In the pantheon of classic sitcoms and popular TV shows from the ‘90s, there are arguably few that can compare to Seinfeld. The hit NBC comedy had a notoriously good run, and it became even more iconic for going out on its own terms. Of everything that the show did right, the cast of delightfully bizarre characters that it assembled has to rank near the top of the list. With that in mind, we have compiled a list of some of our favorite Seinfeld cast members to see what they've been up to since the show went off the air.
Jerry Seinfeld (Jerry Seinfeld)
Before Seinfeld propelled him to stardom in the 1990s, Jerry Seinfeld was already a well-established stand-up comedian. Following the end of the show's run, he returned to that corner of the entertainment world and continues to tour to this day, having also released one of the funniest Netflix stand-up comedy specials with 2020’s 23 Hours to Kill. The star and creator of Bee Movie has maintained a strong relationship with the streaming platform, which also houses his hit reality show, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, and upcoming Netflix movie, Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story, which he also co-wrote and directed.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine Benes)
Of the four core members of the cast, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (whom you may have forgotten was on SNL) arguably did the best job of sidestepping the "Seinfeld Curse" as an actor with her Emmy-winning roles on CBS’s The New Adventures of Old Christine and in HBO's Veep cast. Since the biting political satire ended, her popularity and acclaim has only continued to grow with parts in movies like Pixar’s Onward and her role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, whom she will reprise in the Thunderbolts movie in 2025. The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor recipient also has an upcoming A24 movie called Tuesday.
Michael Richards (Cosmo Kramer)
Years after his attempt to follow Seinfeld with his own self-titled NBC sitcom, Michael Richards retreated from the public eye following an unfortunate incident in 2007 in which he yelled racial slurs at loud audience members while performing stand-up. He has since made sporadic appearances in film and television roles, such as on TV Land’s short-lived comedy, Kirstie, a 2019 rom-com called Faith, Hope & Love, and even appearing on Curb Your Enthusiasm as himself to spoof his infamous incident. His stint as Jerry Seinfeld's eccentric, scheming neighbor, Kramer, in many ways remains the Emmy-winner’s most iconic character to this day.
Jason Alexander (George Costanza)
In the years since Jason Alexander achieved fame with some hilarious moments as George Costanza on Seinfeld, he has gone on to a number of roles in film, television, and theater. Many of the most notable are voice acting roles, such as Sy Borgman on Max's hit DC TV show, Harley Quinn, from Netflix’s animated film, Leo, as Jayda’s Dad, or Hulu’s History of the World, Part II cast as Maurice Cheeks. The Tony winner’s next projects include a comedy called Stealing Pulp Fiction and Anthony and Joe Russo’s upcoming action flick, The Electric State.
Wayne Knight (Newman)
Hello, Newman. Outside of his best known role as Kramer’s buddy and Jerry’s nemesis, Wayne Knight popped up in a few of the best ‘90s movies, such as Jurassic Park and Basic Instinct, during Seinfeld’s run. Following his years creating some hilarious moments on the sitcom as Newman, the actor found a starring part on another NBC comedy (3rd Rock from the Sun) as well as many great voice acting roles, like Al in Toy Story 2 and “Gang Boss” in Kung Fu Panda. His incredibly eclectic career also includes The Punisher: War Zone, Netflix’s Narcos, a background part in the Coen Brothers' Hail, Caesar!, and playing himself alongside Paul Hogan in 2020’s The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee.
Larry David (Various)
The original actor to play Newman (only as the voice) was Seinfeld’s co-creator, Larry David, who actually played several different characters on the series – the most famous being New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. However, the comedian’s most famous role to date, overall, is a fictionalized version of himself that appears most frequently on Curb Your Enthusiasm (which is airing its final season on HBO), but has also made appearances on the likes of Entourage and Hannah Montana. David would also return to SNL (for which he had a brief writing gig) with a spot-on Bernie Sanders impression, and is also known for movies like HBO’s Clear History and the Farrelly Brothers’ The Three Stooges.
Patrick Warburton (David Puddy)
Patrick Warburton – who had a hilarious Seinfeld stint as Elaine’s delightfully deadpan, on-and-off boyfriend, David Puddy – is known for his many great voice acting roles, such as Kronk in The Emperor’s New Groove, Joe Swanson from Family Guy, a part in the aforementioned Bee Movie and even Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story characters animated spin-off series, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. He also became a prolific character actor in the live-action medium, too, as the star of his own TV comedies – namely the first live-action adaptation of The Tick and Rules of Engagement, as a TV husband constantly put in his place by his wife. He also went on to playLemony Snicket on Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events TV show and some of his upcoming credits include a comedy movie called Christmas Telethon and a horror-comedy called The Unearthly.
