For a typical actor, starring in a popular series may feel like the first step to getting everything you could possibly ask for in life. But when success came knocking at Ray Romano’s door, the actor was a bit nervous to answer.

Though Everybody Loved Raymond may have debuted in 1996, it took nearly a year for the series to truly gain traction. Of course, once it found an audience, the series was a major hit with the public. But during a 1997 interview, Romano confessed that greater publicity wouldn’t necessarily ease his worries regarding the show.

"I’m neurotic anyway,” Romano said during an interview with News-Pilot. “So I’ll find something else to worry about.”

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Though he wasn’t quite as quirky as his on-screen counterpart, Romano had his fair share of anxieties just like the rest of us.

“It’s a no-win situation for me,” said the actor. “If it’s not a totally successful show, then I’m thinking, ‘Hey, how come, why don’t they like us?’ And if we ever become a top 10 show, I’d probably say we don’t deserve it, we’re fooling them.”

Such fears weren’t limited to television; Romano revealed that this line of thinking could be traced back to his early beginnings working as a stand-up comedian. “When I perform stand-up, there are some shows where everyone is clapping and laughing, and for whatever reason, I still don’t believe it.”

So while the success of Everybody Loves Raymond didn’t give Romano the confidence boost you might have expected, it may have done something even better. Romano’s fears kept him pushing to make the series as funny as it possibly could be. That’s what kept audiences laughing with him.