All The Cameos You Missed On Seinfeld
Over the course of nine seasons, Seinfeld became one of the best sitcoms on television. The writing and unique sense of humor were some of the takeaways behind the greatness of a show about nothing. Nevertheless, the show has had a few recognizable guest stars who came across the soundstage at NBC.
The cameos that came out of this show really helped solidify some of these actors and give them their first big break. Needless to say, these names you'll come across are a pretty big deal.
Jeremy Piven
In 1993, Piven portrayed George Costanza on the show-within-a-show scene in the season four episode "The Pilot." From there on, the actor was a supporting cast member on the last three seasons on Ellen, playing the title character's cousin, Spence.
Piven would find success playing the no-nonsense Hollywood agent Ari Gold on HBO's Entourage. Recently, Piven had the main role as Jeffrey Tanner on the CBS drama Wisdom of the Crowd.
Megan Mullally
Before earning a guest role, Mullally tested for the role of Elaine Benes. Ultimately, the role would be given to Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Ironically, the actress would appear as George's girlfriend Betsy in the episode "The Implant."
Of course, Mullally went on to have her own success with the role of the sarcastic Karen Walker on Will & Grace. Mullally is a member of the Supreme Music Program, with three albums to date.
Patton Oswalt
Oswalt made his television debut as a video store clerk in the sixth season episode "The Couch." After writing for MADtv and starring in his own comedy special for HBO, Oswalt played Spence Olchin on The King of Queens.
In 2016, after his wife Michelle McNamara's passing, Oswalt announced that her book I'll Be Gone in the Dark would be published. In 2018, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department made an arrest on the Golden State Killer thanks to the help of that book.
Drake Bell
Bell had a small role in the episode "The Frogger" in 1998. From 1999-2002, Bell was a featured performer on The Amanda Show. A year after the show was finished, he and long-time friend Josh Peck starred in Drake & Josh.
In addition to acting, Bell has had a career in music since the early 2000s. Bell's cousin was a former relief pitcher for the San Diego Padres, Heath Bell.
Jon Gries
Gries' small role was playing a homeless man in the sixth season episode "The Beard." He's best known for his role as Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite. He also had a recurring role as Roger Linus on Lost.
Gries also played Bob, a former drug addict who operates a safe haven for abused women in The Bridge. He also appeared in Supernatural on the episodes "Sam, Interrupted" and "Hello, Cruel World."
Jennifer Coolidge
Coolidge would make her television appearance in the episode "The Masseuse." The actress would get her big break thanks to the role of Stifler's Mom in the American Pie franchise. She would reprise the role in American Pie 2. Coolidge nearly received the role of Lynette Scavo on Desperate Housewives.
In 2011, she had a recurring role on 2 Broke Girls, and in 2018, she made an appearance in Ariana Grande's music video "Thank U, Next."
James Spader
Spader had the role of Jason "Stanky" Hanky, a childhood friend of George's in the episode "The Apology." From 2004 to 2008, Spader played Alan Shore on Boston Legal. Spader would reprise the same role on The Practice.
Afterward, the actor had a guest role as Robert California on The Office. He planned to stay through the eighth season, and he joined the cast on a permanent basis. Spader now stars on The Blacklist.
Mariska Hargitay
Like Piven, Hargitay was on the show-within-a-show scene in the season four episode "The Pilot." She plays a method actress who's interested in being Elaine in every way possible. The daughter of bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay would move on to play Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Hargitay is the founder and president of the Joyful Heart Foundation, which is an organization that provides support to survivors of sexual abuse.
Rob Schneider
Before we get to Schneider's role, he was already a staple on TV thanks to Saturday Night Live. It was after he left the show that he played Bob Grossberg in the episode "The Friars Club."
Schneider would go on to have success starring in the movies Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, The Hot Chick, and Benchwarmers. Recently, the actor made appearances in The Ridiculous 6 and Sandy Wexler. Schneider is the father of musician Elle King, with his first wife London King.
Peter Krause
Krause played Tim as one of the Neo-Nazis in the episode "The Limo." He's had leading roles in multiple shows from Sports Night to playing Nate Fisher on Six Feet Under. For his work on the show, Krause was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
From 2016-2017, he starred with Mireille Enos on The Catch, and in August 2017, the actor was cast in the drama 9-1-1.
