Cheers star Ted Danson recalls the cast’s reaction to Woody Harrelson joining the famous NBC sitcom. Premiering in 1982, this critically acclaimed show aired for 11 seasons and 275 episodes. Set in Boston, the show primarily centered around the lives of the employees and frequent patrons at the eponymous Cheers bar. The show was led by an ensemble cast that included names like Danson, Kelsey Grammer, Rhea Pearlman, George Wendt, and Shelley Long.

Now, Danson, who plays Cheers owner Sam Malone, reminisces about the show in a conversation on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast.

The 76-year-old particularly recalls the cast’s response to the then 24-year-old Woody Harrelson’s inclusion in the sitcom, stating that they “just wanted to kick his ass in anything we could find.” The veteran actor added that they tried challenging Harrelson in basketball and chess games, but he always managed to win. Read his full quote below:

Thirty-seven is when you realize you’re no longer 25 or 24. So it was more not like hazing him, we just wanted to kick his ass in anything we could find. We started with basketball and as you later found out in life, he’s a really good basketball player, so he kicked our asses there.

Next, I have a vision of Johnny Ratzenberger, who played Cliff, out on the lawn by the stage doing, you know, the leg wrestling where you’re both on your back, and you try to flip the other guy with just your leg. John’s strong and got some thighs on him. Woody kicked his ass. I literally have a bad elbow to this day ’cause I wouldn’t give up arm wrestling. I did finally give up, because he was kicking my butt. So then we moved to chess.

F— this, sorry, to heck with this physical stuff, we’re gonna beat him mentally. Killed us at chess. So this is all in the first week really. So from then on it was like, if you had some awful mean prank to pull, you would not waste it on anyone else except Woody. And he is, to this day, that’s Woody Harrelson.

Harrelson Went On To Become An Important Fixture In Cheers

Harrelson Had The Difficult Job Of Replacing A Cast Member

Prior to starring in Cheers, Harrelson was a relatively unknown face, as he had only appeared as an uncredited extra in the 1978 comedy film Harper Valley PTA. His inclusion in Cheers, however, catapulted him to a bonafide star who has proven to be one of the greatest actors of his generation. Even though he went on to excel on Cheers playing the role of Woody Boyd, his inclusion was first met with a lot of pushback from both viewers and the cast for several reasons.

The circumstances in which Harrelson came on board the sitcom weren’t pleasant. Harrelson was brought in to replace Coach (Nicholas Colasanto) who sadly passed away in 1985 from a heart attack. It was always going to be a tall order to replace Colasanto, but Harrelson managed to seamlessly fill his boots, bringing a youthful zest and charm that ultimately helped the show’s success in its later years.

While Harrelson had to win over the audiences on screen, he had to do the same behind the cameras. Like Danson recalls in the above conversation, Woody is younger than the other Cheers cast members, and they also missed Colasanto dearly, so they didn’t immediately take a liking to him. By the end of Cheers, Harrelson had become a staple of the show, receiving 5 Emmy nominations for his role and winning one for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Cheers is available to stream on Hulu and Paramount+.

Source: Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend/YouTube