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U.S. delegation members would want ‘Cheers’ star to play John Kerry in Iran negotiations movie

Ted Danson stars as Secretary of State John Kerry in theaters probably never. Photos via United States Department of State and Flickr

By Nik DeCosta-Klipa @NikDeCostaKlipa

July 8, 2015

1 minute to read

If a movie is ever made about the current nuclear negotiations with Iran, members of the U.S. delegation know what actor would play Secretary of State John Kerry.

During the quieter hours of the Vienna talks, staffers light-heartedly debated who the cast would be in a movie depicting the potentially historic negotiations, reported The Boston Globe’s Matt Viser.

Kerry, the former Massachusetts senator, would be played by Cheers star Ted Danson, they said. Danson portrayed bartender Sam Malone on the Boston-based TV show from 1982 to 1993.

According to members of the delegation, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz would be played by Javier Bardem, chief negotiator Wendy Sherman, by Meryl Streep, and communications advisor Marie Harf by Kirsten Dunst.

Not only is Danson a good choice to play Kerry for their physical similarity, but the two are also “old friends.’’

Then-Sen. Kerry actually guest-starred as himself on a episode of Cheers in 1992.

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Kerry was also at the drunken Cheers finale live show in 1993 — broadcast from the Bull and Finch pub with the entire cast. Kerry, however, was the only one not “really drunk.’’

In 2010, Danson returned the favor when he testfied before the Senate Finance Committee, on which Kerry was a member, and answered questions about fishery subsidies and overfishing.

Those waiting for the movie starring Danson as Kerry shouldn’t hold their breath. Politicoreported Wednesday that President Barack Obama put odds of a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear capabilities at less than 50 percent.

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Correction: An initial version of this story indicated that Kerry personally prefered Danson to play him in the hypothetical movie. It was actually members of the U.S. negotiating team.