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So much about Seinfeld star Michael Richards has been in question since his highly controversial mistake at The Laugh Factory in 2006. Prior to that incident, fans of the sitcom (and of TV in general) saw him as one of the most talented comedic actors of his generation. While that was never in question, little time was spent on the time of person he may or may not be. Of course, Michael has been extremely apologetic for what he said at The Laugh Factory and therefore fans seem to have given him a pass. But then there are stories from the Seinfeld set.
With time comes clarity. And with clarity comes an assortment of revelations. There's no doubt many have been made about Seinfeld, proving that the behind-the-scenes antics on the series were far darker than fans originally knew. While Michael Richards's behavior on set wasn't necessarily 'dark' it was controversial and it almost definitely stirred things up. So much so that Julia Louis-Dreyfus absolutely lost it...
How Michael Richards Behaved On The Set Of Seinfeld
Over the years, the cast of Seinfeld has been more and more honest about how they really felt about Michael Richards. The prevailing thought was that he was an utter genius who was one of the hardest working actors around and yet he was removed and a bit aloof. This is because he almost never broke character and would spend much of his off-camera moments rehearsing and coming up with new facial movements and sounds.
There's no doubt that Michael's dedication to finding out who Cosmo Kramer was ultimately created one of the most unique and beloved characters in sitcom history. But it didn't necessarily create a strong bond with his colleagues. They all loved him, but in a fairly recent making-of documentary, both Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine) and Jason Alexander (George) half-joked that they still don't really know who Michael actually is. This is true now as well as back when they first made the show. But what they did know was that Michael absolutely hated when anyone broke character and could get exceptionally angry about it.
Michael Richards Could Lose His Temper And Julia Louis-Dreyfus Would Just Start Laughing
In the making of Cosmo Kramer documentary, Julia explained that she often found working with Michael "scary" due to the fact that he could do anything with his body for a laugh. He even accidentally hit her in the head with golf clubs once because he swung the bag too hard when he turned. But it didn't bother her because he was so dedicated to trying to make the comedy work.
"The conviction of the man is unsurpassed. So much so that if you screwed up his scene, he could really lose his temper," Julia admitted in the interview.
"I'd get angry, actually," Michael admitted. "I'd say, 'C'mon! Don't.' I just felt that it was unprofessional [to break character and laugh]. I mean, c'mon! Keep it going."
Unfortunately for Michael and his specific way of working, he was sharing the screen with three other actors who often couldn't hold it together. Laughing was like breathing to them. This was especially true of Julia who often burst out laughing during takes. And no one made her laugh more than Michael. Not just because he was such a great actor, but also because she knew she wasn't supposed to laugh around him during work.
"It's like being in church. You're not supposed to laugh in church. It's sort of the same thing working [with Michael] because it's so serious," Julia claimed.
"Maybe I was taking things too seriously," Michael said.
In some of the best outtakes from Seinfeld, Julia can be seen absolutely losing it while working with Michael. She couldn't contain her laughter and he would be noticeably perturbed. Of course, he couldn't stay mad because Julia was just so charming when she laughed. But he still really wanted to remain focused on his work and that is visually evident.
When he was the most frustrated, he would joke about beating Julia with a four-by-four. But this just made Julia laugh even harder. It seems as though she found quite a bit of joy in laughing in uncomfortable moments. The more perturbed he got, the funnier it all was. Especially when another actor was the first to break, then Julia almost had permission to do it too... then there were no restraints.
While Michael's anger caused her to lose it, they both maintain that they loved working together. They just had very different ways of nailing comedy.
