It's truly amazing how many now-famous actors played Jerry Seinfeld's girlfriend on the iconic sitcom he starred in. Every one of the leads on Seinfeld has made a ton of money, but so many of the guest-stars have also made a notable name for themselves. The sheer amount of now-A-listers that have come from Seinfeld is one of the many fun facts of the behind the scenes of the show, which was created by buddies Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld.
Now that Seinfeld is long since over, many of the actors who guest-starred on the show have quite a bit to say about their experience.
When Seinfeld arrived on Hulu, GQ tracked down 14 of the now-famous women who played Jerry's girlfriends on the show. Here's the fascinating truth about their experiences and what the show did for their careers...
Auditioning For The Show
Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld were extremely particular about who they invited onto their sitcom, so a rigorous audition process was typical.
Sex and the City's Kristin Davis, who played Jerry's girlfriend who drops something of his in his toilet, said that her manager encouraged her to leave her dramatic roles behind and try her hand at comedy.
"I'd come up through Melrose Place, which was a big soap, obviously," Kristin Davis explained. "Then of course I must have auditioned for Seinfeld five times. For all different parts. Every girlfriend that year. So I remember going into that audition being super cranky. Super cranky in that room full of women! But I really, really wanted to be on the show. And I finally got on it!"
Legally Blonde's Jennifer Coolidge was also really nervous to audition for Seinfeld, especially given the fact she didn't have the clothes for it.
"I didn't even have decent clothes to audition in. I didn't have any flattering outfits. So I went to this store, and there was a mother and daughter who worked in the store. I said, "I'm auditioning for Seinfeld tomorrow." And they were like, "Oh, honey, you've got to wear better clothes than what you're wearing."
Will & Grace's Debra Messing, Gilmore Girl's Lauren Graham (who also went on to appear on Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm), Frasier's Jane Leeves, Friends' Courteney Cox, Desperate Housewives' Marcia Cross, Oscar-Winner Marlee Matlin, Breaking Bad's Anna Gunn, and Zoolander's Christine Taylor also had similar experiences. None of them were all that famous and all of them were dying to be on such a successful show.
As for Lori Loughlin (yes, even Lori Loughlin played one of Jerry's girlfriends), well, she didn't have to audition like the rest of them. She was already known for playing Aunt Becky on Full House and Seinfeld which was in its finale season wanted her for an episode. In the interview with GQ, she said she jumped at the opportunity before even reading the script.
"Every actor wanted to be on. It was just one of those things," Kristin Davis explained. "Everybody wanted to be on Friends, everybody wanted to be on ER, everybody wanted to be on Seinfeld."
Filming Their Episode Of Seinfeld
Perhaps the biggest hurdle for most of the up-and-coming actors who played one of Jerry's girlfriends was the fact the show was filmed in front of a live studio audience.
"I'd done theater, I'd done TV, but I'd never done a sitcom where you have a live audience while you're being filmed," Kristin Davis explained. "So when we shot a few things without the audience, I was nervous, but I was holding it together relatively well. Then came the day when the audience comes in, and I said, "Jerry, I'm so nervous!" So when they're about to call action, Jerry just says to me, "Don't be nervous. There're just 37 million people watching." [laughs] Then between every take, he'd whisper, "37 million people!"
Luckily for these guest-stars, Jason Alexander (who played George) was particularly welcoming and made sure that everyone felt comfortable and supported.
"I was terribly nervous, but Jason Alexander was so nice to me. I think he felt my fear," comedian Janeane Garofalo said.
"Jason Alexander was like the head boy. He was fussing around, making sure everyone was all right," Jane Leeves added.
Desperate Housewives' Teri Hatcher also said that Jason comforted her by saying that good things happen for the people who guest-starred on Seinfeld... Given how successful all of these actors became, it's apparent that Jason was right.
As for their experience with Larry David, well, it appears as though he was a 'no nonsense' kinda guy. He was constantly writing lines on the spot to make the show funnier, this included Teri Hatcher's famous quip, "They're real, and they're spectacular".
It was this type of energy that Larry David had that spurred Jerry Seinfeld on. The two of them were constantly in a comedy tennis match, pitching ideas to each other as the show was filmed. In a sense, this was a comedy masterclass for every actor who guest-starred. And, in particular, every single one of Jerry Seinfeld's 'girlfriends'.
