Ted Danson admits it took two years for ‘Cheers’ to embrace sex symbol status
NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
Ted Danson couldn’t believe that women found him attractive during his early days on “Cheers.”
In a recent episode of his podcast, “When Everyone Knows Your Name,” the 78-year-old actor interviewed Parent Trap star Lisa Ann Walter, and had a surprising response when she asked him “what happens when you find out you’re hot.”
“I won’t go back too far because I don’t have to, but I was a guy who would be real, a woman would stand across from me naked and I’d be going ‘What?’ I would look over my shoulder and say, ‘You mean me?'” he said. “Actually, it took me until the second year of ‘Cheers’ when I decided, ‘You know what? Keep your mouth shut, Ted.’
The actress said that whenever she was not on set and “someone would say something” about her gender identity, she would start to protest, and before she caught herself, she remarked, “I’m going to have to swallow it.”
Danson shared that it took her a while to accept that people find her attractive. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
‘I’M DREAMING OF JEANNIE’ STAR BARBARA EDEN NEVER SEES HERSELF AS SEXUAL DESPITE REASONABLE RISE
He went on to say that if someone complimented him saying “he is sexy and so funny”, he says this is because of the show’s decision to hire “women who look very attractive to look at Sam Malone and say, ‘Wow, he is sexy'”.
“I found that dress and I finally learned to shut up,” he said.
Walter later assured Danson that while he may not have felt it, “you were selling,” and it wasn’t just “the women they put around you.”
Danson starred as Sam Malone on “Cheers” for more than 12 years, from 1982 to 1993, a role that earned him two Emmy Awards for lead actor in a comedy.
Danson starred in “Cheers” for 12 years and 11 seasons. (Photos by Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty)
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
“Cheers” came to an end after 11 seasons when Danson decided to leave the show to pursue other opportunities, the management decided to end the show when he left.
“I was transitioning to get better and working hard on that, so I thought, ‘I might as well just jump off a cliff,'” Danson shared of his decision to leave the show in an August 2025 episode of the podcast. “And again [there was] a little … ‘If I don’t leave now, I might not know what I can do, and I want to see if I can do something else.'”
After his time on the show, Danson appeared in films like “Pontiac Moon” and “Saving Private Ryan,” as well as hit television shows like, “Becker,” “Damages,” Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”
Most recently, he introduced himself to younger audiences playing a demon named Michael, in “The Good Place,” a role that earned him three Emmy Award nominations.
LIKE YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE FUN NEWS
Danson currently stars in Netflix’s hit drama, “Man on the Inside.” (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
“I love it when 12-year-olds and their parents come and tell me how much they love watching ‘The Good Place.’,’” Danson told Vanity Fair in June 2019. “I’m so grateful that I got to be a part of a show that I think is actually, in an amazing, silly, fun, and inspiring way, means something.”
Danson currently stars in the Netflix drama “The Man Inside,” playing a retired professor who gets a new job as a spy.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
