Ted Danson's 50-year career The momentum in Hollywood isn't slowing down any time soon.
The “Cheers” star will receive the Carol Burnett Award for “outstanding contributions to television on and off television” at next month's Golden Globe Awards.
The 76-year-old also stars in the new Netflix series A Man on the Inside. Danson plays a retired professor who loses his wife and begins working as a private investigator by infiltrating nursing homes as a hobby.
“My favorite kind of comedy has a serious element, and in this case it's a very funny premise,” he said. people magazine of the series.
Ted Danson plays a retired professor who infiltrates a nursing home to help a private investigator in Netflix's “A Man on the Inside.” (Colleen E. Hayes/Netflix)
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“A Man on the Inside” is based on a true story chronicled in the 2020 documentary “The Mole Agent.”
“There's something inherently interesting about a 76-year-old man. [retired] Danson told the magazine, “He's a university professor, his life is closed, and he's worried about his daughter, so I said, “Here's a project,'' and he happened to come up with a project to become an undercover spy at a nursing home. I found it on a whim,” he said.
Danson said the show's setting was “inherently interesting” as his character “found a project on a whim to be an undercover spy in a nursing home”. (Colleen E. Hayes/Netflix)
He continued, “We explore aging, things that are sometimes scary to talk about in this country, memory loss, all of that, and discuss it with a gentleness and seriousness that is still contained within a certain frivolity.” You can do it in a fun way. ”
“I'm 76 years old and I'm so happy to be a part of this conversation, which is becoming more and more of a conversation in my life,” he said.
“We get to explore aging, something that we're sometimes afraid to talk about in this country,” Danson said. (Colleen E. Hayes/Netflix)
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Danson made her television debut in 1975 on the soap opera “Somerset,'' and had one-off appearances in several series, including “Laverne & Shirley,'' “Magnum PI,'' and “Taxi,'' before getting her breakout role on “Cheers.''
“Cheers” catapulted Danson to stardom, and he played bar owner Sam Malone for 275 episodes from 1982 to 1993.
Danson rose to fame on “Cheers,” along with George Wendt, Kelsey Grammer, John Ratzenberger and Shelley Long. (Gary Null/NBCU Photobank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Danson continued to appear in film and television, appearing on the sitcom Becker, subsequent seasons of CSI and Fargo, and guest starring as a fictionalized version of himself in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. did.
In 2016, Danson starred in the NBC comedy The Good Place, which received critical acclaim and three Emmy nominations.
Danson co-starred with Kristen Bell in The Good Place. (Colleen Hayes/NBC)
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The actor has starred in numerous series during his career, but in his latest film he finds special meaning in the story.
“I'm a stupid guy who stays young by doing stupid things. So does this match my age and what we think of when we think of nursing homes?” he says. I did it Los Angeles Times when he was considering the role.
“Now that I'm 76 years old, I'm so happy to be a part of this conversation. It's becoming more and more of a conversation in my life.”
He continued, “I've been saying to myself for the last couple of years, 'I want to keep working as long as my strength lasts, because I want to know what it's like to try to be funny at any age. ''' he said. I don't want to get younger or cling to who I used to be, I want to grow old and celebrate my old age. and humor. “
Danson admitted that when he turned 70 in 2017, he was thinking about finding a “landing point” midway through his life. “Good place” He added that he thought, “I need to slow down and be careful.”
At age 70, Danson thought about finding a “landing point.” (Robert Trachtenberg/NBC/NBCU Photobank via Getty Images)
Ted Danson didn't “grow emotionally” until he was in his 40s, but he “didn't choose to start over.”
But it was actually his wife Mary Steenburgen's Book Club co-star Jane Fonda that inspired him to continue working.
“I met Jane, and she was 80 years old and had her foot on the gas. When I turned 70, she was 80 years old. And she was in 'Grace and Frankie' We would shoot for a day and then get on the bus and go out together.'' Some of the women wanted to do something for Sacramento's service industry. Why plan for decline? We tell our kids that they can grow up and do anything, but we stop telling ourselves that at a certain age,” Danson explained. .
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Danson and Steenburgen met when they were both in their 40s, already married and had children.
“I wasn't fully emotional until just before I met Mary,” Danson says. told the people In a recent interview.
“I wasn't completely emotional until just before I met Mary,” Danson said of his wife of nearly 30 years. (Robin Beck/AFP via Getty Images)
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They first met at an audition in 1983 and remained friends until the early 1990s, when their relationship deepened, especially after co-starring in 1994's Pontiac Moon.
“I decided about a year ago that I wanted to become a more emotionally mature and honest person,” he recalled. Asked if he wanted to meet her, he said: “I've been working very hard. Otherwise, I don't think Mary Steenburgen would have seen me. So yes. The answer is no. Sooner. I'm glad we never met,” he told the media. We should have met earlier.
In a 2019 interview closer weeklyDanson said, “We met when I was 45 and she was 40. We were living a little bit. We both saw some demons within ourselves. I was lucky to meet him at that time.''
Danson and Steenburgen married in 1995 and have four children, Danson's daughters Kate and Alexis, and Steenburgen's children with ex-husband Malcolm McDowell, Lily and Charlie.
The couple married in 1995 after first meeting in 1983. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
“I thought, 'Oh, I see. Don't slow down and cross the goal line with all your might.'”
Both men are now in their 70s, and Danson joked that he prefers “early bird” specials to late-night dates.
“At my age, dating is like an early bird date,” he says. told the people.
Danson joked that he and Steenburgen were having an “early bird special” instead of a date night. (Michael Tran/AFP via Getty Images)
“The most fun is early in the morning, 4:30 a.m., in bed drinking coffee, playing Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee, talking, laughing, and sharing,” he continued. “This is like heaven on earth for both of us.”
Mr Danson and Mr Steenburgen both continue to work, and Mr Dunson in particular is keen to encourage older people, including himself, not to slow down.
Danson has this advice for his peers: “Keep your foot on the gas. Live! This is your life until it's gone. Go for it.” (Colleen E. Hayes/Netflix)
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“For those of us, people my age and older, you still have a lot to contribute,” he told People. “So go out and keep going. The way you take life to the end is an inspiration to young people coming up and your children. Because often people… Because they believe that creativity and creativity have a limited lifespan and do not contribute to life. ”
He told the Times: “Keep your foot on the gas. Live! This is your life until it's gone. Go for it.”
