Candace Cameron Bure, Jodie Sweetin, and Andrea Barber Reveal New Secrets About Full House

This is the kind of nostalgia that childhood dreams are made of: Candace Cameron Bure, Jodie Sweetin, and Andrea Barber are hanging out with me in the Tanner’s attic, home to Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becky, which we last saw some 21 years ago. It’s almost unfathomable that it’s been since the mid-’90s since we saw the gang last: D.J. heading off to prom with Steve, Stephanie quizzing Michelle over her lost memory, and Kimmy busting into the house (in true Kimmy style) in a light-up prom dress. And we’re so ready to be back. Much has been made about the casts’ timeless good looks, but here’s what struck me most after watching the first episode of* Fuller House*: Their comedic timing picks right up exactly where it left off (no easy feat when you consider Barber retired from acting once the show ended). Their lasting chemistry is still palpable, and when the crew jokes that they really are family, all it takes is one look at their social media accounts to know they aren’t kidding.

Understandably, Cameron Bure, Sweetin, and Barber are growing a little tired of answering the same monotonous “How does it feel to be back?” and “Have you kept in touch?” interview questions over and over. “So, what do you got for us?” Cameron Bure jokes. It’s a question she can ask since we’ve developed a friendship over the years, and she’s aware that my Full House knowledge verges on obsessive. And I’m not alone: Full House has amassed a cult following not only in the years that it aired (we’re talking 20 million viewers per week), but on Nick at Nite in the years since. And that fanatic spirit is the reason why Cameron Bure, Sweetin, and Barber are back on this attic couch after so many years.

Our conversation was anything but monotonous. We talked secrets (Barber auditioned for the role of D.J.; Cameron Bure and Sweetin’s moms appeared as extras!), Mary-Kate and Ashley’s decision to not return, and I witnessed just how close this threesome really is (evident by their ability to laugh about absolutely everything). When I left the stage for the afternoon and Barber stopped me to say, “Thank you for the best interview we’ve done. That meant a lot,” I realized that she and the cast took away some really sweet Tanner family values along the ride.

Glamour: What do you remember about your original auditions for Full House?

Jodie Sweetin: I didn’t audition for the show. I did an episode of Valerie, which became The Hogan Family. I played Pamela Poole, who was Mrs. Poole’s—the next door neighbor—niece. I did an episode of that, and producers Bob Boyett and Tom Miller were working on creating Full House and thought I would be the perfect fit for Stephanie. I actually got cast on Full House from doing that episode. I never auditioned.

Andrea Barber: Bragger.

Candace Cameron Bure: Such a bragger! [Laughs]

Andrea: Us peasants had to audition for the show!

Glamour: Well, Andrea, you were on Days of Our Lives for a few years before Full House as Roman Brady’s daughter, Carrie.

Jodie: Yeah, you had already been on a TV show, so shut up! [Laughs]

Andrea: I really don’t remember much about my audition, but I did audition for the role of D.J. first.

Jodie: You did? I didn’t know that.

Candace: I didn’t know that at the time, but I’ve known for a while.

Andrea: The [producers] called me back when they were casting for Kimmy and said, “Sorry about that D.J. thing, but we think you’d be perfect for this role of Kimmy Gibler.” So I read for it and got it. It was supposed to be a one or two time appearance, and it turned into eight years of my life. So those are fun facts about my audition.

Glamour: Candace, you actually auditioned for the role of Uncle Jesse.

Candace: [Laughs] Yes, and they were like, “You’re not masculine enough. Your mullet’s not long enough.” I do remember my first audition, and I read for the part of D.J., and the casting director got on the phone immediately after and said, “Yeah, she was fine. She was OK. We’ll bring her back for a callback.” And she hung up the phone, and I started crying as she walked me back out to my mom. My mom said, “Why are you crying?” and I said, “Because she said I was just OK and I was fine.” And the casting director said, “But we’re bringing you back! You did fine. You got the callback.” I was just destroyed, and my mom said, “Do you want to go back in there?” In between tears, I said, “Yeah.” So I walked back in and the casting director just went through the motions of being nice to a kid, and I said, “What can I do better so it’s good?” and she said, “Well, just give me more energy.” So I did it, and she said, “Oh, that was so much better! That was great. You still got the callback!” [Laughs] I had two or three auditions after that for producers and that was it.

Glamour: When Fuller House became a reality, how involved were you all with the character development of D.J., Stephanie, and Kimmy since we last saw them?

Jodie: They sort of had an idea of where they wanted these characters to be, but we did have input. They had us come into the writers’ room a few times, and we went to lunch with Jeff [Franklin] to discuss who we are as people in real life and who we are as parents. That was a big thing for us—who we are in our motherly roles because that’s a big thing in [Fuller House]—how we deal with the kids and that relationship. They asked us questions, “Would you want to do this? Like Stephanie’s working on a singing/songwriting sort of thing…” and I can sing, so they asked if I’d be willing to. I said, “Sure, why not?” They really tried to pull from our personal lives, which they did from the original show too.

