Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson - Side Dish: More with Ted Danson

Episode Date: February 12, 2026

More of my interview with ‘Where Everybody Knows Your Name’ podcast co-host and TV legend Ted Danson. We get into a terrifying moment on stage, acting opposite his wife Mary Steenburgen in this season of the Netflix series ‘A Man on the Inside,’ and his parents’ reaction to him becoming a TV star. This episode was recorded at Max & Helen’s in Larchmont Village, Los Angeles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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The Good Place, and a man on the inside. Oh, I should say he's also a podcast host. He has a great podcast with Woody Harrelson, his co-star from Shears, called Where Everybody Knows Your Name. Anyway, we sat down at the very buzzy and hot new diner in Larchmont Village, Max and Helens. We talk about some of Ted's most iconic roles, his fascinating career pivots, and stories from a life lived fully both on screen and off. And to get back into the conversation, you're pulling up a chair as we discuss Ted writing a book. Somebody asked me, they wanted to write a book about me, and they were legit enough, like a New York Times writer, the credibility of him. was interesting. Yeah.

And then I sat there realizing, I, like you do, share about myself in this format. Yeah. Which I really love. I really love doing this. Yeah.

So why would I want to book? Well, you compile everything, and like it's... And then you get those, like, those middle eight glossy pages that have photos of you as a child. Those video, plenty of video. That's right.

That's right. I'm reading a book about Truman Capote right now because I'm doing a play about Truman Capote coming up and I'm finding it fascinating to go that in depth with learning about someone that I feel like I know so well and there's so much more information but there is something nice about... Where are you doing this?

In New York. Wow, how exciting. It's very exciting. One man? One man show. Oh, you stupid, stupid. It's the third time I've done a one-man show. That brings me.

fear just in my... I've heard you say that you're scared of Shakespeare and theater. Everything. You're scared of everything. Everything. But in the category of theater... Yeah, I think I've told this before, but who cares? You know the Atlantic Theater in New York.

Yes. Oh, no. I have listened to this. Tell me again. I don't have to, but it's scared this... You had a panic attack on stage. Basically is what happened. Within 12 seconds of my first... word on stage. It was a 20-minute monologue. It was rehearsed for less than a week. I'll give myself some wiggle room. Listen, yeah. But the adrenaline, it's like sticking your finger in a light socket and just your whole body goes z-z-z-h. Yeah. The white room they call it. Yes. And in that z-z-it, you go,

fuck, I can't believe this. It's happening. My car's outside. I'll just go, you know, my daughter's in the audience. Should I cry? God damn it. Yeah. In that ZZ. Yeah. Yeah. My sweet daughter had to walk me around

a city block with a big gallon of water drinking to literally get that amount of adrenaline out of my body. I was just shaking. Well, I mean... It was very good after that moment. I'm sure it was excellent. Was it a one-time only

thing? Or did you get a... It was a week. It was a week. do, yeah. And I think you talked about this one. I heard you tell the story before, but every night when you got to that point of the monologue, which you were said was about 12 seconds then, you had a little mini panic attack in your body thinking. And I, my sweet friend, Neil Pepey, who's the artistic director and Mary who runs

to school, they're great friends. But he after the opening night of it, very sweetly said, why don't we meet at the theater a couple hours early? tomorrow. Please, you know. And he got there, and I'm just rehearsing with him every moment. I got my whole body. Yeah.

But he got me flapping my mouth just on automatic pilot in that two-sentence, a little blip that terrified me. Yeah. And that night, my body went insane, but my mouth kept flapping. What was great about it was It was a monologue about a man, middle management Who's nervously addressing the audience going through his day Because I'm trying to piece together

How why his something horrible You don't know why and as he gets going He takes you back home after his day And his wife said, will you get something from the basement for me And he'll go down and he remembers and realizes that his basement is hell, literal hells, you know. Yeah.

Fire and brimstone hell. And he's horrified. And he comes back out in terror. She won't listen, gives him the dog to go walk. And by the time he's finished walking the dog, he comes back in having forgotten. So every day is this. So the panic that was in.

my body. Yeah. Made me look kind of brilliant as an actor. Right, right. It was appropriate for the character. Yeah. Yeah. You weren't paying like a Buddha Zen master. So, hats off to you.

