Kelsey Grammer thinks that his new Frasier co-star Nicholas Lyndhurst is a “gifted” comic actor.
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Grammer, who has cast the Only Fools And Horses star in the reboot of the hit American sitcom, says Lyndhurst is a “magnificent” talent. “He’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever worked with,” Grammer told the BBC following the news of the surprise casting.
Speaking about what made him consider Lyndhurst for a role in the anticipated return of Frasier Crane, Grammer said it was their time on stage together in London that had cemented things. He also revealed a hint of what’s to come in the next outing of the iconic character, who first appeared in Cheers.
Grammer explained that the two actors formed a friendship and a great comic spark while appearing in Man Of La Mancha at the London Coliseum in 2019. “I fell in love,” Grammer said of his respect for Lyndhurst, adding:
“I adore him and he’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever worked with. I accuse him of being a bit of a sandbagger because you don’t see him coming and all of a sudden he’s getting all the laughs.”
Teasing what’s to come in the reboot of Frasier, Grammer said Lyndhurst would be playing a friend of the radio psychotherapist. He explained: “It suddenly occurred to me when we were putting the show together, we’ve never really seen Frasier in a relationship where he has a great friend.
“He had Niles, of course, but he was his brother and there was a competition underscoring everything they did, and a family connection that got them through some difficulties. But this real friendship thing is something we’ve not seen Frasier in… So we’re discovering a man who is still discovering himself, and that is what I find interesting to play.”
Frasier remains one of the US’s most successful TV sitcoms. It ran for 11 seasons – between 1993 and 2004 – and won 37 Emmy Awards, including five for best comedy series. Though the show makes a return, some of its former award-winning cast wont.
Discussing the absence of David Hyde Pierce – who played Frasier’s younger brother Dr. Niles Crane – in the reboot, Grammer said: “For a while we were going to try to bring back the whole cast, the whole legacy cast. David basically decided he wasn’t really interested in repeating the performance of Niles.”
The post Kelsey Grammer praises “gifted” Nicholas Lyndhurst after casting star in ‘Frasier’ reboot: “He gets all the laughs” appeared first on NME.
