The Wiggles offer perfect idea for megafan Robert De Niro to join them after past 'intimidating' encounter (exclusive)

Key Points

• Anthony Field (Blue Wiggle) and Simon Pryce (Red Wiggle) respond to Robert De Niro's praise for the Wiggles.

• Field and Pryce discuss interacting with famous fans like Olivia Rodrigo, Shaquille O'Neal, and more.

• The Wiggles reflect on a viral moment with RuPaul's Drag Race stars and the shifting tides of children's entertainment.

Robert De Niro is watching the Wiggles every day — and the band is thrilled by his support.

The King of Comedy star has repeatedly discussed watching the Australian children's entertainers with his young daughter while promoting The Alto Knights, and now, two of the group's members are responding to his praise.

Entertainment Weekly discussed De Niro's fandom and other surprising celebrity Wiggles fans in an interview with Anthony Field, who has been the group's Blue Wiggle since its inception in 1991, and Simon Pryce, who has performed as the Red Wiggle since a lineup change in 2013. In the conversation below, the Wiggles touch on encounters with drag queens, Olivia Rodrigo, their upcoming U.S. tour, and adapting their act for the social media age.

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ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: The big question on everyone's mind over here is about Robert De Niro saying that he's been watching the Wiggles with his young daughter. What was your reaction to hearing that?

Anthony Field (Blue Wiggle): I was amazed. We all love Robert De Niro's movies and I grew up loving Godfather, Taxi Driver, plus all those incredible Meet the Fockers. He's a great actor. And years and years ago, the original Wiggles played in New York City and we met Robert backstage with his son. I'm so happy to see that he's still watching the Wiggles with his new family.

That's amazing. What was that like when you met backstage?

Blue Wiggle: We were all on stage and trying to pretend that we weren't noticing him in the audience and he was looking like, you know the character in Cape Fear? Well, he was sort of staring at us like that character, and we're going, "My goodness, he's intimidating!" But he was lovely.

In one of the interviews where he's discussed the Wiggles, the interviewer proposed that De Niro join you all in a Wiggles movie, and De Niro agreed, maybe jokingly, to do it. Have there been any discussions or plans for another Wiggles feature film?

Simon Pryce (Red Wiggle): No, not really. We do talk about it here and there, but nothing seriously. But if Robert De Niro is serious, then we might get our act together.

How would you integrate Robert De Niro into your act?

Blue Wiggle: Well, we've got eight Wiggles now, not four, so we're going to need a taxi! So he could reprise Taxi Driver — get the mohawk back, and he could be the taxi driver.

Red Wiggle: He could drive the Big Red Car!

If you could retroactively insert the Wiggles into one Robert De Niro project, what would you put yourselves in?

Blue Wiggle: I think Godfather Part II needed a bit of levity, a bit of frivolity, so we could have been the band playing at the wedding.

Red Wiggle: I just watched his latest show Zero Day. Oh my goodness. I think we could be a bit of light and shade in that. We could probably insert ourselves in that. That was great, what a great show.

Related: Zero Day cast and character guide: Everything to know about the new Netflix series' political operators

You recently collaborated with Dolly Parton on a few songs on your new country album. What was it like working with her?

Red Wiggle: Incredible. I mean, it was one of those other moments like when you hear that Robert De Niro is watching the Wiggles. The fact that Dolly Parton had written some songs and wanted to give them to us to perform with her was such a thrill, and she's an amazing lady. We worked with her and her team to get these couple of songs — they're all about friendship, all about care and kindness and love, and I think they're great songs which are really resonating with people on the album.

That's very sweet. Have you had other encounters with actors or celebrities who are fans of your work that surprised you?

Blue Wiggle: We had Shaquille O'Neal when we played in Miami. He came to the show quite a few times and then one time he got up on stage, he was side stage and his manager said, "Shaq wants on!" — and we're not going to argue with him! And he arrived in the Red Wiggle shirt that he got specially made, and he got up on stage and did "Hot Potato" with us. Then ESPN ran a story saying he's off injured from the Miami Heat — but how injured can he be if he's on stage with the Wiggles? So we were sort of part of a scandal!

Red Wiggle: He was holding a guitar, but it looked like it was a ukulele.

