TED DANSON

Barbara Nitke

TED DANSON
Damages

It's not like we didn't think Danson could act. After all, the man was nominated for an Emmy 11 years in a row (winning twice). But that was for Cheers. We knew he could do comedy — who knew he could also do coke with a hooker in a limo while ordering a hit on an innocent witness to his own corporate crime? And not only do it, but sell it. Danson was electric in FX's Damages as CEO Arthur Frobisher, a man obsessed with his own legacy and seemingly unaware of his own wickedness. Watching this former funnyman show a range that we, quite frankly, never knew he had was a truly unexpected thrill. Cheers to him. —Dalton Ross