Danson was talking to Howie Mandel (for his Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast) about his relationship with series star Kelsey Grammer, which made headlines earlier this year when the two men talked about a largely unspoken multi-decade rift between them on Danson’s own podcast. (Among other things, Danson chastised himself during that conversation for having wasted “these 30 years of no Kelsey.”) For what it’s worth, the A Man On The Inside star clarified that his decision to turn down the nu-Frasier asks had less to do with his relationship with Grammer than with his relationship with Sam Malone: “How the fuck do you play Sam Malone in his 60s, or now 70s? It’s amusing to be an aging adolescent when you’re in your 30s, 40s, but not when you’re in your 70s. So I thought, I don’t know how to do that.”
Danson also noted that he didn’t know how to play the character without him being written by Cheers writers. (His original Frasier installment, “The Show Where Sam Shows Up,” was penned by Cheers vets Ken Levine and David Isaacs.) Danson says he did end up having a change of heart on the topic—but, alas, it came too late, as Frasier was well on its way to having its eggs scrambled and its salads tossed for the final time. “Last year, I did say, ‘Absolutely,’” Danson revealed. “Ask me and I will come do it because I felt like I not only owed it to him, but I wanted to.” It’s a sobering reminder: Is there a Frasier reboot in your life that you’re saying no to because you metaphorically don’t know how to play a popular sitcom character 30 years after the last time you played him, and also you feel you’ve lost touch with your half-hour sitcom roots? You never know when it might be too late!
[via People]
