How Frasier's David Hyde Pierce Really Felt About Working With Kelsey Grammer

Paramount

When the "Frasier" revival series on Paramount+ was announced but costar David Hyde Pierce, who plays Frasier's neurotic younger brother Niles, was missing entirely, things felt a little out of place. At the time, Pierce said that he simply wasn't interested in playing the character again, and he had moved on in his career. That might sound like he had some negative feelings about his time on "Frasier" and maybe even his main co-worker, Kelsey Grammer (who played Frasier), but thankfully, that couldn't be further from the truth.

In an interview with Forbes, Pierce, who recently starred in "The Exorcism" with Russell Crowe, shared his feelings on not only Grammer's immense talents but also how the other actor helped him in his own journey as a performer. It turns out that while Pierce doesn't have much desire to return to the role of Niles, he does have a lot of love for his former onscreen brother, or at least the man who played him.

Paramount

While speaking with Forbes, Pierce shared his love for Grammer, explaining:

"Kelsey Grammer is one of the finest actors I've ever worked with. I've seen him do many roles, not just Frasier. He inhabits that role. He can step into it and step out of it. He can go anywhere [with a role] [...] I learned from him that as long as you believe in yourself you can incorporate every single style of acting imaginable in the performance of a single character because it can be appropriate for the moment."

That's honestly pretty great acting advice that has allowed both Grammer and Pierce to take on a wide variety of roles since "Frasier" finished its original run, like Pierce's uncredited voice role as Abe Sapien in "Hellboy" or Grammer's time as Beast in the "X-Men" movies (alongside their more traditional dramatic and comedic fare). Not only that, but Pierce said that Grammer was a wonderful collaborator because "he has the confidence in his own talent to allow other people to shine." Pierce credits him with his success on "Frasier" because of that, noting that other stars might have tried to squash anyone who challenged their talent. So, with all of that effusive praise, is it possible we'll ever see the Crane brothers reunite on the "Frasier" revival?

Paramount

As dour as things might have seemed when the "Frasier" revival was first announced, Pierce seems to have changed his tune at least a little bit with regards to reprising the role of the younger Crane brother. In an interview with Metro's 60 Seconds, Pierce explained that he simply isn't willing to play the character again at length because he doesn't want to be forced to turn down other opportunities for scheduling reasons, but he is open to the idea of playing Niles again for maybe one episode.

For his part, Grammer has said that there is a possibility for Niles to show up for a single episode, which could be a huge draw for future seasons of the Paramount+ series. Niles' presence is felt throughout the revival, of course, through the role of his son, David, played by Anders Keith, who is a regular character on the series and the thorn in his uncle's side that his father once was. "Frasier" was always at its best when the Crane brothers were pitted against one another but ended up realizing that they were better together, so here's hoping we get to see that happen one last time on Paramount+. If not, at least we'll always have "Author, Author."