Ted Danson Was ‘Giggling the Whole Time’ Working With Wife Mary Steenburgen (Exclusive)

Married for 30 years, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen first started dating after starring together in the 1994 film Pontiac Moon.

So when the ask came for Steenburgen to join the second season of Danson’s hit Netflix series, A Man on the Inside, the superstar couple didn’t hesitate.

“I listened to Ted come home through The Good Place and then the first season of this show just delighting in the extraordinary scripts and a cast and crew that he’s so proud to work with,” Steenburgen tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “And I was always a little envious. So to be asked to be a part of this was so thrilling. I felt so honored and lucky every single day.”

Danson, who learned about his wife’s casting “maybe moments” before she did, calls it “really a dream come true” to work together again. “We both love being actors; we both love the process,” he explains. “So we spent two and a half months together getting up, going to work early but just giggling the whole time because of what we got to say and do. It was just really a great opportunity.”

Working on set at the Paramount lot in Los Angeles felt like a full circle moment for the both. Steenburgen did her screen test for the movie Going South, which Jack Nicholson starred in and directed. “I was told, ‘There’s no way it’s going to be you because he needs a big star,'” the actress recalls.

Steenburgen says she had spent all her money traveling to L.A. and needed the last night of her hotel bill covered so she could afford to return to New York City for her waitressing job. “They owed me for that night. So I went in and Jack’s smoking a big cigar and I said, ‘Thank you for the experience. Good luck with your movie. I really hope it goes great. Could you give me that one night’s hotel bill in cash?'” she says. “And he goes, ‘Sit down kid and don’t worry about it. You’re on the payroll now.'”

The room where Nicholson gave her the news is on the Paramount lot. “The archive people helped me track it down and so our grandchildren and my daughter Lily came and we all went in that room,” she adds. “It was such a crazy thrill to be in there.”

About 25 yards away from that office was Stage 25 where Danson filmed his iconic series Cheers. “And we had moved out of our house because of the fires and we were renting a place in Laurel Canyon,” he says of the wildfires earlier this year. “So the whole thing had this ’70s, early ’80s feel. The studio, where we were living, it was just a magical time.”

While all that together-time might hinder some couples, Danson and Steenburgen relished every moment.

“We even shared a trailer,” the actress says, laughing. “And we also had our dog there, which was lovely. We don’t get bored with each other. I don’t know what that says, but I still feel like we have a whole lot of stuff I want to talk to him about.”

“We found each other later in life, so I had ironed out a fair amount of my stuff that didn’t work and created problems in other relationships,” Danson adds. “I finally matured emotionally by the time I met Mary. We don’t take anything for granted, especially at this age.”

A Man on the Inside season 2 is streaming now on Netflix.