sometimes a scene won’t be working perfectly and I’ll say to the girls, “What should we say here? How do you want to put Marvyn in his place?” Because I love that, and they’ll do it.
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Can you give me an example?
We were doing in the third episode where [assistant coach] Holly Barrett (Jessalyn Gilsig) and I start going at each other about men and women, inequality in sports, and how women—we try to highlight how a lot of women have to work three times as hard as a man, certainly in that world. I’m spewing about something and she says, “Don’t mansplain me.” I said, “I’m not mansplaining, I’m simply trying to tell you how difficult it is to be a woman in sports.”
What’s your take on this?
He's such a jackass and she calls him on it. That’s the beauty of the show. I’m not Archie Bunker, but I can say stupid stuff and then by the end of it, or at some point, he’s going to go—that’s the great thing about this character, he can go, “I was wrong, I’m sorry, I was wrong.” Then he’ll put his foot in his ear and go that way. But at least we’re highlighting those elements.
Talk about how much heart this show has.
That’s what I push every day. Disney is about heart, inclusion, equality and all those things go together for me. But it’s those moments where you can just stop and go, "I’m proud of you" or "I love you" or "I care about you" or "I want to be better." The world needs more heart right now. The world needs comfort food in their viewing and I think that’s what this show is. I think the shows that I’ve been on in the past are that way, too.
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How have your young co-stars changed you or your outlook?
What I’m learning from these young actresses is that they’re fearless. They come on and without that, you’re not going to really get to where you need to be. If you’re so afraid of putting yourself out there, embarrassing yourself, or whatever it may be, that’s going to stop you from hitting your goals and being the greatest that you could be.
The full second season of Big Shot premieres on Disney + on Oct. 12.
Next, see what the Full House house actually looks like inside!