Ted Danson Admits It Took Him Years to Accept That Women Thought He Was a 'Hottie' During “Cheers” Fame
Ted Danson Admits It Took Him Years to Accept That Women Thought He Was a 'Hottie' During “Cheers” Fame
Desiree AnelloSun, June 7, 2026 at 10:58 AM UTC
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Ted Danson at 31st Critics Choice Awards; Ted Danson on 'Cheers'Credit: Getty(2) -
Ted Danson admitted that it took him two years to come to terms with the fact that women found him attractive while he was playing Sam Malone in Cheers
"It took me until the second year of Cheers when I decided, 'You know what? Keep your mouth shut, Ted,'" he recalled
The actor also credited the show's writing and his costars for making him seem "sexy"
For Ted Danson, being an '80s heartthrob took some getting used to.
While speaking to Lisa Ann Walter during a May 27 episode of his Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast, the Cheers alum, 78, admitted that it took him a while to figure out "what a hottie" he was, as the Parent Trap star put it.
"I won't go back too far because it's not necessary," Danson said. "But I was the guy who literally — it sounds funny, and it kind of is — but I would be, the woman would be standing opposite me naked and I'd be going, 'What?' "
Nicholas Colasanto, Shelley Long, Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, George Wendt on 'Cheers'Credit: Everett
"I'd look over my shoulder and be like, 'You mean me?' " he continued. "Literally, it took me until the second year of Cheers when I decided, 'You know what? Keep your mouth shut, Ted.' "
Emphasizing that the show featured some "very sexy-looking women," Danson gave credit to the show's writing for cementing his heartthrob status, as his female costars would "look at Sam Malone and go, 'Wow, he's sexy'" — making the viewers believe it themselves.
Danson portrayed Sam Malone on Cheers for 11 seasons, from 1982 to 1993. In the early years, he found himself having to "swallow" his objections when people complimented him outside the show.
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"I got that mantle and finally learned to keep my mouth shut," he said.
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Ted Danson attends the 32nd Annual Actor AwardsCredit: Neilson Barnard/Getty
Beyond learning to come to terms with his "hottie" status, Danson previously opened up about how he coped with being known as Malone after the series ended.
"First off, the transition was easy 'cause I blew my personal life up so badly in that moment of leaving that it didn't even dawn on me that I had quite left Cheers for months 'cause I was just dealing with myself and my personal stuff," he told Charlie Day in an August episode of his podcast. "I think I left Cheers 'cause I went, 'I'm blowing s--- up in my life for the better.' "
"I was changing for the better and working really hard at that, so I thought, 'Might as well jump completely off the cliff,' " he added. "And [there was] a little bit of... if I don't leave now, I may not know if I could do anything else and I wanna see if I can do any other stuff."
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
