“Frasier” revival actor Toks Olagundoye revealed during a recent interview on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” that she received a personal phone call from co-star and leading man Kelsey Grammer during the production of the show’s first season ensuring that she would not be fired and her role would not be cut down amid her cancer diagnosis. Olagundoye was convinced she was going to be let go from “Frasier” after the diagnosis required her to get a double mastectomy after only filming three episodes.
“I’ve never had a TV family quite like the ‘Frasier’ cast, they’re really amazing human beings. To be around them was really nice,” Olagundoye said.
The actor was diagnosed with stage 0 triple negative breast cancer, which progressed to stage 1 by the time she was told she’d need to undergo surgery. Olagundoye was 46 years old at the time and went on to have three surgeries followed by chemotherapy in the weeks before “Frasier” started shooting. She then got the double mastectomy midway through production.
“I said, listen, if you have to fire me, I’ve only been on three episodes so far, make me a guest star or whatever,” Olagundoye remembered telling the show’s producers, who assured her she would not be fired. However, the actor still expected to hear from the network at any point and said: “I am sure I’m being fired any second.”
“I see Kelsey’s calling [later], and I was like, yep, this is it, getting fired, right this second,” she continued. “He was very emotional, he didn’t realize what I was going through, and he said, ‘I know how actors think, I want to let you know this is your family, you’re not getting fired, we’re going to do whatever we need to do to make you feel comfortable.’ I remember him so vividly saying, ‘You’re going to be so happy after this. Everything is going to be okay.’”
Olagundoye stars in the “Frasier” revival series as Professor Olivia Finch, the chair of Harvard University’s psychology department. The show’s first season streamed on Paramount+ in Oct. 2023. A second season premiered in Sept. 2024.
During her appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” the daytime host surprised Olagundoye with a pre-recorded video message from Grammer himself.
“I’m really proud of you for being on this show and I salute your efforts to raise awareness and money for breast cancer, and we’ve always loved you and loved being with you when you were going through your stint, and congratulations on coming out the other side,” Grammer said in the clip. “I’m deeply, personally grateful.”
Watch Olagundoye’s full interview in the video below.
From Variety US