Alex Carson
For a show that was about nothing, Seinfeld had pretty complicated plots and sub-plots. Most of the episodes were based on the life and experiences of the show’s co-creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, but the Seinfeld cast brought even more characters to life. Seinfeld’s real-life neighbor, Kenny Kramer, is the inspiration for Cosmo Kramer’s character. After the audience got to know the characters, it did not take long for Seinfeld to become a cultural phenomenon. During its nine-year-run, the show nominated for a total of 68 Emmys and won 10.
Though the on-screen relationships exuded love and camaraderie, the cast did not always get on so well behind the scenes. Stories of catfights and tears were quite rampant during the show’s run. Believe it or not, some characters were written out, because cast members did not want to deal with the actor playing the role. In this video, we tell you about these lesser-known facts about the Seinfeld cast. Facts Verse Presents Dark Secrets from the Seinfeld cast.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus Cried at the Idea of Her Character Being Shown as Fat
During its nine-year-run, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, everyone’s beloved Elaine Benes, became pregnant twice. She had her first child, Henry, in 1992. Her second child was born in 1997. During her late months of first pregnancy, it became quite difficult to hide Julia’s growing baby bump but the team managed somehow. However, during her second pregnancy, Jerry came up with the idea of showing Elaine Benes as having gained some weight. This upset Julia so much that she actually cried on the sets, which ultimately led to Jerry dropping the whole idea. Julia later confessed to regretting not going ahead with Jerry’s plan.
It’s okay Julia, pregnancy hormones aren’t easy to handle.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus Often Targeted by Roseanne Barr and Her Husband
Roseanne, an American sitcom that revolved around the fictional family of comedian Roseanne Barr . In fact, the show occupied the number one spot on the Neilsen Ratings between 1989 and 1990. However, Seinfeld dented the show’s success, and thus, of course, there’s no love lost between the cast of the two shows. The story goes that once Julia Louis-Dreyfus parked her car in Tom Arnold’s parking sport, who played Arnie Thomas on Roseanne, by mistake. When she came back later, she found a note full of expletives from Arnold. As if that wasn’t enough, Arnold’s wife went one step ahead and called Julia a ‘bitch’ on Letterman’s show.
Apparently, Lee Garlington Written out Because Larry David Disapproved of Her
In the pilot episode titled The Seinfeld Chronicles, Lee Garlington chose to play the role of Claire, the show’s main female lead. Claire worked as a waitress at the diner that George and Seinfeld often visited. They say that Garlington’s role wrote out because she gave too many suggestions to Larry David. She went on to say she could write better than him. Another story goes that Garlington wrote out because NBC executives wanted a stronger female lead, she did not fit the criteria.
Well, only David and Garlington can tell the truth. Please like and subscribe to our channel and press the bell icon to get notified of all our latest videos.
And Heidi Swedberg Killed Because She Was Impossible to Work With
Talking of people who lost their jobs because they acted too smart, Heidi Swedberg who played the role of George Constanza’s fiance Susan was killed off because she was impossible to work with. Jason Alexander almost found it impossible to match his humor with Susan’s. Moreover, she found it quite difficult to work with him but he restricted himself from drawing any conclusions. However, when Seinfeld and Julia experienced the same thing, they decided to go to Larry David. It was Julia who said that she disliked Susan so much that she just wanted to kill her and Larry liked the idea so much that he did. Alexander later apologize to Swedberg but what’s done is done.
Both Julia and Alexander Threatened by Each Other
We have all heard that actors are very insecure people. Turns out this was true of both Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
When the role of Julia Louis-Dreyfus was introduced, Alexander was worried that a lead actress in the plot would lead to him having fewer lines. He often complained about how he wasn’t getting as much on-screen time as other actors. In fact, during season 3, Jason Alexender even threatened to walk off the show. The cast was doing a table read and Alexander’s character George Costanza did not have a single line. This upset Alexander so much that he told David that he would walk out if this happened again.
