Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen accepted the Bob Hope Humanitarian award at the 2025 Emmy Awards.

The husband and wife, who have been married for 30 years, were presented the honor for their “lifetime of extraordinary philanthropy, activism and unwavering commitment to global good,” according to an announcement release. The honor, which is decided by the TV Academy’s board of directors, was presented by Danson’s The Good Place collaborators Kristen Bell and Michael Schur during the 77th Primetime ceremony.

Danson kicked off the pair’s speech. “It’s named after a man who’s very name was Hope, and that is what Bob Hope brought to people for 50 years as he traveled the world entertaining our troops,” he told the crowd, sending love to Hope’s family. “There’s no honor that would mean more to Mary and me than this one, and the fact that it’s been given to both of us means the world.”

Steenburgen noted that each of their parents would have loved to see them receive this honor as it had to do with the way they were raised. “My dad, an Arkansas freight train conductor, played by all of the rules at work, save one. When he came across a man down on his luck and hiding in a box car. He didn’t put them off the train. He let them ride,” the actress said. “Even though I was a child, I understood well the beauty of that act of kindness.”

The pair also lightly touched on the state of the world, with Steenburgen noting “that life is made up of two emotions, love and fear” and that currently, “the world’s a little out of balance.” She added, “We don’t want to live in fear, so we make ourselves useful working for organizations that move the scale away from fear and put us smack dab in the middle of love.”

The 2025 Emmy Awards were hosted by Nate Bargatze and held at the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles, airing on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ from 5-8 p.m. PT/8-11 p.m. ET.