Ted Danson Says He ‘Couldn’t Stop Giggling’ While Working with Wife Mary Steenburgen on A Man on the Inside Season 2
After three decades of marriage, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen continue proving they are one of Hollywood’s strongest — and sweetest — couples. The pair reunited on-screen for season 2 of the hit Netflix series A Man on the Inside, where they play love interests, and Danson admits the experience was pure joy.
Steenburgen says joining the show felt like destiny. For years, she watched her husband come home from filming both The Good Place and the first season of A Man on the Inside, always excited about the scripts, cast, and crew. “I was honestly a little jealous,” she tells PEOPLE. “So when they asked me to join the series, I felt incredibly lucky and honored. It was a thrill every single day.”
Danson found out his wife had been cast only moments before she did — and he was over the moon. “It was really a dream come true,” he says. “We both love acting and the whole creative process. Spending two and a half months working together, waking up early, heading to set, and just giggling the whole time… it was a gift.”
A Full-Circle Hollywood Moment
Filming at the iconic Paramount lot made the experience even more emotional. Steenburgen’s career-changing screen test for Jack Nicholson’s Going South happened on that very lot. At the time, she was a struggling young actress who had spent all her money just getting to L.A. She recalls asking Nicholson to reimburse her final hotel night so she could afford to get back to New York — only for him to hand her the role instead.
Steenburgen recently returned to the same room with her grandchildren and daughter Lily. “It was surreal and thrilling,” she says. The nostalgia didn’t end there: just 25 yards away was Stage 25, where Danson filmed Cheers in the early ’80s.
Adding to the déjà vu, the couple had temporarily moved to Laurel Canyon due to the California wildfires, giving their lives a retro, back-to-the-beginning feel. “It all felt very magical,” Danson recalls.
A Couple Who Still Loves Every Moment Together
While some couples would feel overwhelmed spending that much time side by side, Danson and Steenburgen are the opposite.
“We even shared a trailer,” Steenburgen laughs. “And we brought our dog. We never get bored with each other — we still have so much to talk about.”
Danson adds that meeting Mary later in life made all the difference. “By then, I had grown emotionally and understood what really matters. We never take our relationship for granted.”
Season 2 of A Man on the Inside is now streaming on Netflix.
