Ted Danson has revealed he “faked” his way into Stanford University, claiming that he’s “not very bright.”
During an appearance on the SmartLess podcast on Monday, hosted by actors Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, The Good Place star recalled how he got into acting.
“I didn’t think about it until Stanford, and then I discovered acting and I was just, life made sense,” he shared. “I was not an academic. I came from scientific people in my family—my father, my sister was incredibly bright, and I just faked my way through school.”
When the hosts doubted someone would be able to fake their way into such a prestigious university, Danson replied: “No, you could back then.”
The 76-year-old was born in San Diego, California, but was raised in Flagstaff, Arizona.
“I was geographically interesting,” the Cheers actor said, noting “all of my friends were Hopi, Navajo kids and ranchers’ sons and daughters.”
Ted Danson speaks onstage during the Environmental Media Association IMPACT Summit presented by Toyota at the Pendry West Hollywood on June 5, 2024 in West Hollywood, California. The “Cheers” star recently said on an episode of the “SmartLess” podcast that he “faked” his way into Stanford University.
Jesse Grant/Getty Images for the Environmental Media Association
Danson went to Kent School, a private school in Connecticut, and said: “I think I got there for that reason.”
“Truly, I was a horrible student,” he continued. “The first two weeks at Stanford, I was sitting in English—and it’s going to sound weird—it was an advanced placement English class because I lucked into it because I’m not very bright. I test wonderfully because I don’t give a s***, you know? I just kind of wing it and make it a game and have fun. But I was sitting there going, not only do I not understand what the professor just said in response to this question this girl sitting next to me said—but I just pretty much dropped out.”
The two-time Emmy Award winner added that he “wanted to play basketball” but was “nowhere near talented enough, so all my dreams kind of fizzled.”
He then recalled how a date changed the course of his career.
“A little while after that, trying to take some young lady out and have a cup of coffee, and she told me about five minutes in—because I don’t think she was enjoying it—’I have an audition I have to go to,’ and I said, ‘Can I come along?’ and off I went.”
Danson recalled making the audience laugh during the audition, and he was hooked.
“I took my first acting class and was in some productions, and I pulled my station wagon with a sleeping back in the back and never left the theater until somebody said, ‘You should really go back East and study,’ so off I went to Carnegie.”
Newsweek reached out to Danson via email for additional comment.
The Golden Globe winner transferred from Stanford to Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania, where he graduated with a bachelor of fine arts degree in drama in 1972.
Danson rose to fame playing lead character Sam Malone on the wildly popular NBC sitcom Cheers, which ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. He also had a starring role in The Good Place and appeared on other series including Curb Your Enthusiasm and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
