‘Full House’ Creator Shares Shocking On-Set Secret About the Olsen Twins You’ve Never Heard
Ever tried nailing a punchline before you’d even said your first word? Imagine being barely out of diapers and already upstaging the adults with comic timing that’d make seasoned actors weep. That’s the Olsen twins for you – nine months old and slaying in the sitcom game like it was child’s play (well, literally). So, what exactly does it take for two toddlers to stun a veteran showrunner into a full-on existential crisis of astonishment? This is the wild and wonderful ride into the moment when Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, just a year old, left Full House mastermind Jeff Franklin absolutely gobsmacked — a reminder that some people are just born to steal the show, even if they have to take turns sharing the spotlight (and nap times) . Feel like rethinking your childhood ambitions yet? LEARN MORE
Full House showrunner Jeff Franklin has revealed the extraordinary moment Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen left him stunned when they were aged just one.
The twins began sharing the role of Michelle Tanner when they were just nine months old, quickly becoming two of the show’s most recognisable stars.
Franklin has revealed that there was one particular scene during the first season that made him realise just how remarkable their natural ability was, and it was when he realised they were destined to be famous.
Speaking to PEOPLE, Franklin recalled an episode in season one, where Uncle Jesse, played by John Stamos, takes a job as an Elvis impersonator.
Franklin directed the episode, which also featured cameos from his own mother as well as Stamos’ mother.
He told Entertainment Weekly that one of the young twins took her performance to ‘entirely another level’.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were praised for their talent from a young age (Steven Ferdman/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images)
“For the first time, we had an Olsen twin playing a scene that went on for minutes, and they hit all their cues, played the scene, never looked at the camera, never looked up at the boom, never looked at the audience, stayed in character, hit every joke,” Franklin said.
For a performer who was only around a year old, this was no mean feat.
Franklin said he was particularly amazed that the young actress could maintain her concentration and deliver the comedy without becoming distracted by the cameras, studio audience, or production equipment.
These are all things that even older stars sometimes struggle with.
“I mean, it was insane,” he recalled. “This is something that doesn’t exist anywhere else on the planet.”
He said it’s a moment he’ll ‘never forget’ in his career.
The girls found fame sharing the role of Michelle in Full House (Photo by American Broadcasting Companies via Getty Images)
“It was just miraculous. How is this possible? In what universe does this little one-year-old person have the audience in the palm of her hand and is hitting jokes? It was just jaw-dropping,” he raved.
In a previous interview with Glamour, he recalled another scene which required the character of Michelle to be upset.
He described how she needed to be upset, cheer up, and then be sad again.
Franklin revealed the performance was ‘nailed’ when the twins were less than two-years-old.
Full House cast member Andrea Barber recently recalled that the sisters could occasionally disagree over which twin would get to appear in particularly exciting scenes.
Barber joked about an episode filmed at Disney World in which one of the twins got the opportunity to appear on a parade float.
She suggested that Adria Later, the on-set teacher known as the ‘Michelle(s) wrangler’, would have found a way to make things fair for the sister who missed out.
Mary-Kate and Ashley remained with Full House throughout its original run, which ended in 1995, before becoming major stars in their own right away from our screens.
Ashley later explained her decision to step away from acting, telling Elle in 2012: “I don’t have to be a pretty face. I’ve done that, but now it’s important and liberating to be on the other side of the lens.”
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