Ted Danson’s Career After ‘Cheers’: 2 Reasons He Avoided Typecasting
The NBC comedy Cheers was Ted Danson’s big break. He’s been on several hit shows since, but still, 11 years on Cheers is hard to top. Fortunately, Danson said he never felt typecast by Sam Malone after Cheers ended. That’s thanks in part to two big reasons.
Danson was a guest on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast on March 11, 2018 promoting The Good Place Season 2. Addressing his storied career, Danson attributed his creative freedom to two sources.
Ted Danson didn’t play the wacky role on ‘Cheers’
They say a bartender is everybody’s therapist. Sam was the bartender, whether he owned Cheers for the first five seasons or worked for Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) the latter six. As long as there were characters like Norm (George Wendt), Cliff (John Ratzenberger), Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Carla (Rhea Perlman) around Sam, Danson could be a cipher.
“A little bit because my character’s job, my job as an actor, was to let the audience in,” Danson said on WTF. “I was the portal and not the crazy zany. I was a little more sane. My job was to love everyone else and their craziness. It’s great because I truly do love them. They were astounding.”
Ted Danson hooked up with good writers after ‘Cheers’
Five years after Cheers ended, Danson starred in another long running comedy. Becker lasted for six seasons. Danson credited the creator with giving him a role distinct enough to distinguish himself from Sam Malone.
“Dave Hackel wrote that and it was so good,” Danson said. “After having such a memorable Sam Malone like character to play, it was great to have something that was equally strong in a different direction.”
From comedy to drama
Becker was a doctor. After it ended, Danson got to do drama in Damages, CSI and Fargo, plus more comedy in Bored to Death, The Good Place and Mr. Mayor. Still, Danson jokes that all of them are Sam Malone in a different job.
“Basically, I play Sam Malone became a doctor, Sam Malone works for the police,” Danson joked. “It’s all Sam Malone. How shall I do my hair? How would Sam do my hair?”
Getting serious about his versatility, Danson said there’s no substitute for hard work.
If you have to learn how to do something, shoot a bow and arrow and you’re not good at it, so you practice. You practice the stuff you don’t know how to do. I should say, not you. I practice. Then to me, if it’s really good writing, I just keep trying on the words over and over and over and over again and the words start to play you. If they’re good words, they start to play you like an instrument. Just go with where they’re leading you. Good writing does that. Good writing is just delicious. You just hop on board.
Ted Danson, WTF, 3/11/18
