‘Cheers’ star Ted Danson opens up about impostor syndrome following sitcom’s premiere

Ted Danson is getting honest about his rise to fame. 

The “Cheers” star revealed the emotional challenges he endured before his iconic character, Sam Malone, became a fan favorite. The long-running series aired from 1982 to 1993.

During Danson and “Cheers” co-star Woody Harrelson’s podcast, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name,” the 76-year-old actor confessed he “didn’t know how to play Sam Malone” when he was first tapped into the role. He noted that it took him a year and a half to truly embrace his character.

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“Cheers” star Ted Danson shared on his podcast that he had challenges playing his popular character Sam Malone after the first season aired. (Getty Images)

“I did not know what arrogance meant. I had never been to a bar. I did not pick women up. I was not a womanizer. Maybe I wanted to be, but I wasn’t,” he further explained. 

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Danson played Sam Malone in the popular sitcom “Cheers” from 1982 to 1993. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for the Environmental Media Association)

“Women had to be standing opposite me naked for me to go, ‘Oh, me? You’re talking about me? Oh, wow…’ That’s the opposite of Sam Malone.”

Ted Danson and “Cheers” co-star Woody Harrelson host the podcast, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name.”  (Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

After the first pilot aired, Danson said he pulled the director aside, James Edward Burrows — sometimes known as “Jimmy” — and had a breakdown.

“It aired and, I said, ‘Jimmy, can I talk to you?’ and went behind the curtains… and broke into tears saying, ‘I’m really bad. I’m awful. I don’t know what to do,’” the actor explained.

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Danson continued saying that he wasn’t prepared for Burrows’ reaction. “He listened for a second, then broke into a huge laugh and walked off… so it was like, ‘Oh, all right. I’ll keep that one to myself.’”

“Cheers” cast: top row (l-r) George Wendt as Norm Peterson, Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Frasier Crane, John Ratzenberger as Cliff Clavin. middle row (l-r) Shelley Long as Diane Chambers, Ted Danson as Sam Malone. bottom row (l-r) Woody Harrelson as Woody Boyd and Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli. (Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actor’s comments came after he sat down with “Friends” star, Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay), and they discussed how difficult it was to understand their famous characters in the early days of their respective hit sitcoms.

Kudrow added that Danson’s interaction with his director was his “slap,” as their conversation highlighted moments where a colleague had to metaphorically “slap” an actor to make them realize that they were meant to play the roles. 

For Kudrow, it was a moment between her and co-star Matt LeBlanc, who famously played Joey in “Friends.”

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“Friends” cast: (L-R) Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox and Matt LeBlanc. (Jon Ragel/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal)

“It took me, if not a year and a half, maybe two seasons before I felt like I had Phoebe down,” Kudrow shared. “The things she said were so outrageously illogical that in order for me to justify them… I felt like ‘oof,’ it just took a lot of work to figure out.”

Kudrow went on to explain how she was getting upset with her performance and LeBlanc asked, “What’s going on with you?” 

“I said, ‘I’m being lazy. I’m not doing the work that I did first season, second season. I’m not doing the work I did for Phoebe, so it can’t be good,’ and he went, ‘No, you know who the character is now. You don’t need to do the work you did. You got it.'”

Kudrow said LeBlanc’s comments were “enough” for her to stop being “hysterical” and added that the conversation helped “slap” her back into her role.

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