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John Stamos focusing on TV career post trial

By April MacIntyre Jul 20, 2010, 4:38 GMT

04/26/2010 - John Stamos - Project Cuddle and John Stamos Host a Carnival Charity Event in New York City on April 26, 2010 - Carnival, 110 University Place - New York City, NY, USA © Charles Norfleet / PR Photos

TV actor John Stamos gave his first interview since last week's extortion trial came to an end, and he is using music and his TV connections to get over the ordeal.

"You know when you're at the dentist and they tell you to think of happy thoughts?" John explains to E!. "Or if you're in a situation that is not so happy? Well, my happy thoughts last week were Beach Boys. I was thinking of playing music. There is nothing more cathartic for me and nothing makes me more happy than to get behind the drums and play. So when I got home (from the trial), I immediately cleared my schedule this week."

E! reports that John begins a multi-city Beach Boys tour this Thursday in Brooklyn, NY, then on to Westbury, NY, Baltimore and Vienna, Va. (See full schedule below.) This summer marks his 25th year (!) playing with the band.

Stamos will also heal on the TV, playing Emma's (Jayma Mays) new love interest (and dentist!) for 10 episodes on FOX hit "Glee" this fall. "I start Glee soon, the week after next," John tells me.

Stamos is already introduced as Johnny "Drama's" potential "better looking" costar for a new series on HBO's "Entourage" and John will be on the show playing himself.

"Without giving too much away," John says of his Entourage stint, "it sort of comes down to the fact that if Drama beats me at ping pong, then I'll do his TV show. So, it all comes down to a ping pong game. I won't tell you who wins or loses but I took ping pong lessons, I swear to you, three times a week for at least six weeks. And I was horrible!" Then he laughs, "They bought me a ping pong table, which is in my pool now, because I kicked it over into there. I'm not very good."

The extortion trial affected him deeply. "To be honest with you, nobody won," John tells E!. "It wasn't like I was jumping up and down. It was a tragedy, you know? I mean, I went into it because the government asked me to be a witness. I wasn't on trial. I got caught up in some bizarre trip that happened six years ago… I [was] doing what was asked of me. There was a federal crime and I got subpoenaed and I said, 'Damn right, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna fight for the truth!'"

Not scared, Stamos went and testified. "Never for one minute, I wasn't scared …Even when they were preparing me for the witness stand, I said, 'I'm just gonna go up there and tell the truth' because…I mean they barely even prepped me! They said, 'Just tell what you know. Tell what happened.' So, when I got in the courtroom and there's hundreds of people, and all of a sudden, this woman who I've never seen before in my life, this Sarah Henderson, gets up and starts spewing maybe the most hateful stuff that's ever been said about me in my life, my heart just sunk into my stomach like, 'Oh my god!' And then when I found out that they were allowed to print these lies, like this Associated Press guy was feverously, you know, writing everything. I mean, literally I went home from the hotel and every muscle and bone and fiber of my body was sick."

Character and reputation are most important to Stamos.  "I've worked so hard my whole life, especially my last 27 years in the business, and it's important to me to be a stand up guy, you know? Because that's how my father was, and that's the way he taught me. And in a matter of 20 minutes, in an opening statement, to have all that ripped away from you, is just absolutely…heartbreaking is the only word I could use. So, do I feel vindicated? I guess. I just wish none of it would have happened. Clearly, those kids didn't win. The justice system proved right, but this costs millions of dollars, and the town of Marquette didn't win."

John told E! he was grateful for his fans. "The support was beautiful. It's so nice to see that people are on my side, you know?"

John will be on the next episode of HBO's "Entourage," and you can see him performing with the Beach Boys at the performances listed below:

Thurs., July 22: Asser Levy Park at Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY.

Fri., July 23: Theatre at Westbury in Brooklyn, NY.

Sat., July 24: Pier Six Pavilion in Baltimore, MD.

Sun., July 25: Filene Center at Wolf Trap in Vienna, VA.