On the other hand, Julia Louis-Dreyfus was always worried about the male actors on the show getting better jokes and more on-screen time. Funny, isn’t it?
The Entire Cast Was Threatened by Kramer’s Popularity
It did not take long for Michael Richards, who played Kramer, to become the audience’s favorite. Michael’s portrayal of Kramer was unique, funny, and spot-on. Thus, every time Michael entered on stage as Kramer, the audience would cheer incessantly. This eventually led to the other stars feeling insecure. The other cast members threatened by Kramer’s popularity that the producers had to request the audience not to clap every time Kramer entered the stage.
Everyone Scared of the Actor Who Plays Elaine’s Dad
Lawrence Tierney, who played Elaine Bennes’ dad, was actually pretty scary in real life. Cast members revealed that Tierney always carried a butcher knife with him everywhere he went. This often disturbed other cast members. Jerry Seinfeld once decided to question Tierney about the butcher knife. When he did, Tierney immediately started fake stabbing Seinfeld. Everyone on the set scared but pretended to be brave. In the end, they decided to write off Lawrence Tierney’s character.
Jerry’s Friend Michael Costanza Claimed He Was the Inspiration Behind George Costanza
The show’s creators maintained since the very beginning that the character of George Costanza was based on Larry David. But, Michael Constanza, a real-life friend of Jerry, was convinced that he was the inspiration behind the character. Moreover, Michael was also convinced that the character of George Costanza portrayed him in a bad light. He sued Jerry Seinfeld for $100 million over this. According to Costanza, Seinfeld had violated his privacy by using his name and identity. In 2001, a New York court dismissed Costanza’s appeal.
Two NBC Executives Were Hell Bent on Getting the Show Cancelled
The Chinese Restaurant episode almost had the entire show canceled. The episode was about Jerry, Elaine, and George wanted to eat a Chinese meal before going for a movie. NBC executive Rick Ludwin and Jeremiah Bosgang found the entire episode ‘plotless’. They, therefore, decided to talk to their seniors to not to go ahead with the show. It was Larry David who convinced the two that the episode went with the larger theme of the show and therefore, they must air the episode.
The Soup Nazi Banned All Cast Members from His Eatery
The ‘Soup Nazi’ who appeared in season 7 of the show is one of the most memorable characters from the show. The character was based on Ali ‘Al’ Yeganneh. It is believed that after watching the episode, Yeganneh banned Seinfeld and the entire cast of the show from his eatery. Years after Seinfeld went off the air, Yeganneh started another soup restaurant and he made sure none of the Seinfeld cast members were invited there.
NBC Had to Extend a Formal Apology After the Puerto Rican Day Episode
The episode The Puerto Rican Day was criticized heavily for negatively portraying Puerto Ricans. In the episode, Jerry, George, Kramer, and Elaine go to see a Mets day and get stuck in traffic caused by Puerto Rican Day celebrations. The Puerto Ricans took such offense to the episode that they protested for days outside NBC’s Rockefeller Center. The crowd dispersed only after NBC issued a formal apology. The show was never shown again on NBC and was also taken off the syndicated package.
NBC Offered to Pay Seinfeld $5 Million per Episode If He Agreed to Do Season 10
Though some NBC executives may have wanted to kill the show in the beginning, after season 9, Seinfeld became so popular that NBC offered to pay Seinfeld $5 million per episode to do season 10. At the time, Seinfeld was already making $1 million per episode. Anyway, he had a clear ending to the show and he didn’t want to compromise the integrity of the show by unnecessarily stretching it for money. Smart, huh?
Seinfeld has become an integral part of pop culture discourse. The show ‘about nothing’ made it a point to show people as they are — selfish and sometimes, very unlikeable. The humor was, however, always smart and on-point and the camaraderie between the lead characters was always fun to watch. However, this on-screen love did not always transform into off-screen love and friendship as well. So, did you know these dark secrets about the cast of Seinfeld? Do you know any other secrets that we are unaware of?
