Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman co-hosted the first season of American Idol in 2002. Seacrest still emcees the hit show, plus Wheel of Fortune after Pat Sajak’s departure. However, Dunkleman, now 53, quit after that freshman Idol season. He thereby turned his back on what ultimately evolved into one of the most successful and popular performing contest programs on television.
Brian Dunkleman And Ryan Seacrest Were Reportedly Invited To Try Out For The ‘Idol’ Hosting Roles
Dunkleman Wasn’t Especially Keen On It From The Get-Go
Per Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Dunkleman was lukewarm about going after the Idol co-hosting role. Per the outlet via GQ, he went after it “because someone from Fox [Idol‘s original network before ABC took it over later on] wanted him to.” So he got into it with decidedly mixed feelings, it appears.
Also, People reported last year via Steve Kmetko’s Still Here Hollywood podcast that Dunkleman was reportedly put off by the intensity and sheer pain of the show’s audition process for the contestants. Many of them are young, naive about show business, and vulnerable.
He Thought The Auditions Were Needlessly Harsh On The Contestants
Dunkleman Shuddered At Seeing Young, Aspiring Singers Get Verbally Clobbered
He reportedly told Kmetco, “You’re spending a lot of time with these kids in the line, and you’re getting to know them, you’re getting to know their parents. There was a stretch for an hour straight where kid after kid came, [and] every one of them was bawling. And I thought, ‘What is going on?'”
Dunkleman added, “At one point… I just started crying. I don’t know why it affected me so much. Maybe because I’ve auditioned so many times. I know how it’s not easy. It’s not easy to put yourself out there.”
He remembered one girl especially clearly. Her dad, a carpenter, selflessly sold off the tools of his trade so he could afford to drive her to the Idol audition. Per the outlet, Dunkleman “said the girl was ‘so excited’ to audition, but when she came out, her ‘eyes were dead’ and she was ‘shattered.'”
Dunkleman explained further. “I don’t believe that you should set kids up to be humiliated like that,” You’re putting them in front of cameras, and I can hear them [go]. ‘Oh, this girl, she thinks she can actually sing. We’re gonna crush her.’ She’s 16.”
Brian Dunkleman On Simon Cowell
Puzzlingly, He Called Cowell A ‘Really Nice Guy’ While Criticizing His Nasty Remarks To Auditioners
The blistering critiques delivered by former judge Simon Cowell bugged Dunkleman as well, although he seems to have liked him in spite of that. “I just didn’t understand why that was necessary… But it was very, very cruel that first season. And that’s kind of what made the show such a hit, was how mean [judge Simon Cowell] was. He was hated…He comes here, and everybody loves the guy.”
Dunkleman had kind words for Cowell nevertheless, and for then-judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul.
A Tiff with Ryan Seacrest Almost Got Physical
Their Relationship Was Reportedly Not Always Cordial
Per Showbiz Cheat Sheet, “Dunkleman has said that he didn’t get along with Seacrest. He even once revealed on the Behind The Velvet Rope podcast that he almost physically fought Seacrest over a disagreement about their on-stage banter.”
Dunkleman acknowledged, “When that show ended, my manager and my best friend who was there to pick me up … they had to hold me back from going after [Seacrest.]”
His Departure From ‘Idol’ Initially Left Him Despondent
Dunkleman Was Relieved To Learn He Would Have Been Let Go Had He Not Left On His Own
In a 2022 TMZ article Dunkleman said that he sought escape from his post-Idol woes by using liquor and drugs after his Idol stint ended. The thought that he bailed out on such a popular show and might have attained fame on it himself understandably tormented him.
But years later, per the outlet, Dunkleman found out that he was on the chopping block anyway and would have gotten the axe as Seacrest’s Idol sidekick. So his decision to leave no longer loomed as large or foolhardy. Dunkleman went out with dignity on his own terms.
At that time that article was published, Dunkleman was concentrating on improv and standup comedy. He has also had guest starring roles on shows including NYPD Blue and Family Guy. He and his wife, Kalea Nassif, divorced. Dunkleman drove for Uber for a while. He is the host of DunkleVision, a podcast. Three years ago, there was a documentary about him titled – what else?- Dunkleman.
He Seems To Have Landed On His Feet
Brian Dunkleman Felt Absolved Of Self-Recriminations About Quitting
Per Showbiz Cheat Sheet via GQ, he said, “I was told by one of my old bosses that it came down to whether to keep both of us or go with one host. They decided to go with one, and obviously I wasn’t the one. They told me that I quit before they could deliver the news…All those years where I’m walking around as the biggest mistake in the history of show business, it turns out that’s not what happened. That’s going to allow me to die peacefully someday. It’s changed my whole outlook on everything.”
