Ted Danson has had a long and fruitful acting career, but many of us still identify him with the role that catapulted his career: Sam Malone, the womanizing former baseball player-turned bar owner on “Cheers”. But he probably won’t hold it against us, because he feels the same way.

“I am forever grateful for Cheers. It’s the reason why I’m sitting here now. Plus I think of everything I do as Sam Malone – Sam Malone sees dead people now, Sam Malone becomes a doctor,” he said.

Indeed, the characters on “Cheers” quickly became some of the most beloved in television history, with the iconic theme song and opening credits landing a place in our nostalgia center. The actor–whose latest role is that of D.B. Russell on “CSI”–recently got the chance to reunite with former castmate John Ratzenberger (“Cliff”) when he landed a guest starring role on the show, and said he was impressed with his old friend.

“As we were running lines, I was sitting there going ‘Wow. He’s good.’ I didn’t even know my lines, and he’s really good,” Danson said.

Danson’s wife, actress Mary Steenburgen, has had some success of her own in the world of film and television, but most recently began turning to music and just signed a record deal with Universal. Steenburgen says she had never been musical until an “epiphany” she had after undergoing surgery. Soon after, she had written 40 songs.

Image via CBS