Frasier’s cold-hearted younger brother, Dr. Niles Crane, is played by David Hyde Pierce. He won four Emmys for his performance, only one fewer than Grammer, and was an integral part of the show’s main cast. Unfortunately for fans of Crane, the actor will not be reprising his role in the upcoming reboot, deciding he “wasn’t really interested in repeating the performance” (per Yahoo! News).
After “Frasier,” Hyde Pierce worked regularly in theatre. He played Sir Robin in the Monty Python musical, “Spamalot,” from 2005-2006 and was nominated for a Tony award for his performance as Horace in Vandergelder in the 2017 revival of “Hello, Dolly!” Hyde Pierce has also continued to work in film and television. In 2010 he starred as Warwick Wilson in the comedic crime thriller, “The Perfect Host,” and in 2017, he reprised his role as Professor Henry Neumann in the TV miniseries, “Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp.” On the silver screen, he lent his voice to an episode of “Sesame Street” and played Frank Prady in Season 6 of “The Good Wife.” He also voiced the brother of Grammer’s Sideshow Bob, Cecil Terwilliger, in three episodes of “The Simpsons.”
Hyde Pierce returned to television in 2022 to play Julia Child’s wife, Paul, in the HBO Max biopic, “Julia,” alongside Sarah Lancashire. He is also set to star as Father Conor in the upcoming horror film, “The Georgetown Project” which is slated for release sometime in 2023.