Believe it or not, the role of Frank Costanza was originally played by the late veteran actor John Randolph. But that was because Jerry Stiller initially said no to the role — mostly because he was in the middle of performing in a Broadway show, but also because he had never heard of Jerry Seinfeld before. However, as Stiller explained in an interview with “Pioneers of TV,” six months later producer Larry David met with him and admitted that Randolph wasn’t working out. The part was re-offered with some immediate direction from David regarding Frank’s on-screen wife. “You’re working with a lady who screams a lot. She’s very loud,” Stiller said, repeating David’s words. “And I want you to play it down.” Stiller agreed, but as his fans now know, David’s direction didn’t last long.
When Stiller first got to the “Seinfeld” set and ran through rehearsals with Harris, she played the role exactly how David explained. However, Stiller could tell that the character dynamic between the two of them wasn’t clicking, and the audience’s non-reaction proved it. Stiller gave it another try and — this time — yelled back at Harris instead of staying quiet. “Well, everybody starts screaming and laughing. And Larry David said ‘yeah, keep it that way,'” he recalled. The rest is history as this ready-to-blow-any-moment firecracker of a character was exactly what fans got and adored throughout the rest of Stiller’s run on the hit series.
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