Eric McCormack is well known for his portrayal of Will Truman on NBC’s Will & Grace, but the actor hesitated before taking the role. In the first episode of his new recap podcast with Sean Hayes (who played the hilarious Jack McFarland), Just Jack & Will, McCormack recalled the auditioning process and how, after being told he had landed the role, he began to worry about the commitment (via Insider). McCormack says his hesitation “had nothing to do” with portraying a gay character and felt that “was the thing about the show that was going to make it rise above the rest.”

McCormack shared that after two auditions, he was “unofficially” told he had secured the lead role but would have to wait until after the Christmas holiday for confirmation. That’s when, Mc Cormack says, doubt began to creep in:

“I suddenly just got afraid of commitment, of that idea that this was my Sam Malone [Ted Danson’s Cheers character]. This could be the thing on my tombstone.”

McCormack alerted the show’s producers that he would audition for other roles and passed on Will Truman. Things changed when McCormack received a phone call from series co-creator Max Mutchnick:

“He said, ‘I’m just calling to tell you that you just made the biggest mistake of your life.’ And I was like, ‘Wow, you don’t know me. I just finished a drama and I’m just not sure if this is the thing.’ And he said, ‘That’s all I want to say.’ And it haunted me over the holidays. I just remember waking up one morning right after New Year’s in Vancouver, and I turned to my wife and I said, ‘I think I made a terrible mistake.’ And she said, ‘Yep,'” McCormack recalled.

McCormack had a change of heart, and the rest is history.

Related: Leslie Jordan Remembered by Will & Grace Co-Stars: ‘My Heart Is Broken’

Will, Grace, and Cress Williams?!?
NBC

Will & Grace was created by Mutchnick and David Kohan, and followed the lives of the titular characters: Will Truman, a gay attorney and Grace Adler (Debra Messing), his straight interior designer best friend. The series is often credited for paving the way for more television representation of members of the LGBTQ+ community. Along with McCormack, Messing, and Hayes, the sitcom starred Megan Mullaly as the wealthy, booze-loving Karen Walker. During the premiere episode of Just Jack & Will, McCormack and Hayes also shared another insider tidbit: there was initially a fifth lead cast member.

“There were five characters as regulars, and the fifth was my partner in my small law firm,” McCormack said. “Straight guy. I think written probably as Jewish, yet in the end, it was Cress Williams.”

While filming the pilot, director James Burrows asked Will & Grace co-creators to cut a main character, as he felt the series had one too many. McCormack shared that Williams being cut from the series made him feel “so terrible.”

Will & Grace launched in 1998 until 2006 and returned for three additional seasons in 2017. Through its 11-season run, the series earned 18 Emmy nominations; for his portrayal of the compassionate attorney, McCormack earned an Emmy and a SAG Award.