The one co-star Ted Danson hated at first sight: “No, no, no, do not hire her”
Actors don’t have to like each other to work together, and they don’t even have to like each other to generate chemistry onscreen, with Ted Danson initially vehement in his opposition to a co-star he didn’t quite grow to love, but learned to tolerate eventually.
Sometimes, two people don’t mix, and that’s fine. It happens in workplaces all around the world, but everyone manages to put any personal animosity to one side until the job gets done, even if the bad blood sometimes devolves into screaming matches and fisticuffs after a few post-work pints.
Thespians tend to be a more precious bunch than most, though, and while Danson did ultimately stop short of saying he was won over by the person he was adamant he never wanted hired in the first place, he made his peace with the fact that they were the right choice for the part, and everyone benefited in the long run.
Weirdly, despite being a working actor for over 50 years, the sitcom veteran doesn’t believe in the idea of chemistry. “I always say, chemistry is, take two really accomplished actors, who are good actors, and give them really good material,” Danson offered. “That’s your chemistry.” An odd sentiment from someone best known for small-screen comedies, but he’s entitled to believe what he believes.
According to Danson, all onscreen chemistry is completely manufactured through a combination of dramatic or comedic chops and the strength of the writing, not whatever sparks may or may not fly between two people when the cameras aren’t rolling, although he did admit his theory isn’t bulletproof.
“They take what I say, and do the exact opposite and are very successful,” he joked, using one long-time colleague as the perfect example. “I looked at Shelley Long when we were auditioning for Cheers,” he reflected. “I went, ‘No, no, no. Do not hire her. It’ll ruin the show,'” which wasn’t the case.
“She made the show,” he acknowledged. “She came out hitting a home run, day one.”
For the first five seasons, the complicated relationship between Danson’s Sam Malone and Long’s Diane Chambers was one of Cheers‘ main narrative bedrocks, until the latter departed the show. He wouldn’t exactly have considered them friends at any point, but after being so resistant to her casting at first, he did at least recognise that she was a worthy sparring partner.
“We were so different,” he said. “Grew to love her, absolutely. But different. It was hard for us to sit around and just talk. But when we got in front of a camera, it was like a prize fight.” Ironically, Long didn’t even want to audition for Cheers in the first place; she would have preferred to have been offered the job outright, and she needed convincing to read for the role, which is where Danson’s issues first arose.
He may not believe in the concept of chemistry between actors being a naturally occurring phenomenon, but anyone who watched Cheers would disagree, since their two characters had plenty of it.
