Jerry Seinfeld Reveals His Favorite Character From The Show
Jerry Seinfeld revealed his favorite character from his eponymous sitcom is his Postal Carrier nemesis, Newman.
Comedy legend Jerry Seinfeld is a household name, but his prolific career in stand-up, film, and television is chiefly defined by the sitcom Seinfeld, which ran from 1989 to 1998. The “show about nothing” is chock full of hilarious supporting characters encountered by Seinfeld and friends as they navigate day-to-day life in New York City, and the star of the show took to Reddit to answer user mist87’s question of who his favorite supporting character was. For Jerry Seinfeld, the best character outside of the main four was his nemesis, Newman (Wayne Knight).
Despite the fictional rivalry, the real Jerry Seinfeld said he loved Newman because he was the closest thing he had to an arch-nemesis. “I mean, when I got to have a real evil nemesis like Superman would have,” wrote Seinfeld, “that was a dream come true for me.” Known for his love of the DC boy scout, it comes as no great shock that Seinfeld likened the relationship between his character and Newman to that of Superman and the evil Lex Luthor.
As played by actor Wayne Knight, the postman Newman was a constant, tacky thorn in Jerry’s side. As a neighbor of Seinfeld and friend of series regular Kramer, Newman showed up quite often, always to Jerry’s annoyance. As Jerry Seinfeld pointed out in his Reddit answer, there was no legitimate explanation as to why, his character just hated the guy.
Though no particular (or at least substantial) reason for Jerry Seinfeld to despise Newman was ever revealed, Wayne Knight does have a talent for playing unlikable characters. He took on the role of the money-grubbing programmer Dennis Nedry in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park and recently voiced a particularly sleazy interpretation of the Penguin in HBO Max’s animated Harley Quinn series. The character of Newman has a way of getting under the skin, and Wayne Knight delivers aggravation at an expert level.
As for Jerry Seinfeld, the stand-up comedian turned actor has gone far beyond the beloved television series; he recently took the director’s chair for his first feature film, Unfrosted. The Netflix film, which is currently in post-production, tells the story of a competition between Kellogg’s and Post during the 1960s that brought about the creation of the Pop-Tart. Unfrosted boasts a delectable cast that includes James Marsden, Hugh Grant, Rachael Harris, Christian Slater, Melissa McCarthy, Max Greenfield, Amy Schumer, and yes, Jerry Seinfeld.
Seinfeld is a bonafide classic, and with 180 episodes over the course of nine seasons, it accumulated a lot of great supporting characters. The Soup Nazi, Jerry’s Uncle Leo, and Elaine’s host of boyfriends played by actors like Bryan Cranston and Patrick Warburton represent just a few of the iconic parts that populate the series. For a Superman fan like Jerry Seinfeld, the hero/villain relationship between Seinfeld and Newman makes Wayne Knight’s pesky postman the cream of the crop.
The show rocketed the careers of Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Wayne Knight, and others who continue to entertain us today. The series has enjoyed prolific syndication for decades, and with all nine seasons of Seinfeld currently streaming on Netflix, the battle between Seinfeld and Newman will likely continue through legendary passive-aggressive exchanges for years to come.