I know. One man shows are terrifying. I've done a few of them and I have forgotten my lines and have gone up and I've made it through. And yet somehow I'll still go back and I'll do this again. I will say like my favorite part of being an actor in general, just. not even just on stage, but is doing ensemble work, and taking that element away and not having other actors to play opposite of is, you know, not my favorite part about...

I would prefer not to be on stage by myself. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Ted shares a story of the Unforgettable Tonight Show with Jay Leno episode when Cheers ended, and we bond over how acting helped us come out of our shells. Okay, be right back. Okay, I have a confession to make. seafood used to really stress me out.

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Brilliant show. Really? I can't say that enough. Thank? Really? So good. I trust you. I trust that you like it.

Wow. It was one of those shows that I, you know how much I liked it? What? I refused to watch it through the longest time. I have a lot of friends who just started watching. It's too good. Too good.

I need to find my footing, and I don't have my footing right now. So. And then finally I came to. reruns and I just devoured it. That's incredible. That means a lot. Thank you. So we finished our run of modern family right before the pandemic.

And so, you know, you know what it's like when you end a series that's been on for 11 years and people love? It's like you kind of go into this victory lap with, after the show's done. And, you know, you do press and all these things. And we were all excited to go on to late night talk shows and do press. And we were all on Zoom.

Zoom, you know, meetings and Zoom press appearances. And I know, because I watched this, so different than what happened at the end of your Brun and Cheers, because what happened after the finale of Cheers was there was a live cast party on Jay Leno. This is on, ma'am. We were asked to come to the Bowling Finch, the bar. The real bar. The real bar, which years took place, yeah.

And the facade of it is what we used or the outside of the building. We were asked to come at noon and we would do Leno at 11.30 in the evening. We came to do press and hang out and reunite because we hadn't seen each other for,

I don't know, three or four months. you know this was the final aired show but we had finished shooting it months before so they invite us you know we're a little bit rock and roll

because Cheers ended up popular and we're in a bar and you think we're going to be sober by the time Leno there's this wonderful memory I'll never forget

we're all sitting in stools ironically I think the most sober person was Kelsey everyone else was just eyes spinning shit based on everything known to man and Jay

who was I think this was early days Jay Leno yeah Jay Leno was sitting there last minute people talking in his ears doing notes looking at his notes doing this and five four three to one and he puts it down and looks up and goes

oh my God falling off your stools. We got a lot of flack for it, but... I just, I mean, I wish we had had a victory lap like that. Yeah. Truly. Yeah. Iconic.

You will, you are. Yeah. No, I mean, we all remain very close. Do you remain close? I know you obviously are close with Woody. Yes, and we... Dear Lord, I mean, it's so bizarre. George Went. It's not here. I know.

That is still so... Yeah. Kirstie. Kirstie. Yeah. You know? It's very strange. Mm-hmm.

May you live a long time and wonder where your former castmates are and how they're doing. We do stay in touch. We don't hang out all the time because everyone has families and, you know, work and all of that. Yeah, yeah. There's instant love when you see those people you hung out with. and you giggled with, you know, all day long for 11 years. Truly, I mean, no one will understand what it was like to be part of that white-hot thing except for those other people.

The front-facing people of that white-hot thing, you know? Obviously, there's a crew of people that were also part of that ride, but to be the face of a head show like that, the only other people that are going to know what that feels like are your fellow cast members. And I think that's a bond that really keeps, it's very special. I feel that with my cast. What did your parents think about this? They were around with this when shears became so successful.

Yes, and so they were thrilled for me. My father always thought I should get a teaching degree in case it didn't work out. My mom was just thrilled. She was in a grand appreciator. I think I got that from her. Yeah. You know. and so enthusiastic about life.

So they were happy, and then they bought their first TV so they could watch Cheers. So sweet. Put a little religious tapestry over the front of the TV until it was time to watch Cheers. No. Was it the only thing they turned it on for? They, you know, they got hooked.

Yeah. They got suckered into it, you know. Was it one of those huge TVs that's like a piece of furniture? No. No? Okay. Very medium. Oh, God, it's so good.

Yeah. Very sweet. How about yours? Did they get to... Yeah, no idea. Yeah, my parents both were... Are they alive? Are they alive?

