Ryan Seacrest's ghost co-host speaks.
Brian Dunkleman -- remember, that other "American Idol" host who stood next to Seacrest back in the show's first season? -- opened up about his depature from the hit reality show in a recent interview with CNN.
“I was very upset about it for a long, long time,” said Dunkleman, whose decision to leave the hosting gig to pursue an ultimately lackluster acting career has since made him the butt of many entertainment industry-related jokes. “You got to make up your mind that either you are going to be that angry guy for the rest of your life, or you gotta move on. It’s taken me a long time to get there.”
More than a decade later, as "Idol" begins its final season and Seacrest enjoys veritable megastardom, Dunkleman says his only clear-cut regret is the financial situation he walked away from.
“I don’t even know who I would be if I was still on that show … I knew that if I had stayed, I wouldn’t have had a chance (to pursue acting)," he said. "Of course, when it comes to the financial aspect, of course there are regrets. I wouldn’t be human if I said no."
Clearly he's maintained a sense of humor about the whole thing, referring to himself in his Twitter bio as a "television history footnote," and writing this gem after news broke that "Idol" was coming to a close:
Honestly, he's Twitter-verified, which is the only thing that even matters.
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