Damages star Ted Danson is no stranger to the Emmy Awards.  He was nominated for eleven straight years—one for each year of his stay in the sitcom Cheers as bartender Sam Malone—and won two of them, in 1990 and 1993.  Now he is back on the nominations list, this time for his role as self-made billionaire Arthur Frobisher in the FX legal drama, and he says it means much more for him.

“When you're younger and get nominated, there was part of me—I don't know if I took it for granted—but now it's a very rich experience,” the actor said in an interview with the Associated Press.  “This is really lovely.”

The 60-year-old actor's character in Damages is a complete departure from his Cheers role.  From a lovable former baseball player and recovering alcoholic, he is now the manipulative, crooked client of litigator Patty Hewes (Glenn Close).  He thinks the role has rejuvenated him.

“Perhaps myself and others kind of got used to me doing this one thing,” he revealed.  “To go off and get to play a character that's so different than the stuff that I've been doing up to this point, I think, got people's attention.  But it certainly got my attention.  I really had a great year and a very satisfying year as an actor.”

In another interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Danson talked about the challenges he went through while playing the role. “I've never had carte blanche to be as narcissistic, except in real life, as I did in this part,” he said.  “I'm so grateful to be part of this cast, part of this show.  It has made me really excited about going to work as an actor again, and that is worth everything to me.”

Damages ended its first season with Danson's character shot and his fate left unclear.  We can expect, however, to see him on the show's second season, as the show's co-creator Todd Kessler revealed last week in Los Angeles.  However, he won't reveal whether he will be dead or alive: “Arthur returns, and that's all I say about that,” he said.

Danson is nominated alongside Boston Legal's William Shatner, Mad Men's John Slattery, Lost's Michael Emerson, and his Damages co-star Zeljko Ivanek.  The winners will be announced on September 21.  Damages, on the other hand, has started production on its second season and it expected to return soon.


-Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Sources: Associated Press, Philadelphia Inquirer
(Image courtesy of FX)