Its been 20 years since Brian Dunkleman served as co-host of the first season of American Idol alongside Ryan Seacrest. In the last two decades since his departure from the show, Dunkleman has made headlines for the ups and downs throughout his life and career, including his battle with depression and substance abuse, becoming an Uber driver, going through a divorce and becoming the best father he can be to his son.
Now, the actor and standup comedian has made a comeback to the small screen, with the release of his film Dunkleman on Amazon Prime Video. In a new interview about the project, Dunkleman reveals how he overcame the shame he felt for years since exiting Idol and what his relationship is like with Seacrest today.
Its been a very long journey where I was pretty angry. I think bitter would be a good word, and I felt I made the biggest mistake that anybodys ever made in showbiz history, he said.
The actor also expressed his excitement about his return to standup comedy and railed against todays cancel culture.
This cancel culture has gotten a bit absurd, Dunkleman said. We need to be able to joke about everything. I dont think theres anything off limits.
Speaking of comedy, the 50-year-old weighed in on the uptick in violence against comics, including Will Smiths viral slap of Chris Rock at the Oscars and the recent attack against Dave Chappelle.
What Will Smith did is unforgivable. Its despicable and I am 100 percent behind Chris Rock. Im going to support a fellow comedian. Period, Dunkleman said.
The funnyman also provided some updates on projects hes got in the works and shared whether hes still driving Uber, a side hustle he unintentionally went viral for back in 2019.
Check out the Dunkleman trailer here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpyhNtf43tQ
