He’s the calming influence on his own talk show. The peacemaker who smoothes the feathers of ruffled guests before they start flinging chairs. But on “America’s Got Talent,” talk show icon Jerry Springer is becoming part of the confrontations.

“I sometimes take on the judges,” says Springer. “I’ll walk out on stage and tell them to cool it or tell them to quit insulting a contestant. I’ll tell them, ‘If you don’t want to pass them along [to the next round], that’s one thing. But don’t make a little girl cry.'”

Of the three judges, David Hasselhoff, Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan, Springer says it’s the acid-tongued Morgan who usually has to be put in his place. “In person, I find him very entertaining, very witty and fun. But he plays the bad guy. And his weapon is his command of the English language.”

Springer, who took over as host for “Talent’s” second season when Regis Philbin bowed out, says the contestants know he’s on their side.

“I don’t know that there’s anyone on the planet who’s spoken to more non-famous people than I have,” says Springer. “Johnny Carson was on longer, but he spoke to famous people. Same with Oprah. But we’ve had over 35,000 guests on my show.”

And now his career is getting a major shot of adrenaline from reality TV. He became a fan favorite last fall after shaking his maracas on the third season of “Dancing With The Stars.” When Simon Cowell (creator and executive producer of “Talent”) came calling, Springer saw an opportunity for prime time fame, even though he admits he didn’t think the show would produce anything special. “I started out being cynical,” says Springer. “You think, ‘It’s just another show. These people aren’t going to have any talent. What’s the point?’ But you walk into those audition rooms where you have 800 to 1,000 people and they’re all practicing, stretching, juggling, warming up their voices – and they look so happy. And some of them, you just say, ‘wow.’ It’s all very fun and exciting.”

And, oh, by the way, they all ask him for a dance.