If you were a boy in the ’80s, you dreamed of being Bo Jackson, Magic Johnson, Prince, or Sam Malone. Okay, maybe that last one is an exaggeration, but Malone was still the TV king of dry one-liners, a perfectly timed raised eyebrow, and romancing the ladies—and Ted Danson was also pretty cool, receiving an Emmy nomination every season he played Sam Malone on Cheers and winning two of them along the way.
After Cheers, Danson made guest appearances as Malone on Frasier and The Simpsons, but went on to compete with Woody Harrelson for the most diverse career among former cast members. He starred in the sitcom Becker for six seasons, played himself in 13 episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm, got another Emmy nod for his ruthless CEO character on Damages, portrayed a hilarious pot-smoking magazine editor on Bored to Death, and appears on CSI: Cyber as D.B. Russell, a character he originated on CSI. Through all that, he’s also popped up in numerous other film and television roles, including his Emmy-recognized stint on NBC’s comedy The Good Place as afterlife architect Michael. (And he’s been married to Mary Steenburgen since 1995.)