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Steve Burns got his start on Nickelodeon’s 1996 hit show at 22 years old and skyrocketed to fame as it grew in popularity<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
All these years later, he’s still recognized \u2014 even without the iconic green striped shirt<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
Speaking to PEOPLE in an exclusive interview, Burns says he is occasionally recognized by fans, but almost all his experiences have been positive<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Steve Burns<\/a>\u00a0admits that he’s often recognized by fans when he travels \u2014 but adds that his level of fame is “manageable.”<\/p>\n In a recent interview with PEOPLE about his forthcoming podcast, the former Blue’s Clues<\/em><\/a> host says these days, he’s most often recognized for his social media posts<\/a> rather than the 1996 show that first made him famous.<\/p>\n “I think [I’m recognized more] from social media at this point, you know, and I almost never post anything and I don’t know how to do it and I’m a Luddite about it,” Burns, 51, says with a laugh.<\/p>\n The former\u00a0Blue’s Clues<\/em>\u00a0star got his start on Nickelodeon’s hit show at 22 years old. The program gained immediate success and reached No. 1 shortly after airing, and in 2000, he abruptly left the show when his character went to college. He passed the role down to his younger brother, Joe, played by\u00a0Donovan Patton<\/a>.<\/p>\n Years later, Steve revealed the truth behind his departure, opening up about the internal struggles he was facing at the time: “It was my job that day to provide America’s children with self-esteem, but I didn’t always have my own approval,” he told\u00a0Today<\/em><\/a>\u00a0in April 2024.<\/p>\n Still, those who grew up watching Burns in his famous striped green shirt often remind him how special the show was with small tokens of appreciation.<\/p>\n He adds that the recognition comes with perks, saying that on a recent trip to New York City, “I got stuff for free all day \u2014 a free coffee, a free sandwich, you know, and, and it’s the sweetest thing imaginable because it is about relating, accidentally, but relating to people as adults from a place of joy from their childhood.”<\/p>\n “The people that used to watch the show now work in hotels and in the service industry, you know, they’re all adults who do stuff, so I get recognized \u2014 but it’s not like… I’ve known some famous people, and my life is not like that,” he adds. “I have a very marginalized, very manageable level of fame.”<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n