Kelsey Grammer shares the one American quality he hopes never fades

Kelsey Grammer remains optimistic about America’s future.

Ahead of America’s 250th anniversary of independence, the “Cheers” and “Frasier” alum stars in “Young Washington,” in which he plays aristocrat Thomas Fairfax. The historical drama follows George Washington during the French and Indian War, before he became the first U.S. president.

As debates over America’s future continue to intensify, the actor told Fox News Digital that the nation’s Founding Fathers still offer a blueprint for overcoming division and preserving the American Dream.

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Kelsey Grammer stars as Lord Fairfax in “Young Washington,” which premieres on July 3, 2026, to coincide with America’s 250th anniversary. (Michael Buckner/Deadline via Getty Images)

“This is something I’ve been sorting through for a while now, but I do think the greatest hope for any future wisdom in America has already been written in the actions and words of our Founding Fathers,” he explained.

Kelsey Grammer attends the “Young Washington” premiere during the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival at SVA Theater in New York City on June 13, 2026. (Dominik Bindl/Getty Images)

“We need to look to them for the guidance that they have, that we have today, to become the great nation that they dreamed of,” the 71-year-old urged. 

“We can share that dream. It’s a dream that still holds up. It’s a dream that holds up for everyone. No matter what your origin is, the diversity that we all talk about, this is a unifying concept about what greatness is in a nation, and it has to do with us all being equal.”

“And it doesn’t mean there’s an equal result — it just means we have an equal opportunity to carve out our happiness,” he added.

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When asked what one American quality he hopes never goes out of style, Grammer beamed and replied, “Optimism.”

Grammer’s connection to Washington’s story dates back more than 40 years.

Kelsey Grammer and William Franklyn-Miller attend the “Young Washington” premiere during the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival on June 13, 2026, in New York City. (Dominik Bindl/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)

In 1984, he appeared as Lt. Stewart in the CBS miniseries “George Washington,” one of his earliest television roles before landing “Cheers” later that year.

Kelsey Grammer portrays George Washington in the 2003 historical drama “Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor.” (Entertainment Pictures)

Nearly two decades later, he portrayed Washington in the 2003 TV movie “Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor.” In 2022, he further explored the nation’s founding era as host of Fox Nation’s “Historic Battles for America,” an eight-part series examining the military conflicts that helped shape the United States.

He returned to Washington’s legacy as host and executive producer of Fox Nation’s 2024 docudrama “George: Rise of a Revolutionary.”

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But after spending decades studying the man on the dollar bill, one question still lingered.

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“Young Washington,” directed by Jon Erwin and stars William Franklyn-Miller, Golden Globe winners Kelsey Grammer and Mary-Louise Parker, as well as Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley, (Angel Studios)

When asked what he would ask Washington if given the chance to sit down with him, Grammer laughed.

“Did you really chop down the cherry tree?” he asked.

Before “Frasier” became one of TV’s most beloved sitcoms, Kelsey Grammer introduced Dr. Frasier Crane on “Cheers” as a sharp-witted psychiatrist who quickly became a fan favorite. (Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)

The question refers to one of the most enduring legends in American history.

According to the tale, a young Washington received a hatchet and accidentally chopped down his father’s prized cherry tree. When confronted, he supposedly confessed, saying, “I cannot tell a lie, Pa; you know I cannot tell a lie. I did cut it with my hatchet.” Rather than punish his son, Washington’s father was said to be so impressed by the boy’s honesty that he forgave him.

“Young Washington” tells the story of a young man whose courage, conviction and character helped shape the course of a nation. (Angel Studios)

The story perfectly captures the qualities Americans have long associated with Washington — integrity, humility and moral courage. There is just one problem: Historians say there is no evidence it ever happened.

The anecdote first appeared years after Washington’s death in an 1806 biography by Mason Locke Weems, a traveling bookseller and clergyman, who used Washington’s life to teach moral lessons to young readers. Though likely apocryphal, the cherry tree story endured, helping transform the nation’s first president into an American folk hero.

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In “Young Washington,” William Franklyn-Miller stars as the titular character. (Angel Studios)

“I don’t know,” Grammer said. “I doubt he chopped down a cherry tree unless he thought it was a dying tree. I mean, it would’ve been a pretty silly thing to do.”

“What the hell were you thinking?” he joked. “I say that to my sons all the time. That seems to be a universal question for most fathers to their sons, ‘What were you thinking?’”

Grammer previously told Page Six Hollywood that today’s politicians could learn a thing or two from the nation’s first president.

Actor Kelsey Grammer introduces Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at Rustico restaurant in Westlake Village, California, on May 29, 2026, during the “Trump Accounts Tour.” (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

“George Washington was not particularly tolerant of fools,” he told the outlet. “He stood up against stuff that he thought was whimsical, or not particularly focused on what really saves the people. I don’t think he was a fan of big government. I think he was a fan of small government.”

“He was humble enough to say, ‘I am not perfect, but I am not going to quit,’” Grammer shared. “That’s what I’d like to see in Washington, [DC], honestly.”

Kelsey Grammer has long expressed a fascination with America’s Founding Fathers and the nation’s early history. (Nick Lachance/Toronto Star)

Ahead of July 4, Angel Studios announced it had partnered with the U.S. Department of State to screen “Young Washington” at U.S. embassies around the world.

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“As America prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, ‘Young Washington’ takes us back when the leaders we now admire were still discovering who they would become,” Neal Harmon, Co-Founder and CEO of Angel, said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital. “It’s a deeply human story about growth, sacrifice, humility, and leadership earned through adversity and preserved by divine providence. We believe audiences around the world will connect with those themes, and we are honored to partner with the U.S. Department of State.” (Angel Studios)

“One of the privileges of playing Thomas Fairfax was portraying a mentor who recognized potential in a young George Washington long before the world knew his name,” Grammer said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital.

“In this film, we see what Fairfax saw — a young man wrestling with responsibility, ambition, failure, and purpose. That humanity is what makes his eventual greatness so inspiring. As this film travels to embassies around the world on the eve of America’s 250th anniversary, I hope audiences are reminded that freedom is not just an inheritance, but a responsibility to be carried forward by every generation.”