A little over a year ago, but she was able to... You know, she was very, very supportive in my career. And both of my parents, when I wanted to move to New York to pursue theater, they were really, really supportive. But I had been... I have been wanting to do that since I was way too young to even know what being a theater actor was. And so I think that they sort of saw that the writing was on the wall and that I was going to do this thing.

Yes. They're really, really proud. Because you weren't coming home giggling with joy every day from school in Albuquerque. Yeah, no, I mean, to have some sort of an outlet that, and also I was incredibly shy and I think I really took my mom. a while to figure out, like, why does he want to, for this shy kid, why does he want to be on stage by himself, you know, speaking lines in front of strangers? Like, that was so foreign to her. She just didn't understand how this version of her son was that same version.

I wanted to do that. And it's kind of the magic of what I think being an actor for me was. It's like, that was a safe space for me to be a fully realized version of who I knew I could be. And part of it was, you know, be feeling protective, protected under the character and, like, being able to disappear into someone else. And have license. And have license. And have license. And have license.

And be pissy, funny, angry, sad. Yeah. And just hang out with other kids who were a little strange, to be honest. And, like, embrace. It is like joining the circus. Absolutely. Yeah. Very exciting.

It is. That is exactly right. And maybe that's what I would have done. I did not want it to be an actor. But it's very true. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it definitely saved my life, for sure.

Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Ted tells me about co-starring with his wife, Mary Steenbergin, in A Man on the Inside Season 2. It's kind of steamy. And what he's prioritizing at this stage of his life. Okay, be right back. Reggie, I just sold my car online. Let's go, Grandpa.

Wait, you did? Yep, on Carvana. Just put in the license plate, answered a few questions, got an offer in minutes. Easier than setting up that new digital picture frame. You don't say? Yeah, they're even picking it up tomorrow. Talk about fast. Wow, way to go.

So about that picture frame. Oh, forget about it. Until Carvana makes one, I'm not interested. Car selling made easy. On. Carvana. Pick up these may apply. And we're back with more dinners on me.

I think it's so interesting. My son, he's five and a half, and he is in kindergarten, so he's mixing with kids now from a larger pool, and he's being influenced by, he's experiencing peer pressure for the first time. And he came home talking about, how...

Can you remember how old? It's five and a half. Wow. Okay. Kindergarten. Wow. Something happened at school with one of his friends, who's, you know, a very close friend of his, as close as you can be with someone at five and a half.

And there was a discussion about, like, things that are for girls and things that are for boys and certain things that my son Beckett liked, he was feeling insecure about liking. Because it wasn't what boys should be liking? Right. Yeah. Or what his friends liked. And even like down to like, I don't want my friends to find out about that because they'll be mad at me. And I almost burst into tears.

Sure. And it's because that's like what's tied to advocacy. So that version of myself, that version that feels like, I don't know, I was, I was a version of that kid who wasn't afraid to like the things that other kids said I shouldn't like. But I paid the price for it. And so to see my son, you know, struggling with those same things and dealing with it in a completely different way. I mean, he sort of did it the opposite way. Like he was like, okay, I don't want anything to do with that. But it broke my heart in a way.

And, you know, it's a strange time to be a parent, obviously in this world where we are now. But also, like, this age is a hard time to parent because you don't know when to get involved and, like, when to, you know, interfere. I want him to sort of figure out how to navigate the situation on his own, but at the same time, I want him to know that, like, it's okay for him to like the things he likes and not worry about what other people think. But is that concept even something that a five-and-a-half-year-old can get at this point? I don't know. But when you ask about, like, what part of me still feels tied to Albuquerque, that moment

and hearing that from my son, I suddenly felt like I was back. in Albuquerque and feeling vulnerable. Yeah. Yeah. You know, Mary, your wife, Mary Steenbergin, was at one point meant to play my mother in a play at Williamstown Theater Festival. Beth?

Who wrote it? Best wool. Who wrote Liberation, the Haddam Weren? Yes. Which is fantastic. One of the best shows I've ever seen on Broadway. So Mary was meant to play my mother. I was so excited.