Bryan Cranston (Dr. Tim Whatley)
You probably need no introduction to Bryan Cranston, who was best known as Dr. Tim Whatley on Seinfeld before joining the Malcolm in the Middle cast as Hal. He followed that with his four-time Emmy-winning role as Walter White on the Breaking Bad cast, which propelled him to a level of stardom that earned him Oscar-nominated roles like the title subject of Trumbo and parts in big budget films like the voice of Zordon in 2017's Power Rangers. In addition to his return to TV on Showtime’s Your Honor, Cranston starred in a few Wes Anderson movies (Isle of Dogs and Asteroid City), played a villain in Argylle, and is reprising his role as Li in the upcoming 2024 movie, Kung Fu Panda 4.
Steve Hytner (Kenny Bania)
After becoming a Seinfeld fan-favorite for portraying Jerry's stand-up comedy rival, Steve Hytner retired the Ovaltine jokes, but has stayed active as a TV performer, such as with a starring role on the short-lived sitcom, Working, and subsequent TV guest spots on The Goldbergs, Silicon Valley, and Solar Opposites. Hytner’s most recent feature-length credits include 2012’s Fred 3: Camp Fred, 2016’s Bad Vegan and the Teleportation Machine, and Extracurricular Activities from 2019. Every time he's been gold, Jerry! Gold!
Richard Fancy (Mr. Lippman)
Out of all of Elaine Benes’ insane bosses, one of the best-known and most consistently hilarious is Mr. Lippman (of Pendant Publishing fame), played by Richard Fancy (previously of Tango & Cash and It’s Garry Shandling’s Show fame). Some of his most notable post-Seinfeld credits include Being John Malkovich, 2004’s The Girl Next Door, and a couple Rob Zombie movies (2007’s Halloween and The Lords of Salem). That’s not even counting his small screen accomplishments, such as 49 episodes of General Hospital, a recurring role on CBS’ The District, and guest spots on Ray Donovan and Grace and Frankie, to name just a few.
John O'Hurley (J. Peterman)
Another one of Elaine Benes' eccentric Seinfeld bosses – the overly exuberant J. Peterman – is one of the best-known roles of actor John O'Hurley. His other most famous live-action gig is hosting Family Feud from 2006 until 2010, when he chose to leave under the belief that the game show became less “family-friendly,” as he told Fox News later. He has lent his distinct, golden voice to memorable roles such as King Neptune on SpongeBob Squarepants, Roger Doofenschmirtz on Phineas & Ferb, and Hades on Monster High.
Phil Morris (Jackie Chiles)
A Seinfeld side character whose planned spin-off was unfortunately cancelled is Kramer’s lawyer, Jackie Chiles – an “outrageous” Johnnie Cochrane parody played by Phil Morris, whose most notable previous credits included Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, 35 episodes of Mission: Impossible, and The Young and the Restless as, coincidentally, a law student. After the sitcom’s end, the actor voiced Dr. Sweet in Disney’s Atlantis: The Lost Empire – one of his many, many voice acting roles, including a dog in 2023’s Strays, most recently. One of his most recent live-action roles was on Doom Patrol as Silas Stone – one of the many, many DC characters he has played, including Vandal Savage in the animated Justice League series.
Danny Woodburn (Mickey Abbott)
If Kramer was not hanging with the rest of the main four, Newman, or Bob Sacamano, he was with Mickey Abbott, which was essentially the breakthrough role for comedian Danny Woodburn. The disability rights activist went on to have a starring role on the short-lived series Conan the Adventurer, was on 26 episodes of Passions as a “Demon Elf,” and landed recent guest roles on shows like Disney+’s Willow and Billions on Showtime. His most famous movie roles come from Jingle All the Way, an uncredited part in 2009’s Watchmen, all of the Santa Paws movies, and 2014’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as Splinter.
Larry Thomas (The Soup Nazi)
Easily the most iconic food moments on Seinfeld come courtesy of Yev “The Soup Nazi” Kassem – easily the most recognizable role of Larry Thomas. The actor has since paid homage to his memorable, Emmy-nominated guest appearance in countless ways, either in person yelling “No soup for you!” at fans, sending messages on Cameo, or with his Scrubs cameo as himself. Outside of that, Thomas has appeared in movies like Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and TV shows like Drake & Josh and Arrested Development.
Jerry Stiller (Frank Costanza)
Already Hollywood and comedy royalty at the time he was cast in the recurring role of George Costanza’s father, Frank, Jerry Stiller went on to land a starring role on The King of Queens as Carrie’s father, Arthur. During those years, he would also work more frequently with his son, Ben Stiller – such as when he reprised Maury Ballstein in the 2016’s Zoolander 2. The 2016 sequel would become his last acting credit before Stiller passed away in 2020 at the age of 92.
Estelle Harris (Estelle Costanza)
Also no longer with us is the actor who played George’s mother, Estelle Costanza: Estelle Harris, who passed away in 2022. In terms of sheer numbers, there's an argument to be made that she became one of the most successful Seinfeld alumni, having voiced Mrs. Potato Head in three Toy Story movies, most notably. More of Estelle Harris’ best gigs include 2003’s Brother Bear and the 2014 music biopic, CBGB.
While not all of our favorite Seinfeld cast members are with us any longer, we are thankful to have been able to see this ensemble as “masters of their domain” on one of the greatest TV comedies of all time.
