Posted in: TV | Tagged: Step by Step

Step By Step Stars on Acting Advice They Received From Patrick Duffy

Step By Step stars Staci Keanan and Christine Lakin recalled an example of the acting advice they received from TV dad Patrick Duffy.

Published Sat, 18 Apr 2026 11:37:08 -0500

by Gavin Sheehan

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Article Summary

Step by Step stars Staci Keanan and Christine Lakin reminisce about lessons from co-star Patrick Duffy.
Duffy offered behind-the-scenes advice on how to act natural while pretending to be sick on set.
Keanan shares challenges in learning to fake sneezes and play convincingly ill on camera.
The pair discuss these memories in their hit retro TV podcast Keanan And Lakin Give You Déjà Vu.

Actresses Staci Keanan and Christine Lakin got together for a new podcast episode in which they reflected on some acting advice given to them by their former co-star Patrick Duffy. The two host their own retro TV lookback podcast called Keanan And Lakin Give You Déjà Vu, in which the two former co-stars sit back and watch old episodes of the show Step By Step, which they both starred in as step-siblings brought together through an interesting marriage to make a massive family.

The most recent episode has the two checking out "Letting Go," in which Keanan's character, Dana Foster, has come down with a cold. A good chunk of the plot required the actress to pretend to sneeze frequently as part of the bit, which she admitted she had a lot of trouble with at the time. That is, until their TV dad, Duffy, gave them some advice off-camera on how to deal with it.

: Credit: Acast

: Patrick Duffy at the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. January 29, 2012 Los Angeles, CA Picture: Paul Smith / Featureflash (Shutterstock/Featureflash Photo Agency)

Patrick Duffy Teaches Kids The Method of Sick Acting, One Step at a Time

According to Foster, as they rewatched the show, Duffy helped her figure out how to make sneezes happen as if they were a natural occurrence and not forced out like a line, saying, "I remember not knowing how to do this. […] I never knew how to do any of this stuff. 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 have a few days to figure it out every time these things came up. I mean, it's not really something that people are teaching you in acting class, but maybe they should." The podcast is currently in its fourth season with over 130 episodes online, and you can listen to it wherever you find your podcasts.

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