Ted Danson Surprised by Sex Symbol Status

Ted Danson rose to stardom while playing pro baseball player-turned-bar owner Sam Malone on the hit NBC sitcom Cheers from 1982 to 1993.

Along with earning two Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor among other accolades during the show's 11-season run, the role also turned Danson into a 'sex symbol.'

With his famous brunette coif and hunky 6foot2inch stature, Danson appeared on the cover of Playgirl twice in the 1980s and he still tops the list as one of the most iconic TV heartthrobs of all time.

But the now-78-year-old actor confessed on Tuesday's episode of his Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast that he was initially stunned when he learned that audiences found him 'sexy.'

He also revealed that his denial about his looks led to some 'naked' encounters with admirers at the height of his Cheers fame that took him by total surprise.

The topic was brought up by podcast guest, Parent Trap star Lisa Ann Walter, when she asked Danson 'what happened when you figured out what a hottie you were.'

Danson first credited his character Sam, who famously had an on-off romance with Diane Chambers (played by Shelley Long), being written to attract 'very sexy-looking women' as the reason people started perceiving him that way in real life. 

'I won't go back too far because it's not necessary, but I was the guy who literally I would be, the women would be standing opposite me naked and I'd be going, "What?" I'd look over my shoulder and be like, "You mean me?"' he recalled of his obliviousness at the time.

Outside of working on set, he said that whenever 'somebody would say something' about him being a sex symbol, he would catch himself wanting to argue back; seen with co-star Kirstie Alley