Ted Danson didn’t believe his sex symbol status during his time on Cheers.
Ted Danson didn’t believe his sex symbol status
The 78-year-old actor, who rose to fame as barman Sam Malone in the beloved 80s sitcom, admitted he struggled with the idea that women found him attractive.
During a conversation with Parent Trap’s Lisa Ann Walter on his Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast, she asked Ted “what happened when you figured out what a hottie you were”.
He responded: “I won’t go back too far because it’s not necessary, but I was the guy who literally I would be, the woman would be standing opposite me naked and I’d be going ‘What?’
“I’d look over my shoulder and be like, ‘You mean me?’ Literally, it took me until the second year of Cheers when I decided, ‘You know what? Keep your mouth shut, Ted.'”
The Good Place star found himself protesting any time “somebody would say something” positive about his looks.
He recalled that when he had a compliment from anyone calling him “so sexy and so funny”, he credited it all with Cheers bosses hiring “very sexy looking women to look at Sam Malone and go, ‘Wow, he’s sexy'”.
Ted added: “I got that mantle and I finally learned to keep my mouth shut.”
Ted, who has recently been seen leading Netflix’s spy sitcom A Man On The Inside, starred as Sam on Cheers from 1982 to 1993.
He eventually decided to leave the legendary show to pursue other acting opportunities, which prompted TV bosses to end Cheers after 11 seasons.
Meanwhile, last month Ted revealed that he is “doing some things differently” after a recent mystery health scare.
Speaking on his podcast, he said: “The last thing that kind of hit me that was very liberating was I had a bit of a health scare.
“I’m totally fine, but it was like, ‘Oh, well, that’s real.’”
Ted didn’t reveal any specifics about the health problems, but insisted he “hadn’t f***** up in some way”.
He added: “It was very humbling and calming, and I’m fine.
“I think it was the best thing that could have happened to me, and I’m doing some things differently.”
The health scare has changed Ted in a more profound way too, and given him what he has described as “the biggest gift of all”, which is being more interested in those around him.
He said: “You can be curious about other people. You can listen and you can be supportive, caring. You can witness them…
“And I do believe that the rest of my life is to be curious and listen. That’s the best thing I can offer.”
