Patton's "big break" came in 2002, when he was cast to replace Steve Burns as Joe, the second host of the Nickelodeon children's television program "Blue's Clues". He was up for a part in "" at the time, but considered the role as Joe "a happy accident". Patton became a "household name" and has been called "an unqualified star to the 5-and-under set and their parents". He was subjected to "the same kind of scrutiny" as Burns, who was involved in Patton's selection and helped train him, to earn the role. Patton was selected out of 1,500 auditions. He had never seen the show before his audition, but like Burns was the favorite with preschool test audiences. He said, "I am convinced that I got that part because of a Christopher Walken impression I sometimes do. There's a tape out there, somewhere, with both Steve Burns and myself doing a "Blue's Clues" scene both as Christopher Walken, which we did at the screen test. I haven't seen the tape, but I know somewhere it still exists". Beginning in September 2000, Burns trained Patton to take over the host spot and advised him not to "think of [the show] as children's TV", but rather as "acting and telling the truth".