Ted Danson Doesn’t Believe in ‘Chemistry,’ Despite Being Half of Sam and Diane

Possessor of one of the finest chins in existence, Ted Danson has been a heartthrob for decades now with no sign of stopping.
Nowadays, he hosts a podcast, which I think should be reserved for those of us who don’t, well, look like Ted Danson. Nevertheless, he and his Cheers co-star Woody Harrelson take to the mic to interview friends in film and further. Given their history and the fact that the podcast is called Where Everybody Knows Your Name, discussion of the Cheers days is anything but off-limits. Even though we all know that if anyone from Cheers was going to launch a podcast, it would clearly have been Cliff. You know he’d be recording live from a studio he called the Clave Cave.

Recently, Danson had Helen Hunt on the podcast, and when the conversation came around to casting, of course they discussed the pitch-perfect casting of Shelley Long as Diane to Danson’s Sam on Cheers, forever the quintessential will-they-won’t-they couple as far as sitcoms go. Jim and Pam can trade glances all they want, Sam and Diane’s jerseys are already hung in the rafters of Sexual Chemistry Stadium.
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Which is why it’s a little surprising for Ted Danson to say that he doesn’t fully believe in the idea of natural “chemistry” between two actors. He further explained: “People talk about chemistry. I always… Chemistry is take two really accomplished actors who are good actors and really good material. That’s your chemistry.”
Hmm.

Hunt pushed back, and Danson, to his credit, admitted he might be wrong.
To be honest, I can’t decide whether the fact that Danson is part of maybe the most undeniable on-screen chemistry of all time makes what he’s saying crazy or comes from someone with true knowledge. On one hand, it feels like one of those interviews with a football player who insists that they and their rival “have nothing but respect for each other” when they just got finished effectively slap-fighting for four quarters. On the other, if Danson wants to cede credit to the writers, he would know.
Not to mention, it seems doubly difficult to suggest the absence of sexual tension in a room containing Ted Danson and Helen Hunt. It’s like trying to say radiation is a myth standing 10 feet from the Demon Core.
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