FRAISER Star Kelsey Grammer Declares ‘I Carry [Jesus] With Me’
By Movieguide® Contributor
The FRAISER reboot premiered on Paramount + in October, and star Kelsey Grammer shared some surprising hopes for the new show and opened up about his faith.
In an interview with Kelly Clarkson, Grammer said, “I would like to see Diane come back. For one of those reasons of Frasier to be able to put something to bed. To end up with a nice thing between them.”
When Grammer joined CHEERS Season 3, his Frasier character developed a relationship with Diane, played by Shelley Long.
As a result, the New York Post reported, “Long appeared in three episodes of FRAISER from 1994 to 2001. (The series ran for 11 seasons until 2004.)”
“When I first got the role, the key to Frasier for me was that he loved her with his whole heart, that he loved with all of his being,” Grammer explained. “And that actually defined who he is, and he’s been that way ever since. He just goes in wholeheartedly with everything, and that’s what makes him funny.”
The actor mentioned how the new show pays tribute to John Mahoney, who died in 2018. Mahoney played Frasier’s father in the original show.
Holding back tears, Grammer said, “John died a few years back, and I just thought, ‘We can’t do the show again without honoring John. And it has to begin with the fact that John is gone, and dad is gone,’ and so then, I become dad.”
He also opened up about his faith, sharing that he returned to Jesus after being hurt by life.
“I would walk kind of hand in hand with the idea of God’s Word, and God, and Jesus, and stuff like that,” Grammer said of his childhood faith. “And then, of course, I had some very difficult things happened in my life. And I went through the classic—I cursed God and said, ‘No, thanks. I don’t need your help. I’d rather just handle this alone if this is the way it’s going to be.’”
Grammer eventually realized that God wasn’t to blame for his trials and still walks with Him today.
“And eventually, I just kind of got back on track and met, re-met Jesus, I guess you could say, and I carry Him with me, and it’s been a great thing,” he said.
Movieguide® previously reported on the FRAISER reboot:
Kelsey Grammer returned as Dr. Fraiser Cane on Paramount+’s reboot of the 1993 sitcom FRAISER, and the actor recently shared who inspired his comeback.
“I wanted to prove to myself and to other people, of course, that FRAISER was still interesting and still watchable and still funny. Those were important parts of it. But also, I thought there were more stories to tell about this character because there’s more stories to tell in our own lives,” he told Fox News Digital.
While initially hesitant about reprising the role, the actor was inspired by Tim Allen’s and Rosanne Barr’s returns to the screen.
“The fact that Tim was still on a show and then started another show, LAST MAN STANDING, I thought, ‘Son of a gun. He knows how to do it, man,’” Grammer expressed.
