Posted in: NBC, TV | Tagged: cheers, ted danson

Cheers: Ted Danson on Avoiding "Sam Malone" Typecasting After Series

Ted Danson on Cheers' legacy and taking non-Sam Malone-like roles to avoid typecasting with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Charlie Day.

Ted Danson is undoubtedly no stranger to sitcom success, but it's hard to imagine the trajectory his career would have taken had it not been for his hit NBC series Cheers. Not only did he appear in all 269 episodes across 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993, but he's also had success in film and joined several ensemble casts, including runs on CBS's Becker, FX's Damages, CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and NBC's The Good Place. Danson, who played former baseball player-turned-bar owner Sam Malone in the Les Charles, James Burrows, and Glen Charles-created series, spoke with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Charlie Day on his podcast, Where Everybody Knows Your Name, about their respective runs and the longevity they've both enjoyed, while also avoiding getting typecast.

Cheers Star Ted Danson Reflects on Series After Run and Shaping His Career Since

When Day asked Danson what it was like after Cheers, "I think I left Cheers because I went, 'I'm blowing shit up in my life for the better,'" he said. "I was changing for the better and working really hard at that, so I thought, might as well jump completely off the cliff." Sam was a chronic womanizer, falling in love off and on with Shelley Long's Diane Chambers in the first five seasons and later, with the late Kirstie Alley's Rebecca Howe.

As far as the premise of the series, "My job was to love every character in the bar, unconditional love of everybody there, and that allowed the audience into that wacky world," Danson said. "That's how Jimmy Burrows described it. So it was easier to not be Sam Malone than probably it was some of the other characters."

When it came to where Danson wanted his career to go afterward, "The whole typecasting thing is, I think, in your hands," he said. "There are little bumps in the road where critics or people don't want you to be anything else because they discovered you and love you how you are." Day, who plays lovable eccentric bartender Charlie Kelly, co-created Sunny with co-stars Rob Mac, and Glenn Howerton, which wrapped its 17th season in August. The series has come a long way since premiering in 2005, alongside co-stars Kaitlin Olson and Danny DeVito, who joined the cast in season two, becoming the longest-running series for FX. For more, you can check out the entire episode.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!