David Hyde Pierce explains why he turned down chance to return as Niles in Frasier reboot

David Hyde Pierce has explained why he didn’t reprise the role of Niles in the Frasier reboot.

In 2021, it was revealed that Kelsey Grammer would return to the role of Frasier Crane in a revival series of the popular Nineties sitcomfor Paramount+.

Months before, Hyde Pierce, who played Frasier’s younger brother in the series, confirmed that the project was still going ahead, although he did not comment on whether he would be a part of it.

It was then confirmed by Grammer that his former co-star would not be returning, with the actor saying at the time: “David basically decided he wasn’t really interested in repeating the performance of Niles.”

Now, Hyde Pierce, 64, has elaborated upon his reasoning for the decision, saying he “never really wanted to go back”.

He told Los Angeles Times: “It’s not like I said, ‘Oh, I don’t ever want to do that again.’ I loved every moment. It was that I wanted to do other things.”

Hyde Pierce said that other work commitments, including the US series Julia, enforced his decision, stating: “When we got into real talks about the reboot, I had just started on Julia and was working on a musical and going to do another musical. I just thought, ‘I don’t want to be committed to a show and not be able to do stuff like this.’

He also said he thought “they don’t actually need me” as “Frasier has moved on to a new world”.

“They have new characters. And I think I’m right. It’s doing great. And the new people they have are great.”

Grammer previously said that Hyde Pierce’s absence worked out for the best as it took the writers “to a new place”, which happened to be “what we originally wanted to do”.

The actor was joined in the reboot by several new castmates, including Only Fools and Horses star Nicholas Lyndhurst, and Jack Cutmore-Scott, who plays Frasier’s now-adult son, Frederick.

Grammer became close friends with Lyndhurst in 2019 after starring together in a production of Man of La Mancha at the London Coliseum.

Previously speaking about the Frasier reboot, Hyde Pierce told Vulture in June 2022: “That whole time of my life, the writing on those shows, the actors I got to work with – all of that is deeply important to me. And I would never disrespect that in such a way as to say just offhandedly, ‘Oh, no, thanks. I’m not going to do that again.’ It’s too valuable to me.”

However, the actor said that he “wouldn’t just do it” for the reason that the experience was such a “valuable” one.

“I believe it can be done without me, too – finding new stories to tell, in the same way that Frasier did after Cheers. They didn’t bring along the Cheers gang to make a new show.”

Every episode of Frasier is available to stream on Paramount+.