Dad-to-be Derek Hough reveals new job as 'Extra' host was a 'family decision'

BURBANK, CA − Even when the cameras aren't rolling, Derek Hough can't help but perform.

Hough, 40, is tip-tapping his toes on the faux wood linoleum floors of the studio inside the "Extra" offices. It's 10:30 a.m. on a Thursday, and when he notices USA TODAY filming him from the sidelines, he starts mugging for the lens, then apologizes for missing a crew member's feedback.

"I think I had a sip of coffee. That's it, but I've been up since 5:30 this morning," he later explains during a sit-down chat in his office, a warmly lit and repainted space with cream-colored furniture and a lit candle.

He's only a few days into his gig as the new face of the syndicated entertainment news program, replacing previous host Billy Bush. Despite his nearly two decades on TV (mainly on "Dancing With the Stars"), this is new territory for him – and he's taking the job seriously.

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In between takes – "every five to 10 minutes," the makeup artist specifies – powder is fluffed over his face. "I'm a glistener," Hough jokes. He's also practicing his next lines. And when he's not quite satisfied with his delivery, he looks behind the cameras to check for the producer's feedback, listening intently and putting his implicit trust in the show's more veteran staffers.

After a few attempts at saying he has footage to share from a new interview with Jessica Chastain ("So loving and warm," he later describes her), Hough and the producer decide to ax the line that's plaguing him. Instead, they settle for "I sat down with Jessica Chastain."

Otherwise, he enthusiastically performs the lines scrolling on the teleprompter, feeding the high-definition cameras footage that will air later that day.

"We film the show in the morning, and it goes out within like an hour, but I love that. I love the pace. I love energy," he says. "And I'm really open to learning because I understand this as a skill, which is something that drew me to this – to exercise a new muscle, to try something different."

Whenever he'd appear as a guest on these kinds of shows, he'd have the thought that being the interviewer "would be kind of fun."

"It's been in the back of my mind," he says. But it was never "the right time" – until now.

Derek Hough will go on paternity leave after birth of his child with Hayley Erbert

As a soon-to-be first-time dad, this would not seem like the ideal time to make a major career change. And Hough acknowledges the job "was a conversation" with his wife of two years, Hayley Erbert Hough. They announced her pregnancy on July 22.

"At this point, this isn't a Derek decision; this is a family decision. Anything moving forward now is a family decision because it affects us as a family," he says.

But Hough explains that the hours he works are actually more conducive to balancing his family life.

"We talked about it and the schedule, having this consistency from a Monday to Friday job essentially, but being done around 2 o'clock because we shoot the show in the morning fast," he says. "I have the whole afternoon to be home with the family, to be present, and to be there as dad, as husband, and then have the weekends off."

He adds, "It was totally 100% cleared with the family, my beautiful wife."

He'll take time off to soak in parenthood. "I am taking a paternity leave. That was important. ... That's a nonnegotiable," he says. "And then even later on, too, at 6 months ... it's really important for me to be more present during that time, too."

Derek Hough is 'nervous' about 'awkward' celebrity interactions

Another consideration for Hough has been how to balance his friendships with fellow public figures while not leaving them feeling he'll expose any private information as an entertainment news host.

"When I first got this job, I remember I was at a wedding and I told everybody, 'Hey, don't worry, guys, I'm not going to be like, ooh, what'd you say? OK, breaking news!' " he says. "I am not that guy that's going to be getting the inside scoop on certain things without letting people know, or if they don't want to share that."

Instead, he sees the job as a "wonderful" opportunity to see "some familiar faces on the red carpets and have that sort of connection, that warmth."

But he's not under the impression that all will go according to plan: "I'm 100% going to make a fool of myself on this show at some point," he says.

"I'm nervous about that awkward (encounter), you know? I'm sure it's going to happen where I'm going to be like, 'Well, that was hard and that was painful,' " Hough says.

But this lifelong dancer is used to being kept on his toes.

"Being on 'Dancing With the Stars' for (nearly) 20 years ... I've fallen over. I've messed up. I've had wardrobe malfunctions. I've said dumb things," he says. "I take it very seriously, and at the same time, don't take myself too seriously. At the end of the day, we're here to entertain, to bring a little bit of joy, and that's what it's all about."