The Doctor Is ... Blue

By Lev Grossman

Meet Kelsey Grammer: nice guy, big square face, velvety voice, sandy hair going thin in front. He's tall, over 6 ft., with broad shoulders, but strolling around the lobby of a Manhattan hotel, Grammer, 51, looks almost insubstantial. Or less substantial than the ghost that haunts him.

That ghost is Dr. Frasier Crane, the pompous but charming shrink he played on TV for 20 straight years--nine seasons on Cheers, then 11 on Frasier. Frasier was Grammer's lottery ticket, a guest spot that miraculously turned into a high-paying regular gig. But over 20 seasons, any part, no matter how charming, becomes an actor's tomb. "The problem with playing a guy for as long as I did is that it's hard to keep surprises," he says. "You know, you spend 20 years in front of the camera ..." Pause for effect. "Lesser actors might be played out." He has a good long laugh at his own expense.

But seriously, how does an actor escape being buried alive? Grammer's non-Frasier forays to date have ranged from the unspectacular (Down Periscope) to--well, his Macbeth on Broadway closed after 10 performances. So he has buried himself anew, this time in fake ears, fake teeth, six hairpieces and lots and lots of blue makeup. This summer he becomes Beast, a hairy, brainy, inwardly tortured mutant scientist in X-Men: The Last Stand. To borrow Beast's signature exclamation: Oh, my stars and garters!

Grammer has always insisted there was more to him than Frasier, and if his personal life is any indication, that pretty much has to be true. He conducts his private affairs like a man competing in a tabloid decathlon. To summarize: three wives (including a stripper and a Playboy bunny), three children (not all by people he was married to), plus trouble with alcohol (DUI) and cocaine (possession, rehab). "The beauty of playing Frasier and being Kelsey at the same time was that they did not relate," Grammer says. "I was scandal fodder throughout all those years because I played such a contrary role--uptight, intellectual, inhibited Frasier vs. indulgent, wild ... expressive Kelsey, let's just say." He chuckles at his inspired euphemism.

That tension is what makes him oddly perfect for his role in X-Men: The Last Stand. Beast was once Hank McCoy, scientist, but when an experiment went awry--don't they always?--he transformed into something blue and furry and muscular and bestial. Beast has never got over the loss of his human form. Unlike Storm, say, or even Wolverine, he can never pass for normal.

Part of what's fascinating about the X-Men characters is their wiring. They have power raging around inside them that's just barely held in check. Being a mutant is both a blessing and a curse. Beast is no different: he's a feral scrapper at heart, a big blue gorilla, but he tries to bury it under a sophisticated manner and fancy book learning and well-tailored suits. Casting the former Frasier as Beast was a nervy choice--Grammer says Fox took some convincing--but think about it: that dichotomy, Dr. Crane vs. Mr. Hyde, is exactly what the part needs. "When there's an actor who plays an iconic character on TV, it's hard to break that mold," says director Brett Ratner. "I think ultimately people will identify Kelsey as Beast instead of Frasier." (Before they filmed the climactic battle scene, Ratner had Grammer deliver the "band of brothers" speech from Henry V in full Beast regalia. Of such stuff are killer DVD extras made.)

Now, offscreen, the actor is plain old Mr. Grammer. He's clean and sober, and he has been married to the same woman, Camille Grammer (the Playboy bunny), since 1997. And he's rich. "I'm in semiretirement," he says. "I've got a new life, I've got a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old. I've got obligations at home. Family is now certainly more imperative than the career."

But you can't imagine him ever quite letting go of show business. "It's fun to be an actor," he says. "It saved my life. It gave me something to do with whatever mad brain I got." And show business isn't ready to let go of him. He'll never not be Frasier. Twice while we're talking, fans come over for autographs, which Grammer signs with superhuman graciousness. Being a celebrity is a lot like being a mutant. It comes with great powers, but, like Beast, you'll never pass for a human being again.