John Stamos has been an icon in the eyes of children since his days as Uncle Jesse on Full House, but it’s only now that he’s becoming an icon in the eyes of his own son. With his recent casting as Iron Man on the acclaimed preschool series Marvel’s Spidey And His Amazing Friends, as well as his upcoming appearance as Captain Salty Bones on Disney Junior’s Mickey Mouse Funhouse: Pirate Adventure, he has finally transferred his street cred to the homefront.
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While Marvel’s Spidey And His Amazing Friends season 2 sees the seasoned actor taking on a role that has been making waves since the inception of the MCU, the upcoming Mickey Mouse Funhouse special allows him to build a new character from scratch for young children to enjoy. Both may be on the grouchy side, but they’re sure to be different in every other way.
Related: Why John Stamos’ Jesse Isn’t A Main Character In Fuller House
Prior to his August 19 debut on both series, Stamos spoke to Screen Rant about the enthusiasm he’s bringing to the role of Tony Stark and how much fun it is to make Captain Salty Bones a memorable part of Mickey’s gang.
Captain Salty Bones in Mickey Mouse Funhouse: Pirate Adventure
You’re really joining hands with Disney nowadays. How does it feel?
John Stamos: I’ve always been a Disney nerd. I’m at Disneyland right now. I’ve spent [my son] Billy’s whole life trying to convince him that I’m cool. And it just hasn’t worked, you know?
Is it about to work?
John Stamos: I think so. I was driving the other day, and he was in the back seat when the Beach Boys came on. I was like, “Hey, Billy. Isn’t your dad cool? He plays with the Beach Boys.” He goes, “Dad, do you know the Beatles?” That didn’t work. I came home earlier than normal a couple of weeks ago, and my nanny was showing him Full House. And I fired her, and I put him on timeout for seven years. [Laughs]
No, but he’s so clever. He already watched Mickey Mouse Funhouse, and when I told him I was going to be Captain Salty Bones, he flipped. He’ll come up and do it with me; he’s been helping me find the character and talk about Salty Bones.
But then Spider-Man? Again, we were watching this show together. I’ll never forget, I remember sitting there and going, “This is really cool.” Because you want to watch stuff first, and it’s a great show for kids. I just liked the morals and the values of it. The other day, we were watching it together and laying there. And he sings the opening; like mouthing it. And then I became Iron Man on there.
But you were not a Marvel enthusiast before taking on the role, right?
John Stamos: I mean, my dad was my superhero. He was always a hero to me, even when he was supposed to be human. He was always bigger than life, so I don’t know if that’s why I just never gravitated [to superheroes]. Because as a kid I was into puppets and magic and playing music, and I didn’t watch a lot.
But obviously, when I got this, I was like, “I’m going to do a deep dive.” And you realize what geniuses these people are. On face value, you go, “They just dress up in goofy outfits.” But starting with Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow, one of those first ones with Jon Favreau, they were plucking the greatest actors available to play these characters. And all of a sudden, they became so fully-dimensional, and so smart and well done. It’s great to see that.
Did you have Robert Downey Jr.’s performance in mind when you took on Marvel’s Spidey and Friends? What does your take on Tony Stark look like?
John Stamos: I kind of came in thinking, “I’ll do something like Robert.” And they’re like, “Don’t do that. Don’t do that.” It was interesting, because they’re all kids! I’m coming in as a mentor, for sure, but also kind of the first adult character. So, it took me a minute, but I think I found my version.
I wanted him to be acerbic like he is; I want him to be the smartest guy in the room. And we get that across. I don’t know how much they used, but I throw in a lot of nicknames and stuff like that. But it’s been wonderful. I’m excited for it to come out. Sometimes I’ll do stuff, and they’re like, “John, remember this is for three-year-olds, four-year-olds.” Nothing dirty, but just maybe something a little more sophisticated.
They have these voice directors that are so great, like Kelly Ward. I said, “Kelly, what are we doing? It doesn’t feel like Iron Man.” But he said, “This is you. This is your Iron Man. You don’t have to do a lot, because it’s in the character and in the legacy.” And I wanted to be respectful, for sure. I asked the Marvel guys there, “Am I in the right world?” and they said, “Yeah, it’s perfect for this.” It’s a different version.
What’s your favorite aspect of the role?
John Stamos: The mentor thing is what I really gravitated towards. I’ve had so many great mentors in my life over the years, and now being old, these young kids are coming out of the woodwork. They go, “How do I do this? What should I do?” And now it’s my turn to be their mentor. So, that part I love with Spidey.
I love all those gadgets, and we talked to them about playing music. I think there’s going to be some more music stuff coming in. But it’s really a trip. In one of the early shows they all came up to my lair, and I was showing them around all the gadgets and things. You have to just kind of close your eyes and go, “Wow, that’s so cool that I’m getting to do this.”
How much of the plans for the final episode do you see when you’re recording?
John Stamos: They animate to the voice, so early on, they showed me some drawings and stuff. I think they had a rough idea of his lab, so I saw pictures of that. Then they’ll say, “Okay, you’re over here, and the kids are over here.” So, you have to sort of shout to them. Or I’ll say, “Will I have my helmet on at this point or not?” And a lot of the lines would be knocking something or fighting something, so you have to make [grunting noises].
If you were going to blast your way to another area of Marvel, who would you like to play?
John Stamos: Well, Downey is done with playing that guy! I’m available, guys. [Laughs] Whenever I see these Marvel guys that are working in that world, I’m like, “Isn’t there some kind of aging, funny superhero somewhere?”
Here’s something I just thought of—and this was about 25 years ago. Stan Lee wanted to meet me, and back then I didn’t know Stan Lee from Tommy Lee. It was him and the guy who did Tales from the Crypt, and Stan Lee’s in there pitching me this idea for a show of a detective who changes voices and characters and things. I’m like, “Eh, pass.” But it was before Marvel and that whole world [blew up]. It was maybe 30 years ago.
And now you’re not only working with Disney on a Marvel project, but a Mickey one. What can you tell us about playing Salty Bones in Mickey Mouse Funhouse?
John Stamos: It’s super fun, because I’m creating a character from scratch there. He’s very funny. He’s salty. He’s crabby. And same thing, I can only get away with so much. Like, Donald will speak, and I would you say, “What’d you say, Duck?!” But you can’t make fun of the duck. “Alright, well, I can’t understand what he’s saying!”
And the first episode, Salty is just his head. He’s bouncing around until he finds the rest. But that show sometimes feels philosophical. At the end, it’s like, “Kids, you gotta do the right thing. Always be respectful to your parents!” But it’s been really fun. I do that one out of my house, so Billy comes into the studio and tries to direct me.
He’s impressed with this! He likes the idea of me doing these things. He says, “My dad is Iron Man!”
Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends Synopsis
Spidey teams up with Ghost-Spider and Miles Morales to make up the Spidey Team, with some assistance from Spidey’s comical but loyal Spider-bot, Trace.
Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends season 2 premieres August 19 at 8:30 ET/PT on Disney Channel, and it will be simulcast on Disney Junior. Mickey Mouse Funhouse: Pirate Adventure also premieres August 19 on Disney Junior.
