Fil-Am Josh dela Cruz on how life has changed since hosting Blue’s Clues
It’s been some four years since Josh dela Cruz was selected from thousands of hopefuls to become the host in Blue’s Clues & You, the reboot of Nickelodeon’s iconic children’s show Blue’s Clues.
The Filipino-American actor was cast to play Josh, the human sidekick to animated puppy Blue, making history as the first Asian-American to be a regular in the series that originally ran from 1996 to 2006.
The Philippine STAR had a virtual one-on-one with Josh recently to talk about his show’s movie-musical version, Blue’s Big City Adventure, where Josh the character brings Blue with him to New York City to pursue an opportunity of a lifetime — audition for a Broadway show. To state that the storyline rings familiar to Josh is an understatement given his background. The musical theater actor was the lead of Broadway’s Aladdin when he won the part in Blue’s Clues & You.
Now, asked how his life has changed since joining the Nickelodeon series, the 34-year-old readily acknowledged to The STAR that it changed a lot.
“The show has changed my life in so many ways. I get to work with incredibly talented people and I get to connect with so many wonderful people who want to have a kid point to the screen and say, ‘He looks like me,’” Josh said.
“And I hope that even if I don’t look like you or if you don’t identify with me on some level, know that it could be you someday, whether it be on film, TV, journalism, science, teaching. Whatever it is, you could be that person, you just have to work hard and be kind to the people around you, build a community to help each other and there’s no stopping you.”
One could say this is a wish fulfilled for Josh because he has always wanted to work on screen after years of being on Broadway. “I’ve always said that this is kind of like a paid scholarship because I’ve always wanted to work in film and television. When I decided that was something that I wanted to do after I was on Broadway, I was like, well, why stop here?” he said.
“I was like, all I want to do is work on TV. I want to learn how to do that, I want to film on location. I want to learn how to direct like, why are they doing this? Or why did they choose to do that instead of this? And because of this job and because of everyone’s generosity on set, I get to ask these questions and have fun learning. But also, have fun doing the thing that I always love doing in a completely new way.”
But before Josh became a Blue’s Clues host, he had to hurdle 3,000 others who were also eyeing the role. That he got the job speaks a lot of his artistry and the trust the showrunners had in his capability to deliver (the original host, Steve Burns, was reported to have helped in the audition process for the new host.) But it’s not hard to imagine as well the amount of pressure he must have felt when chosen to lead the show.
How he’s been able to cope with that, he said, “You know, it’s interesting. I do have a lot of anxiety. I have anxiety, I’ve ADD, so a lot of stuff is like bubbling always. But there’s only so much that you can control and the what-ifs you can’t really control. So, you can only focus on what can you do.
“Focus on what are the holistic things that I can do – whether it be to get enough sleep, whether it be to prepare the night before, prepare everything that I need for the next day, make sure to exercise and then once I’m on set, just take it one step at a time.
“I think that’s the only way for me, at least, to deal with the pressure — to just have fun. And I can’t have fun if I don’t make sure that I’ve done all the work.
“I wake up at 4:30 a.m. to finish up some notes from the night before, to prepare and to get it in my brain. Then I work out and then I walk to work and then I go to work and then once I get home from work, I take a shower, I have some dinner and then I work on storyboards and everything for the next day. Ideally, I’m done working by 9 p.m. and then I’m in bed by 10.
“You know, sleeping at the right time, it’s something that I’m working on. (But) being prepared is one of the best ways for me to help with the pressure and the anxiety. And if I’m prepared, I’ll have fun.”
Here’s a bit of Blue’s Clues & You trivia: His character is named Josh also because of him.
He revealed: “They gave me the option whether to keep my name as Josh. I think some of the names that were floated around were Ben or Nick. But I decided to go with Josh. And I put so much of myself into this character. Everything I do, it’s only a piece of who I am. It’s a piece of the whole and only so many people in my life know who Josh is completely.
“But I put all of my hard work into this role every single day. And we’re very similar in how silly we are and how physical we are. But yeah, there’s a lot of method acting because I’m typically a very dark and brooding person. So, I’m glad that finally somebody asked me (about it).”
With Josh on board, audiences from the US and around the world have been enjoying a taste of Filipino culture through the show.
Having the chance to share a part of his heritage through this platform is so important to Josh. “I’m so honored to be here. I’m so honored to have had this opportunity, that I was prepared, that all the right people were in the room when they made the decision. And that I have the support system that got me here. I’m so honored and I’m so blessed because it is important to know that we’re not just villains,” he said.
“We’re not just people that know martial arts, even though martial arts is amazing. We’re not just Asian, we’re Filipino to be specific. I think the more specific we are, the more people can realize like oh, so much like me, you know? The fact that we get to say, loud and proud, ‘Lola,’ is incredible, because no one knew what Lola was. What’s a Lola? ‘That Lola?’ No different (laughs). Different, it’s my grandma.
“And now people are saying, oh your Lola is on there. And it makes me think about my lolas and I’m just so thankful for them. I wouldn’t be here without them. They’re no longer with us. But I’m just filled with so much joy and so much gratitude that I get to do this. I work hard every single day to make sure that I do the very best I can so that we can keep doing this and so that I can keep representing Filipinos and the potential that we have. This isn’t the end, you know. This is just the beginning.”
(Blue’s Big City Adventure premieres in the Philippines on April 29 at 9:30 a.m. on the Nick Jr. channel, which is available on SKYcable, Cignal and other local operators. Encore is aired on the same day at 3:45 p.m. on the Nick Jr. channel. Produced by Nickelodeon Animation, the movie-musical is directed by Matt Stawski and written by Angela Santomero. Blue’s Clues and You!, on the other hand, is available daily on the Nick Jr. channel.)
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