Mark Consuelos Delves Into How Co-Hosting ‘Live’ Is “Very, Very Different” From Acting: “Fire Hose In The Mouth Of Information”

From scripted TV work to co-hosting Live with Kelly and Mark, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have conquered the small screen. During this morning’s episode — which once again, was previously recorded — the two dished on how acting differs from working on a talk show.

Ripa teased that she’s “always talking about [her] exit strategy, [her] next steps, [her] side hustle, [her] alternate career.”

“Always looking for something new to try and explore,” she added. “This TV thing can’t last forever. Although I’m challenging that theory.”

She proceeded to bring up a list of “the 10 most interesting jobs in America,” the first of which launched both her and Consuelos’ careers: “Actor.”

Consuelos immediately quipped, “Nope.”

Ripa added, “Not as interesting as you think. Been there, done that.”

She read aloud the “primary duties” of an actor, one of which is “trying to portray the character.”

Consuelos chimed in, emphasizing the word “trying.” While the Riverdale alum clarified that he loves acting, he noted that “when they pay you, they don’t pay you to act.”

“They pay you to wait,” he teased. “And not go crazy.”

After Ripa highlighted that “you get very spoiled working here,” Consuelos claimed that “this job is so different.”

“As an actor, I would get picked up at 7:00 in the morning, and my brain, I know my brain does not have to be working until about 11:00 or 10:00,” he said.

Consuelos gushed about being asked for his breakfast order, which Ripa claimed does not take place on the Live set, saying, “If somebody asked me what I wanted for breakfast around here, I’d assume I died backstage. And that I was somehow in Heaven’s Gate and somebody was taking my order.”

Consuelos even noted that “after a few weeks, they know what you like.”

“They say, ‘Egg whites with some wheat toast, with a coffee with a little bit of half and half,'” he elaborated, prompting Ripa to deem his order “so bougie.”

Consuelos continued chronicling what his day would look like, which involved someone knocking on your door to beckon you for “hair and make-up” and then rehearsal.

“By now it’s like 9:00 in the morning, and [they’re] like, ‘Are you ready to put your wardrobe on? Do you want to go shoot one?'” he said. “And I’m like, ‘Yeah, let’s go shoot one.'”

After explaining that they would then shoot multiple takes and a close-up, followed by “about 20 minutes off,” Consuelos declared his job on Live to be “very, very different.”

Ripa likened the role to “being fired out of a gun,” to which Consuelos reiterated, “it’s like being fired out of a cannon.”

“Fire hose in the mouth of information. You’re drinking all the information,” he noted. “So my brain needs to be working a lot sooner [than] it would as an actor.”

Ripa quipped, “They pay you as an actor to wait. They pay you as a talk show host to not use foul language on live TV.”

Live with Kelly and Mark airs on weekdays. Check out their website for your local listings.