John Stamos

John Stamos Explains 'Out of Character' TV Appearance

By Aaron Parsley

06/27/2007 at 01:30 PM EDT

John Stamos has apologized after making an unusual appearance on the Australian chat show Mornings with Kerri-Anne.

The actor, 43, who was Down Under to promote his American medical series ER, wandered around the set of the morning show, read host Kerri-Anne Kennerley's lines from the teleprompter and made lewd gestures in front of her.

"John has been traveling extensively for the past few weeks in Greece, Egypt and Tokyo and had a difficult time adjusting to the time difference in Australia, which in turn led to many sleepless nights since his arrival," the actor's rep, Lewis Kay, tells PEOPLE. "He acknowledges that his behavior was completely out of character during these interviews and apologizes."

During a segment with Kennerley, Stamos took issue with a Sydney Daily Telegraph newspaper claim that he was "bleary-eyed, staggering and slurring," saying, "[The reporter] took a shot at me in the papers today at being tired." He also insulted the writer.

Later in the broadcast, during a discussion about deceased celebrities, Stamos asked, "Who else died?" and then answered jokingly, "My career after coming to Australia."