Blue Wiggle: Chris Martin from Coldplay, he sang "Fruit Salad" at a show when they were in Sydney, and I was just thinking when Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick's children were young, they came to the Wiggles in New York a few times, and Jerry Seinfeld as well, and we got to know them a little bit, just as really caring parents. That was the level we met them on. It was really lovely to meet them.

Have you met or heard from any famous fans who are young enough to have grown up with the Wiggles at this point?

Blue Wiggle: There have been lately! Olivia Rodrigo is one. Her tour manager was our tour manager and told us that, and she posted something about "Fruit Salad."

In some of De Niro's interviews about where he brings you guys up and is talking about the other children's entertainment that he's watching with his daughter, he's brought up the YouTuber, Ms. Rachel. What are your thoughts on her?

Red Wiggle: We were really fortunate, we worked with Ms. Rachel a couple of years ago. We've done some YouTube collaborations together. She is massive in the children's space and early childhood and toddlers, and she's lovely and does incredible work. And so yeah, we've had the privilege of working with her and knowing her work.

Blue Wiggle: And Katerina, our Red Wiggle has twin babies and they absolutely love Ms. Rachel. We think she's amazing.

Related: Great movies for kids ages 4 to 6

Do the Wiggles feel any rivalry with people like Ms. Rachel?

Blue Wiggle: Oh, no, not at all. That wouldn't be very good!

Red Wiggle: Her husband and their little boy came to a show a couple of years ago in Jersey as well. So yeah, we've had a nice relationship with Ms. Rachel. We all try to encourage each other.

On that note, a lot of kids nowadays are increasingly getting their entertainment from places like YouTube and TikTok rather than traditional TV. How has that shift towards social media impacted the Wiggles' work?

Blue Wiggle: Yeah. Well, the thing is that children are still the same all over the world. What's different now is the phones and the iPads and the access to screens. I think it's a pressure on parents because if children are glued to a screen, they're not moving their bodies, they're not getting out interacting with the world. So it's more of a challenge for parents.

I think what we try and do is just provide good quality entertainment that is interactive. So if children are watching the Wiggles, they'll at least be encouraged to stand up, dance around, make some fruits salad. On our YouTube channel, we sometimes say, "Okay, time to go and wash your hands, walk around, use the bathroom, say hello to mum." We encourage them actually to switch off for a little bit and go out and have some fun. So I think it's more of a pressure on parents these days.

Red Wiggle: We just need to be able to create content that can go across so many different platforms because there's so many different platforms available now. That's, I guess, been a slight challenge for us in the way in which we work, but we've got a handle it on now. We do a lot of great content for all different Australian platforms, which includes YouTube, which is actually one of the biggest platforms in the world. And so it's really important for us, for our reach and for our audience to be on YouTube.

Shifting gears — in 2018, there was a fun viral moment where some of the Wiggles and a couple of drag queens from RuPaul's Drag Race hanging out backstage at The Morning Show, singing "Apples and Bananas" together. In recent years here in the States, we've had some politicians calling for drag queens to be completely removed from the children's entertainment space, arguing that drag can never be family friendly. Do you have any reaction to any of that as children's entertainers who have crossed paths with people in the drag world?

Blue Wiggle: When that happened, we were backstage at that TV show, and I just thought they looked so fantastic and just beautiful personalities and could sing so well that we thought, "Okay, let's sing a song together!" I just take people as they are, and so for me, they were very nice people and we sang a song. They were wearing colorful outfits. There's room for everybody in the world. We're very accepting in the Wiggle world, that's all.

Red Wiggle: Yeah, very inclusive. And children don't judge, and so the Wiggles' world is very inclusive of everyone. That's the way we try to be.

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What should audiences expect from your upcoming U.S. tour?

Blue Wiggle: Well, I hope they better come ready to be stomping their feet, getting up and dancing and singing their hearts out because we have the best time and we can't wait to get back to the States because honestly, the best audiences for children's entertainers are in the States. You guys have so much enthusiasm and are so warm and welcoming. We just can't wait to get back there and meet all the great people in the states again and be part of that excitement.

Red Wiggle: One of our biggest songs we've had of late is called "Bouncing Balls." So the tour is based around that song, but the show itself is a real mix of classic Wiggles songs and new songs, songs from our new country album, which has just been released. So it's a real mix of many different eras of Wiggles.

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The Wiggles are currently in the midst of the Bouncing Balls Tour in Australia, and will bring the show to North America beginning on June 1.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly