Mike Rowe

Mike: The myth that pigs are actually a "clean" animal is a myth.

Mike: (Talking about a dream job in the future) A cool, comfortable, climate-controlled studio with hot coffee, far from sewers and toilets.

Discovery Channel: What's been more surprising: the success of the show or the difficulty of producing it? Mike: Well, the biggest surprise was the fact that Discovery gave Dirty Jobs a chance in the first place. A show about manual labor, blood, sweat, and poo is a hard sell to a family network.

Discovery Channel: Along the way, you've been kicked by horses, stung by hornets, chased by alligators, attacked by monkeys, and exposed to a dozen different toxic substances. You've gotten stitches. Your contacts have been melted to your eyes by a blast furnace. You've been bitten by snakes, ostriches, penguins, catfish and several sharks. Mike: You make it sound like fun.

Discovery Channel: In addition to 130 Dirty Jobs, you narrate "American Chopper" and "American Hot Rod." We've sent you to Alaska twice to host and narrate "Deadliest Catch." You also spent three weeks in North Africa hosting "Egypt Week Live." Additionally, you went to South Africa to host "Shark Week," which turned out to be the highest rated "Shark Week" in network history. Mike: I do remember something about sharks.

Discovery Channel: You've completed 100 different Dirty Jobs in just over a year. That seems like some sort of record. Mike: Actually, the current total is 130. By this time tomorrow, it'll be 131.

Question from viewer: Have you ever had a really bad sickness from one of the dirty jobs that you've done in the past? Mike Rowe:No, thankfully. There is, however, a fairly long litany of infirmaries and minor injuries. I won't bore you with a list — it's long. Lately, though, the shooting schedule has made it impossible for me to conceal the slings and arrows of outrageous television. In the coming season, the wear and tear will be more noticeable and you may notice the fruits of my dirty labors in the very visible shape of eye infections, pronounced limps and most recently, a missing tooth. Do I have a great job or what?

Mike Rowe: (in front of a hot furnace) I feel heat in a place where a man's not supposed to feel heat.

Question from viewer:"When you were down in the sewer pits you had your mask off. Isn't it dangerous to inhale the bacteria and fumes in those sewers?" Mike Rowe:"I spaced. To be honest, the situation was so horrific down there, and the heat was so suffocating, the thought of putting something over my face didn't occur to me. If I had it to do over again, I'd don the mask. Actually, I wouldn't do it over again."

Mike Rowe: The original thought for DJ was international. I mean, why visit a 100-year-old sewer in San Francisco when I could help clean a 900-year-old sewer in Paris? The short answer, of course, is money. But you never know — DJ International does have a nice ring to it. We'll see. For now, there's enough dirt in the good old USA to keep me filthy.

Mike: It's surprising how many people come home from relatively "clean" jobs at the end of the day feeling bitter and miserable. Whereas the people I meet, by and large, seem really content with their lives, and happy with their dirty jobs.

Mike: Yes, there are a few places I would not go. But mentioning them here would only result in Discovery Channel asking me to go there. They monitor my every move ...