I don't know what happened, but she had to pull out. And I first got to meet you and Mary at an event that we were honoring Kristen Bella. It was some charity event that they were honored Christian at. And so I finally got to introduce myself to you. We might have met, like, in passing or something, but I hadn't really gotten to say hello. And I, for the first time, met Mary and got to tell her house, you know, I was so excited that she was going to be with me with my mother. So was she, by the way. She had to drop out.

But I know I've met her a few times, and I absolutely adore her. And I stand with many people who do adore you as a couple. I feel like seeing the two of you together, you can see there's so much love there. I mean, I'm sure you've answered this question in different sort of junkets. But like, you know, playing in the second season of Man on the Inside, someone who's starting to date again and then have that love interest be the person who you've actually been in a relationship with for 25 years

must feel wonderful and strange and familiar and... Mary has a different take probably and it was so much fun. I mean it was like going back to our... We had to move out because of the fires and rent a house in Laurel Canyon, which fell very 70s to us.

We never really lived there. But it just reeks of that music and everything. And we were shooting in Paramount. Her first film, she was a waitress and got hired by Jack Nicholson and was starring in a movie with him, and being directed by him at Paramount Studio. My big thing Cheers was Paramount Studio. So I'd all felt just wonderfully young actors.

Oh, it's so special. So lovely. And the material was so great, and we were so excited, and we got to kind of just run lines and da-da-da-da-da. We both had studied Mary under Sandy Meister at the playhouse. I studied with a student of his, but had the same technique. So we just loved it and really cherished the moments. So it was fun.

Yeah. For me, any kind of love scene or any kind of thing with other people, it's like, it's confusing. If you're honest, it's a little confusing, you know, to fall in love with somebody who's not your, you know, your mate. Yeah. And so for me, there's always just a little bit of this. It was so cool to fall in love with my wife, Mary Steenbridge, because that's the role, and just fall into her eyes. It was so cool.

Whether it's, whether it made the scene better or not, who cares? It's fantastic. I mean, your chemistry is so good together. I mean, a lot of couples work together, and the chemistry falls apart on screen, I think. you two are magic. But his chemistry is kind of like two good actors and brilliant writing. Yeah, that's true. That's chemistry.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's really good writing. Yeah. I mean, it's really, it's lovely to see you both. And it's, it's sort of like a version of, you know, the, when you're an emcee nester and you get to like kind of like rekindle romance with your, with your significant other.

it sort of feels that way, like that you actually get to go back to like the wooing and the romance. And yes, it's scripted and there's cameras on you, but like, you know, those emotions are still there. Yeah. It's really lovely watching the two of you together. Yeah.

We're lucky. Yeah, it should be. And you should feel so lucky. But also, I mean, you've worked together with her before and this must feel so different. Yeah. I think, you know, you're, Even if you thought you were full of gratitude, it grows.

And you were, but now with age and experience of this kind of writing doesn't come along all the time. We were so grateful for it, too, which is a fun place to go to work. Full of gratitude. My new favorite word. Gratitude? No, that's been around for a while. place, curiosity.

Curiosity. I want to stay curious. Mm-hmm. You know, it's like all this philosophical, enlightened stuff you're getting from me. Yeah, I like it. The first time there's a turbulence on the plane, I'm,

blah! Yeah. The plane! You know, whatever. I am, whenever I spout enlightenment, I always walk back to my car and step right in some carmy. dog shit. It's just, you know, bound to happen.

That was more from my conversation with Ted Danson. If you haven't heard our full conversation yet, make sure to check it out on Dinners on Me. This episode of Dinners On Me was recorded at Max and Helens in Larchmont Village, Los Angeles. Next week on Dinners On Me, you know her from Scrubs, Roseanne, and Firefly Lane. It's Sarah Chalk. We'll get into her iconic run as Dr. Elliott Reed on Scrubs,

and hear all about the much-anticipated Scrubs revival. Plus, we've got to ask her about sharing the role of Becky on Roseanne. Ooh, so bewitched of her. Dinner's On Me is a production of Sony Music Entertainment and a kid named Beckett Productions. It's hosted by me, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch. Our showrunner is Joanna Clay.

Our associate producer is Alyssa Midcalf. Sam Bear engineered this episode. Hans Dale She composed our theme music. Our head of production is Sammy Allison. Special thanks to Tamika Balance Kalasni and Justin Makita. I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week.