Kelsey Grammer suggested his decades-long embrace of conservative politics may have come at a professional cost.
The “Frasier” star said he couldn’t say for certain whether his politics had cost him work, but he believed his conservative views may have kept him off Hollywood’s radar altogether.
“I have no idea,” he said when asked whether he’d ever lost a role because of his political views during an appearance on “The Katie Miller Podcast.” “I suspect I may have, but I suspect I may be, you know, in that category where they just don’t even think about me, so it’s okay.”
“‘Oh, we wouldn’t work with him, he’s a conservative,'” he mused. “I hope that’s not the case because I’m actually pretty good at what I do.”
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Grammer said the same political dynamics extended beyond casting decisions and into Hollywood’s biggest honors. The 71-year-old actor argued political leanings had possibly become part of the equation when performances alone should decide who gets recognized.
“You know, there’s always been sort of a popularity contest with awards anyway,” Grammer explained. “And you surprise them a little bit, you do something good once in a while that might get attention. But there’s so many overlays of what people will vote for and not vote for.”
“I mean, politically, I’m kind of, you know, on the fringe of Hollywood. It’s okay, I don’t mind, because I’ve been a, I’m a conservative. I’ve been a conservative in Hollywood for 40 years. I declared early. So, it’s been okay. They’re kind of used to it with me,” he added. “But there are other concerns that actually probably shouldn’t enter into it. It shouldn’t be politics. It should be performance, you know.”
Grammer said he had privately found support from others in the entertainment industry who shared his political views but had chosen not to express them publicly.
“There’s several of us in the closet,” he admitted. “There’s never those who aren’t in the closet. Some of us who left the acting profession entirely.”
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Grammer also weighed in on the state of television comedy, arguing modern sitcoms had lost the qualities that once made them resonate with audiences.
“…as a format, it’s struggling again for the right writers and for trust in the human experience. They don’t trust their audience anymore,” the actor explained on the podcast. “And the key, the key to ‘Frasier’s’ success, was that it trusted the audience.”
“It thought it was smart enough, and we thought they were intelligent enough to enjoy discovering that we had a family and lives and things we cared about, as well as being funny,” Grammer added. “And they’ve lost that again.”
When asked whether Hollywood writers had become too disconnected from audiences by embracing political correctness and an insular industry mindset, Grammer said one factor stood out.
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“The idea of being too politically correct is probably killing the process, I think,” the “Cheers” star said. “It’s not necessarily destroyed funny for everyone. It’s just, they’ve eliminated funny based upon human behavior. They’ve made it just too on point on people that don’t actually behave that way.”
“But, so, I think it may have maybe made a big wrong turn in terms of what people think is funny. It’s mostly slapstick, and you have to earn slapstick to make it believable,” Grammer noted. “If it’s not believable, it’s just a terrible joke. And I think that’s where they’ve gone mostly.”
Grammer has become one of TV’s most recognizable stars thanks to his decades-long career in drama and comedy. He landed his big break in 1984 with “Cheers.” Playing the supporting role of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane eventually led to the long-running spin-off “Frasier,” which earned him multiple Emmy Awards and cemented his place in TV history.
He’s also appeared in “The Simpsons,” “Toy Story 2” and “X-Men: The Last Stand.”