Michael Chiklis
Chiklis made his appearance in the third season episode "The Stranded." He's perhaps best known for his role as LAPD Detective Vic Mackey on The Shield. He also played Commissioner Tony Scali on The Commish. Another well-known role Chiklis played was The Thing in the Fantastic Four film series.
Additionally, he co-starred as Jim Powel on No Ordinary Family. In 2015, Chiklis was named to the cast of Gotham as Nathaniel Barnes.
Molly Shannon
Like her Saturday Night Live co-star, Shannon also appeared on Seinfeld. She played Sam, the girl who had uncontrollable arm issues in "The Summer of George." The actress hit the spotlight thanks to her SNL character Mary Katherine Geller in Superstar.
In 2018, she co-hosted the Rose Parade with another co-star of hers, Will Ferrell. That same year, she and Ferrell co-hosted the HBO broadcast of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding.
Brad Garrett
In the episode "The Bottle Deposit" Garrett plays Jerry's mechanic who steals his car. Garrett has had success as a stand-up comedian, which led him to play Robert Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond. The actor has three Primetime Emmy Awards to his name with three other nominations as well.
In 2018, Garrett voiced Eeyore in Christopher Robin. In addition to that, he plays Douglas Fogerty, a single father on the sitcom Single Parents.
Jane Leeves
The British actress played Marla the virgin in four episodes during the fourth season. Essentially, she would have more prominent roles following her appearance. Leeves lent her speaking voice and singing voice to the movie James and the Giant Peach as Mrs. Ladybug.
She's best known for playing Daphne Moon on Frasier from 1993 until 2004. She's also known for her role as Joy Scroggs on Hot in Cleveland and she's currently on The Resident.
Jessica Hecht
The actress played Lindsay in two episodes, appearing in "The Couch" and "The Gymnast." Hecht was known for her recurring role on Friends as Susan Bunch, the wife of Ross Geller's ex-wife Carol Willick. The actress has received a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in A View from the Bridge on Broadway.
In 2008, she had a semi-recurring role as Gretchen Schwartz, Walter White's former chemistry assistant on Breaking Bad.
Lauren Graham
Graham played Jerry's speed-dial ranking girlfriend on the episode "The Millennium." A few years after appearing on Seinfeld, Graham landed her breakthrough role as Lorelai Gilmore on Gilmore Girls.
In 2009, the actress would make her Broadway debut as Miss Adelaide in the revival of Guys and Dolls. Graham's debut novel, Someday, Someday, Maybe is a fictionalization of her experiences to becoming an actress. In October 2017, Graham made three appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Amanda Peet
Peet made an appearance in the season eight finale "The Summer of George." Peet has since appeared in a variety of films. She had a featured role in the comedy The Whole Nine Yards. She would also appear in the comedy Saving Silverman and Something's Gotta Give.
Outside of acting, Peet is a writer. She's co-written the children's book Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein. It's about a Jewish girl during the Christmas season and it was published in 2015.
Mark Harelik
The actor played the tennis instructor Milos in the episode "The Comeback." Despite not appearing in many films or TV shows, Harelik has had some interesting roles on popular sitcoms.
He would play Dr. Eric Gablehauser, who fires Sheldon after insulting him on The Big Bang Theory. Plus, he appeared in Breaking Bad during the show's third season. He played a doctor whose patient is Hank Schrader following his horrific accident.
Christine Taylor
Taylor played Jerry's girlfriend in the episode "The Van Buren Boys." The actress would go on to play Marcia Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie, and the sequel as well. She had roles in The Wedding Singer, and co-starred alongside Ben Stiller in Zoolander and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.
After 17 years of marriage, Taylor and Stiller filed for a divorce in 2017. She will star in the 2019 movie Friendsgiving.
Teri Hatcher
Hatcher played Sidra Holland, a woman Jerry dates in "The Implant." After her appearance, the actress became well-known for playing Lois Lane on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. She also played Paris Craver in the James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies.
From 2004-2012, the actress played Susan Mayer on Desperate Housewives. She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. In 2018, she made appearances on The Great Celebrity Bake Off and QI.
