How Ted Danson Has Thrived by Finding ‘the Laugh in the Sadness’

No one else can claim the kind of television career that Ted Danson has had. Sure, there are several actors who have appeared on multiple hit shows. But Danson has been a primetime staple over five decades now, with continual hit shows since the moment he hit superstardom as Sam Malone on “Cheers” in 1982.

“Cheers” was an NBC megahit that lasted for a whopping 275 episodes over 11 seasons. He followed that up with another hit, “Becker,” that ran for six seasons and 129 episodes on CBS. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, he turned to drama with main roles in FX’s “Damages” and CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” before discovering NBC’s “The Good Place” — and starting a fruitful relationship with creator Mike Schur, who is now also behind Danson’s latest hit star turn in Netflix’s “A Man on the Inside.”

“It was such a fun, comforting, happy thing to be back on set writing words for Ted,” Schur says. And for Danson, the feeling was mutual: “It was that sense of sweet, kind, funny, meaningful conversations about things that I’m at the right age to be talking about.”

Now, in recognition of his successful long body of work, the Golden Globes is recognizing Danson with its Carol Burnett Award — the ceremony’s highest television honor. “I would be happy with a cookie named after Carol Burnett. I love her, I adore her, I respect her so much,” he says.

But what’s more, in a bit of serendipity, Danson has also been nominated this year for best actor in a TV series, musical or comedy, for “A Man on the Inside.” It reps Danson’s first Globe nom since 2007 (for “Damages”); he has previously won three Golden Globes: Two for “Cheers” (in 1990 and 1991) and one for the TV movie “Something About Amelia” in 1985.

“A Man on the Inside” stars Danson as Charles, a widower who’s taken to a lonely routine after his wife’s death. On a lark, he takes a job with a private investigator to infiltrate a retirement home and spy on its residents. Soon, Charles makes a connection with his fellow aging peers — and an antidote to that loneliness.

“I’ve never had a role quite like Charles,” Danson says. “It’s rare to get the opportunity to explore a character that is this rich and nuanced. It’s even rare to get to play a character my own age, surrounded by vibrant peers with stories that reflect that lived experience. Since the show premiered, it’s been amazing to hear the reception and see how so many people from different generations are connecting to the story, finding not just laughs, but meaning and deep emotion.”

Danson, of course, has also been seen playing a version of himself throughout the run of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and had a major role in Season 2 of FX’s “Fargo.” He has been nominated for 18 Emmys — 11 of which came from every single season of “Cheers.” He won two of those, in 1990 and 1993.

These days, Danson says he gravitates toward roles that contain a bit of drama in the comedy, or comedy in the drama. And that’s why he’s proud of “A Man on the Inside.”

“My joy, the thing that makes me happiest in a script or in life, is if you can find the laugh in the sadness. Or if it’s a drama, if you can find the laugh underneath it,” he says. “If it’s a comedy, I want to know that there’s sadness at the bottom of that funny. That’s my favorite kind of thing to act.”