Ted Danson, 76, Says He Finds ‘Same Joy’ Acting Now as His 20s: 'Makes Me So Happy' (Exclusive)

The actor spoke to PEOPLE at the Los Angeles premiere of 'A Man on the Inside' on Sunday, Nov. 10

 Amanda Edwards/Getty Ted Danson at 'A Man on the Inside' premiere in Los Angeles on Nov. 10, 2024

Amanda Edwards/Getty

Ted Danson at 'A Man on the Inside' premiere in Los Angeles on Nov. 10, 2024

Ted Danson is still in love with acting.

“I feel the same joy I did in my late twenties when I drove through studio gate,” the actor, 76, says about his decades-long career at the Los Angeles premiere of A Man on the Inside on Sunday, Nov. 10.

"It makes me very happy, which is why I think I work a lot," he adds to PEOPLE about seeing “the guards and the crew members and the actors.”

"I'm not sure how good I am; it doesn't matter. It makes me so happy to be doing this,“ he continues.

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Charley Gallay/Getty From Left: D'Arcy Carden, Ted Danson, and Kristen Bell at Netflix's 'A Man on the Inside' on Nov. 10, 2024

Charley Gallay/Getty

From Left: D'Arcy Carden, Ted Danson, and Kristen Bell at Netflix's 'A Man on the Inside' on Nov. 10, 2024

Related: Ted Danson Apologizes to Cheers Costar Kelsey Grammer for 30 Years of 'Missed' Friendship: 'It's My Bad'

Speaking to PEOPLE about using his age while acting, Danson adds, “One of my joys, and I've been able to do it in life several times, is to use my age and what I'm going through in life and explore that.”

“What is it like to be 76 and be funny, trying to be funny?” he says. “What does that feel like? Oh my God, my greatest joy is to be funny possibly in every possible way I can.”

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Danson went on to explain that he believes he has an opportunity to show others that older people can still be creative and that productivity doesn’t decline with age.

“You can still do anything even at our age, and one of the things you have to teach them is how to die, and how to live right up until you do,” he says. “Don't call it quits, don't wind down, keep going. The world needs you.”

Charley Gallay/Getty From Left: Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Ted Danson, Lilah Richcreek Estrada, and Stephanie Beatriz at Netflix's 'A Man on the Inside' on Nov. 10, 2024

Charley Gallay/Getty

From Left: Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Ted Danson, Lilah Richcreek Estrada, and Stephanie Beatriz at Netflix's 'A Man on the Inside' on Nov. 10, 2024

Related: Ted Danson Says The Good Place Had Real-Life Ethics Professors 'on Speed Dial' to Make Sure the Show Was 'Right'

“So that to me is one of the great messages of this piece," he adds about A Man on the Inside. "It's something that I hope for myself. That's what I want for myself.”

Based on Maite Alberdi's 2020 documentary The Mole Agent, A Man on the Inside follows the life of Charles (Danson), a former retired person turned amateur private investigator.

The series which was created by Michael Schur, is set to premiere on Netflix on Nov. 21.