Staci Keanan, Christine Lakin Remember the Unique Acting Skill“ Step by Step” Costar Patrick Duffy Helped Them with
Staci Keanan, Christine Lakin Remember the Unique Acting Skill“ Step by Step” Costar Patrick Duffy Helped Them with
Virginia ChamleeWed, April 15, 2026 at 8:37 PM UTC
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Staci Keanan; Christine Lakin; Patrick DuffyCredit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty; Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic -
Stacy Keanan and Christine Lakin are reflecting on their Step by Step days while revisiting an old episode on their podcast
The actresses shared how costar Patrick Duffy helped them learn on set, including tips for portraying emotional or physical acting beats like being sick
Keanan joked she often had to “figure it out” when playing illness, while Lakin noted such skills aren't typically taught in acting classes but were learned through experience on the show.
Step by Step costars Stacy Keanan (Dana Foster) and Christine Lakin (Al Lambert) are recounting some acting tools taught to them by their costar, Patrick Duffy.
On the Wednesday, Apr. 15 episode of their podcast Keanan And Lakin Give You Déjà Vu, the cohosts discussed the show's 410th episode, titled, "Letting Go."
The episode sees Keanan's character Dana Foster come down with a cold — a plot line that required the actress to pretend to sneeze frequently.
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Step by StepCredit: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
"I remember not knowing how to do this," Foster, 50, said on the podcast.
"Did Patrick Duffy help you with those sneezes?" Lakin, 47, then asked.
"Probably. Probably. Because, yeah, I never knew how to do any of this stuff," Foster responded. "I never knew how to play sick, how to play like you're all stuffed up. I never knew how to do any of that, and I always had to had a few days to figure it out every time these things came up."
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Added Lakin: "I mean, it's not really something that people are teaching you in acting class, but maybe they should."
Duffy, now 77, starred as patriarch Frank Lambert on the long-running TGIF sitcom, which followed two single parents (played by him and Suzanne Somers) who marry and blend their very different families under one roof, navigating the chaos and comedy of raising six kids together.
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In 2014, Duffy addressed the idea of rebooting the series in modern day. “We as a cast get approached about the possibility. Suzanne and I would love the opportunity to work together again. If scripts and circumstances were appropriate, I'm sure something would happen,” he wrote in a Reddit AMA.
Years later, in 2021, the Dallas alum said he considered Somers his “best friend.”
“She's a mother above all else. She's a caretaker,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “She's just one of the best people. She's a go-to person. If I ever needed something, I know I could pick up the phone and say, 'Suzanne, I really need help on this.' It would be there."
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
