Woody Harrelson praises Ted Danson for his help with motorcycle accident injury
Ted Danson has harnessed his talents as an on-screen doctor to aid longtime friend Woody Harrelson after injuring himself in a motorcycling accident.
On Monday's episode of the podcast "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend," Harrelson, 62, revealed that he'd collided with a Tesla as he was commuting to record the show and that his "Cheers" co-star and podcast co-host helped him deal with the aftermath of the crash.
Harrelson, who appeared to have an ice pack on his right hand, told O'Brien and his co-host and longtime assistant Sona Movsesian: "I did go over my handlebars. Embarrassingly, I was passing this Tesla on the left that I felt was moving a little slow, but I didn’t realize he was moving slow because he was taking a left."
"I was wearing a helmet, yes. It actually did help me because I did hit my head," he later added. "I always thought I'd be OK; I just felt like there was some pain involved. I felt the pain, but I never thought I'd be killed or anything or maimed."
USA TODAY reached out to Harrelson's rep for comment on his condition.
Ted Danson worries Woody Harrelson 'could've been hurt badly' in accident
O'Brien revealed they had to delay the podcast recording due to Harrelson's incident: "We lost some time while people were figuring out 'Are you alive?' Your soul had to re-enter your body."
"Your hand is wrapped like someone in a cartoon," O'Brien noted, and Danson admitted, "That's cause I wrapped it. I thought it looked funnier that way."
Harrelson said, "We're in the bathroom and I'm like, 'You played a doctor, right?' And he says, 'Yeah, I also played a lawyer, so we could sue the guy.' I said, 'Well, I think it's gonna have to be a lawyer for the defense cause it was my fault."
In the '70s — several years before he was cast as Sam Malone on "Cheers" — Danson played Dr. Chuck Weldon in the NBC soap opera "The Doctors." He also portrayed the doctor John Becker in the CBS sitcom "Becker."
Harrelson went on to praise the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actor's bedside manner, saying, "His confidence, his demeanor, everything about the way he does it is you feel like, 'Yes, I'm in the best hands.'"
After Harrelson revealed he'd hit his head but was seemingly uninjured due to wearing a helmet, Danson told Woody it still made him "sad," adding, "he could've been hurt badly."
Harrelson revealed he often rides a motorcycle because he "always (feels) like the shortest distance between two points in LA is a motorcycle," but admitted the accident "certainly should" impact his future as a motorcycle rider.
"In other words, maybe I should just slow down in life, just take it a little easy," he added.
Three decades after "Cheers" wrapped, Danson and Harrelson are hosting a new podcast called "Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson & Woody Harrelson (Sometimes)," which digs into the lives and careers of celebrity guests such as Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Jane Fonda and Martin Short.
"Sure we’ll talk with interesting guests, and sure we’ll share some laughs along the way, but the biggest win will be rekindling our romance, I mean friendship, after all this time," Harrelson said in a statement about the podcast's launch.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ted Danson helped injured Woody Harrelson after motorcycle accident
