Bill Maher Reveals Why He Turned Down Bob Saget’s Role in ‘Full House’

Bill Maher recently revealed why he turned down Bob Saget‘s role in Full House during an interview with John Stamos.

On the December 29 episode of Maher’s Club Random podcast, the Real Time With Bill Maher host and Stamos chatted about a wide range of topics. Stamos, 62, explained to Maher, 69, that his mentor, Garry Marshall, recommended him to Full House producers Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett for the role of Uncle Jesse Katsopolis.

That’s when Maher admitted, “I may be misremembering this, but I think I was offered the part on Full House.”

“The Saget role?” Stamos clarified, of Danny Tanner in the beloved sitcom. “You might have.”

“I seem to remember it being a big thing,” Maher continued. “We really debated it because it was money, and it was the lead on a show. But we just thought it wasn’t right for me. Kids? Me, kids?”

He then pointed out,”But of course, Bob, that was a good decision on both parts, if that was the case. Because I took this other show called Hard Knocks on Showtime.”

Maher added, “But it was cool. We were mismatched detectives. Tom Hinckley was like a redneck detective, and I was Gower Rhodes, the hippie detective with long hair.”

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Initially, as Stamos explained, Saget was not available to play Danny on Full House.

“There was this guy named John Posey, [who] did the pilot,” he explained. “And then Bob became available, and then he came on.”

Full House aired for eight seasons from 1987 to 1995. In 2016, the spinoff Fuller House premiered, and Stamos, Saget, and Dave Coulier reprised their roles as Danny, Jesse, and Joey Gladstone in guest roles. Meanwhile, Candace Cameron Bure returned to star as DJ Tanner, Jodie Sweetin as Stephanie Tanner, and Andrea Barber as Kimmy Gibbler. (Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen did not return to play Michelle Tanner.) Scott Weinger also returned as Steve Hale.

Additionally, Michael Campion played Jackson Fuller, Elias Harger played Max Fuller, and Dashiell Messitt and Fox Messitt played Tommy Fuller, DJ’s sons. John Brotherton also joined as Dr. Matt Harmon, Adam Hagenbuch joined as Jimmy Gibbler, and Juan Pablo Di Pace joined as Fernando.

Full House, streaming on Disney+ and Hulu

Real Time with Bill Maher, Season 24, Premieres, Friday, January 23, 2026, HBO

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