Kelsey Grammer admits it's exhausting when films rewrite history
Kelsey Grammer admits it's exhausting when Hollywood movies alter history or classic stories to fit modern tastes. The Frasier star told The Katie Miller Podcast that historical significance should be respected culturally, and that studios that tell audiences what they have to see often flop at the box office.
Key Takeaways
- Grammer said some modern entertainment "hits me over the head" until it feels "a little exhausting."
- He argued historical settings should respect cultural reality, saying old England was "probably full of White people."
- He predicted Hollywood will course-correct because flops prove studios cannot dictate what audiences must watch.
- The comments came as Katie Miller pressed him on remakes like Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey."
The Frasier actor's remarks land in a heated debate over remakes and period pieces. For more celebrity headlines, see our Celebrity Breaking News hub.
What did Kelsey Grammer say about rewriting history?
On The Katie Miller Podcast, host Katie Miller — wife of White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller — argued Hollywood reinvents classics such as The Odyssey "to fit their views."
Grammer said he had not seen Nolan's The Odyssey. Still, he recognized the pattern when messaging feels forced. "It's a little exhausting," he said of entertainment that "hits me over the head."
He added that the past was less multicultural than some films suggest: "I think old England is probably full of White people." He also said, "I think historical significance should be respected a little bit, culturally."
Why does Grammer think Hollywood will change course?
Asked whether studios will return to respecting history, Grammer said yes. "Hollywood isn't very good at telling people what they have to see, you know, because then they flop," he replied, according to Page Six.
Miller noted successive years of flops. One example cited in the report is Disney's Snow White, which reportedly lost about $170 million. Grammer said studios are "probably figuring it out," adding, "I think eventually flopping doesn't work so well."
He said he was glad The Odyssey was made, but wondered whether creators had "pitched it too far in to our particular culture" and risked divorcing viewers from "what actually happened."
How does this fit the wider remake debate?
Page Six placed Grammer's comments alongside culture-war flashpoints from remakes like The Little Mermaid and Snow White to ancient-history adaptations such as Cleopatra and The Odyssey.
Nolan's film has drawn criticism for modernized dialogue and a more traumatized Odysseus, yet it has still become a box-office hit even as audiences and critics remain divided. The full Grammer interview was set to appear Tuesday night on the podcast's YouTube page.
His bottom line is less about one title than about fatigue with politics layered onto classic stories — and confidence that ticket sales, not lectures, will decide what Hollywood does next.