There are few actors who have played one character for longer than Kelsey Grammer has portrayed his highfalutin alter ego, Dr. Frasier Crane. The refined yet often self-sabotaging psychologist first popped into a certain Boston neighborhood bar 40 years ago, during the third season of Cheers, and remained a fixture as the NBC sitcom wrapped in 1993.
That was only the beginning for a role that would win Grammer his first Emmy in 1994, for the inaugural season of Frasier. THR‘s review at the time praised his “understated acerbic bite” in the spinoff that charted Frasier’s return to his hometown of Seattle, where he enjoyed local-celebrity status as the host of a call-in radio show and regularly dealt with frustration caused by his ex-cop dad, Martin (John Mahoney), and neurotic brother, Niles (David Hyde Pierce). Frasier ran until 2004, with Grammer netting four Emmys and 14 acting noms for his portrayal. (His Emmy gold isn’t limited to the sherry-sipping shrink; he also won in 2006 as another erudite jester: The Simpsons‘ Sideshow Bob.)
Grammer now is back in the Paramount+ incarnation of Frasier — which sees the psychologist in Boston again, teaching at Harvard and struggling to connect with his firefighter son, Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott). Lest one worry that Grammer would tire of the role after 40 years donning three-piece suits, the actor reassured THR in December that Dr. Crane is always evolving: “He’s probably a bit more mature, maybe still a little bit of the same sort of nut, but he’s grown some … For a man to spend 30 years of his life [since Frasier began] and not age would’ve been ridiculous … We thought it was important to give him sort of a new set of clothes.”
This story first appeared in a June standalone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
