The name of Frasier Crane has become tied to the face of Kelsey Grammer ever since the ’90s show hit our small screens. However, it turns out that Grammer wasn’t always down to play our favourite Seattle-based Psychiatrist.
The hit comedy series, Frasier, was created as a spin-off of the sitcom Cheers, and ran for 11 seasons. Grammer was a mass success and helped push the show into stardom, winning awards and critical praise alike. But he wasn’t the writing team’s first pick when it came to the titular role. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Cheers team originally wrote the part of Frasier Crane for none other than John Lithgow, but, at the time, the star didn’t want to do a TV series.
“I just said, ‘No.’… I barely even remembered that,” Lithgow explained. “It was like swatting away a fly. … I just wasn’t going to do a series.”
While Lithgow turned down Frasier, he did end up accepting another TV gig three years later, starring in 3rd Rock from the Sun in 1996. He has since worked on the thriller series Dexter, the drama series The Old Man, and starred as Winston Churchill during the Netflix series, The Crown.
So yeah, Lithgow has changed his stance on TV over the years. However, we are ultimately glad that Grammer snagged the part, as his version of Frasier has become iconic and irreplaceable at this point.