Regis Philbin had some pretty basic advice for Ryan Seacrest when he became Kelly Ripa’s new “Live” co-host.
“He said to me, ‘Ryan, I was most worried about doing something the night before so we had something to talk about in the first 20 minutes of the show, so just make sure you’re doing something,'” Seacrest, 42, recalled to The Hollywood Reporter in an interview released Wednesday.
If you ask Ripa, 46, Seacrest didn’t need much help.
“He’s just so seamless that people don’t realize that what he does is actually very, very difficult,” she said.
The hardest part of Seacrest’s latest gig seemed to be the contract negotiations, an issue that is rumored to be recurring in his talks with “American Idol.”
“It was happening, and then it wasn’t,” Ripa said of Seacrest signing on for “Live.”
“Ryan and I kept calling each other and saying, ‘No matter what happens, we are still friends.’ We had so many amazing people throw their hat into the ring, but at a certain point you have to start making a show a show again and it was becoming a reality competition. At some point, I’d like to wind down,” she admitted. “I’m not Ryan, I don’t have his battery. So when I look at him, I see the future of this show.”
Still, to hear him tell it, “Live with Kelly and Ryan” seemed to be the logical next step for the longtime “Idol” host when the singing competition was cancelled in April 2016.
“I don’t act, and I don’t sing, and I don’t do a lot of other things,” he explained. “So the question became: What will people accept me doing next? I’ve figured out what I’m better at and what I’m not so good at, and I’m doing the things that I’m better at. The things that I’m not so good at would make me tired and would make me want to slow down.”
Still, despite reports that Seacrest was peeved at his allegedly paltry salary offer compared to future judge Katy Perry’s, he hinted that he may likely be returning for its reboot on ABC.
“Who am I if not the ‘American Idol’ guy?'” he said. “I’ve always loved the show, and if I could do it forever, I would do it forever.”