Daphne From Frasier Was Almost Drastically Different

When "Frasier" premiered in 1993, Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) swapped his fellow "Cheers" barflies for a very different motley crew: his blue-collar father Martin (John Mahoney), his arrogant brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce), his sardonic radio producer Roz (Peri Gilpin), and Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves), Martin's eccentric caretaker.

Known for her down-to-earth nature and self-proclaimed psychic abilities, Daphne is a welcomed foil to the haughty Crane brothers. She was also almost completely different. In an oral history of "Frasier" for Vanity Fair, series co-creator Peter Casey confirmed that Daphne was initially written as a "Rosie Perez-type." Perez, who is best known for her work in "Do the Right Thing" and "White Men Can't Jump," would have brought a decidedly different energy to the role, not to mention a thick Brooklyn accent. Perez's involvement would have also had "Frasier" center a Latina character.

NBC immediately okayed Casey and David Lee's first two casting picks to join Grammer: John Mahoney and David Hyde Pierce. "Now it's like you're hot at a crap's table," Casey recalled. "For the health-care worker, we said to picture Rosie Perez. [NBC president] Warren [Littlefield] asked if we ever pictured her as English, because NBC loved Jane Leeves. If we went that way, she'd be pre-approved."

However, Grammer was dubious. "I was nervous about a British-accented housekeeper turning us into a dreadful 'Nanny and the Professor,'" the actor said. "So, I asked to read with her." The chemistry read assuaged Grammer's misgivings. As Casey recalled, "Kelsey blows right by us and without turning around says, 'She's in.'"

Rosie Perez was just part of the pitch that was wildly different from what "Frasier" would eventually become. "We created this high-brow, eccentric multi-millionaire publisher, a Malcolm Forbes–type, who gets into a motorcycle accident that paralyzes him from the waist down and forces him to run his empire from his Manhattan penthouse bedroom," Casey continued in the same piece for Vanity Fair. The aforementioned "Rosie Perez-type" would serve as his at-home nurse, as well as a confidant to help him run the business. The fat cats at Paramount TV quickly dismissed the idea, suggesting that the new show should focus on Frasier, who was already beloved by "Cheers" audiences.

The Perez angle never came to fruition, but the actress did eventually leave her imprint on the series. In a Season 2 episode, Perez voiced Francesca, a caller on Frasier's radio show. She returned in Season 11 as Lizbeth, a friend of Roz's. Roz attempts to set up Lizbeth with Frasier, but it's immediately apparent that they aren't meant to be. For one, Lizbeth asks for a wine spritzer, to Niles' visible disgust. The farce escalates when she gets trapped in a handshake with Frasier, whose hand is covered in super glue. It's a satisfying, albeit short-lived, peek at Perez and Grammer's on-screen chemistry.