Everybody wants this: Adam Brody says he “tried real hard” to star on Blue’s Clues.

The actor called his audition for the beloved children’s show the role he fought the hardest for during the early days of his career, sharing the endearing anecdote with fellow funnymen Ted Danson, Seth Rogen, Julio Torres, John Mulaney, and Jason Segel for The Hollywood Reporter‘s comedy actor roundtable.

“I really wanted Blue’s Clues early on when I first moved to L.A.,” Brody shared.

“And you fought for it?” Rogen asked.

“I tried real hard, yeah,” the Nobody Wants This star said. “It was like 1999, I auditioned for it, I wanted it, I didn’t get it. But I would’ve loved it. It’s a show for toddlers. But it’s all of those early ones.”

Brody then stunned the roundtable by sharing that he also auditioned for the role of Henry Parker on the teen drama Dawson’s Creek, which ultimately went to Michael Pitt. “I read with Scott Speedman, sweating,” Brody recounted.

“Oh, they wanted pouty lips,” Torres quipped.

“Do you know the role?” Mulaney asked Torres, who explained, “No, I just know the actor.”

Rogen said with laughter, “He is pouty.”

Blue’s Clues premiered on Nick Jr. in 1996 and introduced Steve Burns as the animated show’s original human host. Burns departed the show in 2002 and was replaced by Donovan Patton and later, Joshua Dela Cruz, the show’s current host. But Burns has remained a fixture among young fans and grown-up ones alike, having gone viral for checking in on his now-millennial followers on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic and Donald Trump’s polarizing presidential re-election.

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But, hey, Brody has since bounced back from those perceived losses. He landed a memorable gig on Gilmore Girls as Lane’s (Keiko Agena) Hep Alien bandmate and boyfriend Dave Rygalski. Then came his breakout role on the hit 2003 teen drama The O.C., in which Brody starred as fan-favorite Seth Cohen across all four seasons.

He’s recently generated awards buzz for his role as a hunky rabbi on Netflix’s rom-com series Nobody Wants This. The star earned his very first Golden Globe nomination earlier this year for the role and is considered an Emmy contender at the upcoming ceremony this fall.

Appearing on Entertainment Weekly‘s Awardist podcast alongside costar Kristen Bell, Brody marveled about the “instantaneous” success of the show and his role, which has been regarded as the kickstarter of what has been hailed as the Adam Brody renaissance.

“I think I was getting stopped on the street pretty much day after it came out and I was getting texts from anyone — my handyman, anyone in my life — in my phone,” Brody said. “I’ve never witnessed anything that felt quite as overnight and as pervasive as this.”