When Full House returns as new Netflix series Fuller House in Februarythe Tanner family tree will include one fewer branch — but star John Stamos insisted the show tried as best it could to keep the limb from falling off.

In an interview with Andy Cohen on Sirius XM, Stamos recounted how Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who alternated playing the young Michelle Tanner on Full House, ultimately decided against revisiting the role for Fuller House. He said that he was initially shocked by their choice, but that one of his co-stars put things into perspective.

"I was talking to Lori [Loughlin] about this, and I was like 'How could they not do this?' It made a lot for them, their family, their sister,'" he shared. "And she said, 'They just won a CFDA Award for women's clothing...and this is the second year. They're in a different place.'"

So, the crew made a last ditch-effort to recruit an actress to play the adult Michelle: They contacted the twins' sister.

"I didn't do it, I think [show creator] Jeff Franklin did," Stamos explained. "I said, 'Call [Elizabeth Olsen]. Ask her'...We talked to her agent and her agent was like, 'Come on, she's not going to do that,' but we did call her agent."

In a separate interview with Howard Stern on SiriusXM, Stamos reiterated how the Mary-Kate's and Ashley's lives have changed since Full House's 1995 finale, but said they were genuinely interested in the concept.

"They were very, very sweet. They seemed very into [Fuller House]; they just were afraid of acting,” he explained. “They hadn’t acted; they don’t consider themselves actresses."

Listen to the full interview segments above, and tell us if you could have pictured Age of Ultron's Elizabeth taking on the role of an adult Michelle Tanner!

See a collection of child stars all grown up:

 

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