Marisa Tomei Only Appeared As George’s Love Interest On Seinfeld For This Bizarre Reason
Marisa Tomei says she was cast as a fictional version of herself on Seinfeld specifically because of her name.
Fans of Seinfeld will remember when Marisa Tomei appeared in the seventh season of the series as a love interest for George Costanza, but they may be surprised to learn why she was cast in the first place. Speaking to Insider, Marisa Tomei said that co-creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David thought her name had a “strong rhythm,” leading them to bring her on the show. This is evidenced by the fact that her name appears more than 30 times in the script and that Costanza repeats it often throughout episodes 14 and 15 of the season.
Marisa Tomei played a version of herself when she appeared on Seinfeld, which is why her name pops up so often. Specifically, she played a version of herself that has a thing for quirky bald men, thus her attraction to Jason Alexander’s Costanza. It’s no surprise that Tomei’s performance was memorable and that it’s still talked about to this day.
Maria Tomei is far from the only star to appear on Seinfeld during its nine-season run. The incredibly popular show had stars like Teri Hatcher, Bette Midler, James Spader, Megan Mullaly, Peter Stormare, Jon Favreau, Bob Odenkirk, Bryan Cranston, and even fellow major 90s sitcom star Courtney Cox. Though the series ended in 1998, it’s just as popular as ever, with streaming platforms giving it another life.
When Marisa Tomei appeared on Seinfeld, it was just a few years after her first and only Oscar win for My Cousin Vinny. While Seinfeld was no stranger to guest stars, it’s rare that they were big enough to warrant playing themselves. She was in good company though, as the aforementioned Better Midler played herself, along with David Letterman, Fred Savage, Regis Philbin, Kathie Lee Gifford, Raquel Welch, Keith Hernandez, and Jon Voight.
Since Marisa Tomei’s role on Seinfeld, she’s continued to have an illustrious acting career. She would go on to be nominated for more Oscars in In the Bedroom and The Wrestler. Recently, she reprised her role as May Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which became one of the highest-grossing movies of all time.
Marisa Tomei also appeared in quite a few TV series following her stint on Seinfeld, though none of them was quite the pop culture juggernaut that Seinfeld was (not including her guest appearance on The Simpsons). Tomei would have notable roles in shows like Rescue Me and Empire, though she’s mostly stuck to movies in this phase of her career. In fact, we should be seeing quite a few more films from Tomei in the near future.
Marisa Tomei has three films in various phases of production at the moment, with her rom-com Upgraded and the dramedy She Came to Me in the post-production phases. No word on when we can see these two films, but it will likely be before we see The Smack, which is in the pre-production stages at the moment. In any case, you can always head to Netflix and stream the episodes of Seinfeld with Marisa Tomei in them if you’re missing Tomei’s acting in your life.