Candace: I think all of us were in the development of the characters, which I’m really grateful for. They took the best of what we each naturally could offer and then enhanced that and made it true to the character. Like, Andrea is clearly not Kimmy Gibler, but they can still take whatever from her and just make it better for television. Like Jodie said, the most fun was the dynamic of how we parent, which is a little bit different in real life than the show.

Jodie: We also have a lot of input in scenes, like I’ll say, “Stephanie wouldn’t say that.” Or, “Stephanie would say something to Kimmy if Kimmy said that to her.” We know who these people are so we have a lot of input.

Glamour: Candace, you’ve been working a lot since Full House ended, but Andrea, I know you retired from the business, and Jodie, you did a few projects here and there. How hard or easy was it to get back into the groove?

Jodie: Jumping back in felt strangely natural. I describe multi-cam sitcoms with a live audience kind of like putting on a play with a circus going on. It’s pretty much the description for the live-audience night. It was exciting to get back into it. It was like riding a bike, but 20 years later and just a little different.

Glamour: Whose idea was it to bring Maks and Val Chmerkovskiy on the show in episode three?

Candace: I may have gotten that phone call. [Laughs] I was really excited. The producers called and said, “What do you think if we do some dancing?” I was like, “Of course, I’m up for it!” I sent a few texts to Val and Maks and said, “Hey, you wanna come join the party?”

Glamour: Was Mark Ballas upset though? Poor Mark, he was your partner on Dancing With the Stars!

Candace: [Laughs] Well, you know, Mark, I’m sure by himself he probably took it a little personally…

Andrea: But wait till you see the storyline. It lends itself well to those particular brothers.

Glamour: Do any of the guest stars from Full House come back to make appearances on Fuller House?

Jodie: Harry Takayama comes back, but the actor that played him (Nathan Nishiguchi) does not. He’s now retired and a businessman or something, but his character comes back.

Candace: And Scott [Weinger] comes back as Steve. We have a lot of guest stars. There are a lot of fun guest appearances.

Glamour: How bummed were you guys that Mary-Kate and Ashley decided not to participate in the spin-off?

Andrea: We respect their decision, so I don’t think we were disappointed. They are in a different place in their lives and making different choices.

Jodie: We were also just excited about the show in general because we knew what we had to offer. It wasn’t like, “Oh no, what are we going to do now?” We have a great show, and it doesn’t feel like there’s a character missing because…

Candace: Because we make reference to Michelle.

Andrea: There’s no massive vigil to Michelle. [Laughs] No candles burning at all times!

Glamour: You all took home memorabilia from the show when it ended in 1995, so did the producers ask you to bring anything back?

Jodie: I have Mr. Bear. They haven’t, but they should [ask me to]!

Candace: John [Stamos] has Michelle’s pig.

Jodie: I don’t even know if they know I have Mr. Bear.

Glamour: Well, now they will. [Laughs] Watch, come season two, they’ll ask for him back.

Jodie: I know, right?!

Glamour: Should we expect a Fuller House-esque cliffhanger after season one? And how quickly can we get a season two confirmed?

Candace: I think we all want to be here for the next 10 years! It’s a joy to be here, and we love to work with each other. Nothing is wrapped up at the end of season one, so they need to bring us back for season two. There are lots of unanswered questions.

Andrea: We’re eager to see how season one is received first, but of course we’re all hopeful.

Jodie: I think the fans will be really excited when they see the first season of Fuller House to see what comes next.

Candace: I think fans will realize that it is a spinoff show and it’s its own show in its own right whether you were or weren’t a Full House fan. You don’t have to be a Full House fan to enjoy Fuller House.

Glamour: Candace is going to laugh at this next question because whenever I ask her to answer it, she says, “Tell me your answer first.” What was your favorite episode of Full House?

Jodie: I always loved the ones where we traveled, either to Hawaii or to Walt Disney World. I still have a Menehune.

Glamour: Get out of town! You don’t!

Jodie: You’re right, I don’t. [Laughs] But doing the episodes out of town felt like a family vacation. It was so fun. I have these memories of doing school in whatever the beach club hotel we were staying at at Disney World. Things like that that were very special to me. But as far as storylines for Stephanie, there was a chicken pox episode and I had the little trench coat and the hat. Stephanie moving into the bathroom was another fun episode. Also, crashing the car through the kitchen.

Candace: You have a lot of good ones!

Jodie: I remember my mom saying to me back then, “I don’t know how you do this. It’s terrifying!”

Candace: We need to get all of our parents in an episode.

Glamour: Are your kids going to make a cameo at all?

Jodie: My kids are begging to do it—they keep asking! But then after two takes, you watch, they’ll be like, “I don’t want to do this anymore.”

Candace: I want Natasha to be the older high school girl that my Jackson [D.J.’s oldest son] falls in love with. Natasha needs to play that part!

Glamour: So I might be taking this too far, but D.J.’s littlest son is named Tommy Jr. Would that have anything to do with her crush on Tommy Page growing up?

Candace: You’re taking it too far, and you are hysterical!

Jodie: D.J.’s husband’s name was Tommy.

Candace: Tommy Fuller is just my husband’s name, but he died while I was pregnant, hence the Tommy Jr.

Glamour: Have they cast the actor that plays Tommy kind of like that did for Danny’s wife in flashbacks?

Candace: Not yet.