Ted Danson is opening up about the not-so-glamorous side of on-screen romance.
Danson and his wife, Mary Steenburgen, appear together in Season 2 of “A Man on the Inside,” and during an appearance on the “Today” show, they were asked whether being together for over three decades makes it easier or harder to play love interests on screen.
“Easier for me because I’m not crazy about love scenes with strangers — actors,” Danson said.
The host quickly quipped it was a “good answer sitting next to your wife,” but Danson insisted he wasn’t playing it safe.
“No, but it’s also true. You feel guilty and awkward and it’s wrong,” he said.
While Danson doubled down on how uncomfortable he feels about intimate scenes, Steenburgen couldn’t resist teasing him. “See, I don’t — I don’t, but anyway,” Steenburgen said, grinning.
Danson covered his ears and joked, “Is she going to talk about it?”
Still, he said, their bond makes the work easier, not harder.
“But I have total permission, because she knows I love her and we’re husband and wife, to fall madly in love with her on camera,” Danson added.
The Hollywood power couple also revealed the surprising truth about acting out romance onscreen together.
“It’s an interesting challenge because it’s the opposite. Usually you would go, ‘Hi, nice to meet you,’ then you’re doing some sort of romantic scene with the person you just met,” Steenburgen explained. “In our case, we had to unlearn everything about each other and see each other for the first time,” she said.
The pair also shared the ritual they use before cameras roll — a nod to legendary acting teacher Sanford Meisner.
“Yes, normally you just say ‘break a leg,’ but we both studied … Mary studied with Sandy Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse,” Danson said.
Steenburgen explained, “We, just to remind ourselves to really connect, we would say his name right before the take — and it worked.”
Danson chimed in, “He grounds you.”
Danson and Steenburgen first met in 1983 and married in 1995. They each have two children from previous marriages.
In January, Steenburgen admitted she initially thought Danson was a bit of a ladies’ man — similar to the character he played on “Cheers” from 1982 to 1993. “I admired him so much as an actor, but I didn’t personally know him, and I had this stupid idea that he was maybe kind of a slick guy,” she told People at the time.
However, she soon realized “how wrong” she was.
“Slick guys don’t say, ‘gosh-a-rooni,’ after making love. I’d like to apologize to my granddaughters,” she joked.
