Notorious celebrity blogger Perez Hilton is set to star in National Lampoon’s Full House The Musical! A Tanner Family Parody!, which will make its world premiere in Toronto this August.

Hilton will be playing the clean-cut family patriarch, Danny Tanner, known for his heart-to-heart talks and dad speeches from the popular ’90s TV series Full House. Hilton’s portrayal of the wholesome Tanner will be a different kind of venture for the gossip maven, known for his inexorable dishing of celebrity dirt.

Hilton, whose real name is Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr., earned a degree in drama at New York University’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts.

“Acting is all about creating and relating,” says Hilton. Now a father of two, the Los Angeles–based blogger says he won’t have any trouble relating to the character.

“I’m gonna have extra fun with the first two rows, too,” he warns, referring to what he calls the Tanner family hug zone. “If you know the show, you know the Tanners love to hug!”

The role, however, is actually a two-parter. Hilton will parody the TV dad, with occasional piano accompaniment, and then transform into Danny Tanner’s foul-mouthed and dark humoured counterpart, the actor and comedian who played him, Bob Saget.

“Not only are we lovingly lampooning the show, but we’re actually playfully poking fun at the actors that play them and their real lives,” he says.

Hilton initially became a fan of Bob and Tobly McSmith, co-creators of the production, after seeing two of their shows: Bayside! The Musical! and Showgirls! The Musical! in New York. So when choreographer and co-director Jason Wise posted news of the Full House musical online, Hilton immediately threw his name in for consideration, albeit joking that he could play Mary Kate and Ashley.

“We set up a meeting to talk about it. There were no songs at the time, or a script, just a lot of trust and faith in them and their faith in me. I sent them some clips of me singing, and it was a handshake and here we are,” says Hilton.

After having worked with the prominent New York–based vocal coach Liz Caplan since 2012, when he first appeared in the off-Broadway musical Newsical The Musical, Hilton hints that he suspects audiences will be pleasantly surprised by his vocal chops.

“I’m no Celine Dion,” he admits, “but the voice is a muscle, and like any muscle, the longer you work at it, the stronger it gets.”

For years the gossip hound’s claim to fame has been made behind the headlines. So, when asked how it feels to be the one in the limelight, at the mercy of other people’s criticisms, Hilton merely shrugs it off. “I’m used to criticism daily, so that doesn’t bother me,” he says. “I’m happy to have all my haters there. It would be a sellout every night if that were the case!”

Full House The Musical! runs Aug. 18 to Sept. 6, at Randolph Theatre, 736 Bathurst St.