Ted Danson is being honest about his rise to fame.
The “Cheers” star revealed the emotional ordeals his iconic character Sam Malone endured before becoming a fan favorite on the long-running series, which aired from 1982 to 1993.
On a podcast with Danson and his “Cheers” co-star Woody Harrelson, “Where everyone knows your name” The 76-year-old actor admitted that he “had no idea how to play Sam Malone” when he was first cast for the role, and said it took him a year and a half to really embrace the character.
Ted Danson pours more cold water on Cheers reunion hopes: ‘I think it’s a little sad’
“Cheers” star Ted Danson said on his podcast that he struggled with playing the popular character Sam Malone after the sitcom’s first season aired. (Getty Images)
“I didn’t know what arrogance meant. I’d never been to a bar. I’d never picked up a woman. I was never a womanizer. Maybe I wanted to be, but I wasn’t,” he further explained.
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Danson played Sam Malone on the hit sitcom “Cheers” from 1982 to 1993. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images, courtesy of the Environmental Media Association)
“Unless these women were standing in front of me naked, I wouldn’t be like, ‘Oh my God? Oh my God?’ I’m the polar opposite of Sam Malone.”
Danson and his Cheers co-star Woody Harrelson host the podcast “Where Everybody Knows Your Name.” (Gary Null/NBCU Photobank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images, via Getty Images)
After the first pilot aired, Danson reportedly called director James Edward Burrows (known as “Jimmy”) and was furious.
“It aired and I hid behind the curtain saying, ‘Jimmy, can I talk to you?’ … And I was crying and I said, ‘I’m so useless. I’m the worst. I don’t know what to do,'” the actor explained.
Ted Danson says he and his wife Mary Steenburgen are “madly in love” and “having the best time ever.”
Danson went on to say that he wasn’t expecting Burroughs’ reaction: “He listened for a bit, then he had a good laugh and walked away, so I was like, ‘Oh, OK, I’ll keep that to myself.'”
Cast of “Cheers”: top row (left) George Wendt as Norm Peterson, Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Fraser Crane, John Ratzenberger as Cliff Clavin. middle row (left) Shelley Long as Diane Chambers, Ted Danson as Sam Malone. bottom row (left) Woody Harrelson as Woody Boyd, Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli. (Gary Null/NBCU Photobank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
The “Crazy Energy” actor’s comments came after he sat down with Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe Buffay on “Friends,” to discuss how difficult it was to get into their famous characters in the early days of their respective hit comedies.
Kudrow added that Danson’s exchange with the director was a “slap in the face” to the director, as their conversation highlighted a scene in which the colleague had to figuratively “slap” the actor to make them realize they should play the part.
For Kudrow, it was a moment between her and co-star Matt LeBlanc, who famously played Joey on Friends.
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Cast of “Friends”: (from left) Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox and Matt LeBlanc. (John Reigel/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal)
“It took me about two seasons, if not a year and a half, before I felt like I got Phoebe right,” Kudrow said. “The things she said were so illogical, and to justify it was like… ‘Ugh.’ It took a lot of effort to get it.”
Kudrow explained that she was upset about her performance, to which LeBlanc asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I said, ‘You’re being lazy. You’re not doing the work that you did in season one, season two. You’re not doing the work that you did for Phoebe, so it’s not going to be good,’ and he said, ‘No, you already know who this character is. You don’t need to do the work that you did. You understand that.’
Kudrow said LeBlanc’s comments were “enough” to stop her from becoming “hysterical,” adding that the conversation helped her “get back on track.”
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