Ted Danson Says He Doesn’t Think About His Legacy, Admits He’s ‘Still Trying to Get It Right’ (Exclusive)

The actor said his focus is “working right now on things that challenge” him

NEED TO KNOW

• Ted Danson was inducted into the Television Academy’s 2026 Televerse Festival Hall of Fame on Aug. 13
• He spoke to PEOPLE exclusively at the ceremony in Los Angeles and shared that he doesn’t think about his legacy in the industry
• Instead, he said his focus is “working right now on things that challenge” him

Ted Danson is living in the moment.

While chatting with PEOPLE exclusively at the Television Academy’s 2026 Televerse Festival Hall of Fame ceremony on Aug. 13, the Good Place actor — who has worked in TV and film for more than 50 years — shared that he doesn’t think about his legacy in the industry.

“I don’t do that,” Danson, 78, said. “No, too soon.”

His wife, actress Mary Steenburgen, who was by his side at the event in Los Angeles, then chimed in, “You’re too young.”

“No, I’m still trying to get it right,” Danson continued. “We’re both working right now on things that challenge us and are kind of hard and exciting and all of that. That’s where my focus is. And I think that’s where it should be.”

Steenburgen, 73, added, “We still have a lot to learn. It’s not like you’re cooked when you’re 73 and 78.”

Danson was inducted — following a touching introduction from his wife — into the Hall of Fame alongside Sheila Nevins, Trey Parker, Ted Sarandos, Jean Smart and Matt Stone. Reflecting on having Steenburgen do the honors, the Cheers alum said it was “very special.”

“I thought it was very smart because it becomes a family affair, which is what acting is to us,” he told PEOPLE. “We both are cut from the same cloth. We both love acting. We love the jobs. We care about it. We love that we get to be creative at this age. We’re very blessed.”

He continued, “So to have her give this, be part of it, is kind of perfect because that’s our truth.”

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Danson admitted that “all of this acknowledgement” from his peers makes him “a little nervous.”

“But it’s wonderful. Don’t take it away,” he said. “But it’s a lot to digest, but it’s also an opportunity to thank people who have meant so much and given me so much along the way — all the writers, directors, producers, crew, actors. So I’m glad.”

Back in March, Netflix announced that Danson’s hit show A Man on the Inside, created by Michael Schur, has been renewed for a third season. In the mystery-comedy series, which premiered in November of 2024, Danson plays widower and retired professor Charles Nieuwendyk, who gets a new lease on life as a detective. Steenburgen joined the series in season 2, portraying free-spirited musician and fellow professor Mona.

When asked about a potential guest-starring role in the show for his friend Dick Van Dyke — who has been vocal about his desire to do a cameo — Danson told PEOPLE, “If I were in charge, it would happen immediately.”

“I have no idea, the writers being the writers and creators. But oh, I love that man,” he continued, adding, “Yeah, [Mary and I] had the honor of going to his [Van Dyke’s] home and doing a podcast with him. It was one of the best days of our lives. It was so cool.”

In his Hall of Fame acceptance speech, Danson recalled how Van Dyke, 100, sparked his growing interest in a showbiz career. He remembered a day when he was a student at Stanford University and found an abandoned TV on the street in front of his dorm.

“Someone didn’t want it, but it still worked. So I took it up to my room. It was my first TV. I plugged it in, turned it on, literally just in time to see Dick Van Dyke trip over the ottoman,” he shared. “It was magic. I was hooked.”

Not long after, Danson “stumbled” into an audition for a Bertolt Brecht play, Mann ist Mann, and landed what he described as “the smallest part you could get and still be in the play.”

“But the light bulb had turned on,” he explained. “I was an actor, and it made all of my life make sense all of a sudden.”

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