A new biography of Larry David reveals the actors who were considered for the lead roles on Seinfeld, and the names include Jim Carrey, Joe Pesci and Steve Buscemi. The book, The Emperor of Nothing: The Making of Larry David by Blake J. Harris, was released on October 20 and traces David’s career and the creation of the sitcom. Seinfeld ran on NBC from 1989 to 1998, and the book looks back at the casting calls that shaped its four lead roles.
Seinfeld: who was considered for George
Jim Carrey was among the actors considered for George Costanza on Seinfeld, the role that went to Jason Alexander. Other names on the early list included Rick Moranis, Anthony Edwards, Adam Arkin and Paul Feig. Tony Shalhoub auditioned for the part, and Larry Miller was another contender. Casting director Marc Hirschfeld said the early list was a starting point, and that appearing on it did not mean an actor had auditioned or received an offer.
Alexander has talked about the casting since, including on his podcast Really? no, Really? in February 2026, where he discussed the role with co-host Peter Tilden and author Jennifer Keishin Armstrong. He said he first thought Miller would get the part, because of Miller’s friendship with Jerry. Alexander also named Chris Rock, Danny DeVito, Paul Shaffer and Rosie O’Donnell when discussing other actors connected to the process, and Armstrong added Steve Buscemi as another unexpected name.
Seinfeld: the long list for Kramer
The role of Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld drew its own long list. The book’s reported list included Eugene Levy, Joe Pesci, Dan Hedaya, Richard Belzer, Jeff Tambor, Larry Hankin, Harry Dean Stanton and Hector Elizondo. Michael Richards won the part, and his entrances and unpredictable behavior became central to the comedy. Larry Hankin later played the actor cast to play Kramer in the show-within-a-show the series built around Jerry and George in season four.
Richards knew David from their work together on Fridays, the sketch show where the two had collaborated, and that link gave him an edge in the casting process. The part called for a neighbor who could walk in unannounced and take over a scene, and Richards made it his own across nine seasons. The character’s entrances became one of the show’s signatures.
Seinfeld: how Elaine nearly went elsewhere
Elaine Benes had her own list of candidates on Seinfeld, including Rosie O’Donnell, Megan Mullally, Patricia Heaton and Wendie Malick, all of whom auditioned. Julia Louis-Dreyfus won the part, and her portrayal completed the central group alongside Jerry, Alexander and Richards. David had wanted Louis-Dreyfus from the start, because the two had worked together on Saturday Night Live and he knew her comic timing.
Louis-Dreyfus nearly turned the part down. In early 1990 she had a major role in the sitcom Day by Day, playing the main couple’s annoying neighbor, and she hesitated to sign on to a new show. When NBC made Day by Day’s cancellation official, Hirschfeld set up a meeting, and Louis-Dreyfus and Jerry hit it off. She still hesitated before signing, and the show’s pilot had aired without her: The Seinfeld Chronicles set up Jerry, George and Kramer, and NBC’s only major condition for a short first season was that the show add a woman to the cast.
The book’s account of the casting has drawn attention because several names on the lists went on to large careers of their own. The four actors who won the parts stayed with the show for its full run, and later reunited on David’s HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm. The lists in the book come with a warning from Hirschfeld: a name on an early list is only a starting point, and it does not mean the actor auditioned or was offered the part.
Seinfeld went on to run for nine seasons, and the casting choices in the book show how close the show came to looking very different. Harris, the author, drew on interviews with David and his former colleagues for the biography, which also revisits David’s single season as a writer on Saturday Night Live in 1984 and 1985.