Larry Hankin
Hankin played the actor who auditioned for Kramer in "The Pilot." Interestingly enough, he played Mr. Heckles on Friends, Monica and Rachel's downstairs neighbor who complains about the noise the two always make.
He is known for his major film roles as Charley Butts in Escape From Alcatraz and as Ace in Running Scared. He would later appear with Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad during seasons three-five, where he played the junkyard owner, Old Joe.
Sarah Silverman
The comedian played Kramer's girlfriend Emily in the episode "The Money." Before that, Silverman was a writer and occasional performer on Saturday Night Live. Some of the movies she appeared in were There's Something About Mary and School of Rock. She even had her own program, The Sarah Silverman Program, from 2007 to 2010.
In 2016, she became politically active for Bernie Sanders. Since 2017, Silverman has hosted a web talk show, I Love You, America With Sarah Silverman.
Jon Favreau
The actor-turned-director played Eric the Clown in the episode "The Fire." Afterward, Favreau would find success starring the movie Swingers. In 1997, he appeared on Friends as Monica's millionaire boyfriend who competes in the UFC.
In 2001, he made his directorial debut with Made, then directed the Christmas classic Elf. He would direct Iron Man and play Tony Stark's driver, Happy Hoga. Favreau is directing a CGI remake of Disney's The Lion King.
Bob Odenkirk
The writer-actor appeared as Ben in the episode "The Abstinence." Odenkirk has had a lengthy career, but thanks to the success of Breaking Bad, it led the actor to more prominent roles. He would appear in Fargo, The Post, and The Incredibles 2.
But, recently, he's reprised his role of Saul Goodman on Better Call Saul. Odenkirk co-wrote, produced, and starred in the Netflix Original film, Girlfriends Day, which was released in 2017.
Debra Messing
Messing appeared as Jerry's romantic interest in two episodes "The Wait Out" and "The Yada Yada." During this time, her agent approached her with a script for Will & Grace, where she would play Grace Adler on the Emmy-winning series.
From 2007 to 2008, Messing starred as Molly Kagan, the ex-wife of a Hollywood film mogul, on the television miniseries, The Starter Wife. Since 2017, the actress would reprise her role of Grace on the revival of Will & Grace.
Catherine Keener
Keener guest-starred as Jerry's artistic girlfriend in the episode "The Letter." In 2000, the actress would earn herself an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Being John Malkovich. She would also play Steve Carrell's love interest in the Judd Apatow film, The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
In 2017, the actress found herself playing Missy Armitage in the social thriller Get Out. She's currently co-starring with Jim Carrey in the Showtime drama Kidding.
Anna Gunn
Gunn played Jerry's girlfriend Amy in the fifth season episode "The Glasses." Of course, the actress is very well-known for playing Walter White's wife, Skyler, on Breaking Bad. She won two Primetime Emmy Awards for her role in 2013 and 2014.
Also in 2014, Gunn starred Off-Broadway with Billy Magnussen in Sex With Strangers. In 2017, the actress made 10 appearances in the drama Shades of Blue as Julia Ayres.
Denise Richards
Richards played the daughter to NBC president Russell Dalrymple in the episode "The Shoes." She would earn her big break as the Bond girl, Christmas Jones, in The World Is Not Enough. She even had her own show Denise Richards: It's Complicated.
In 2010 and 2011, she had a regular role on the series Blue Mountain State. She's currently starring in the Bravo reality show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Courtney Cox
The Friends actress played Meryl in the episode "The Wife." Her appearance on the show came around the same time Friends was getting big. Following her success on both shows, Cox would appear in the horror film series Scream and Jules Cobb in Cougartown, for which she earned herself a Golden Globe nomination.
She owns a production company called Coquette Productions that was created by the actress and her ex-husband, David Arquette.
Bryan Cranston
Cranston played Jerry's dentist, Dr. Tim Whatley. Afterward, he earned great success throughout his career. He had the role of Hal in the comedy series Malcolm in The Middle and had a small role as Ted's boss in How I Met Your Mother.
Following the success of Breaking Bad, Cranston continues to find work in the industry. In 2015, Cranston and David Shore executive produced and wrote the Amazon Studios original crime drama, Sneaky Pete.
