The popular sitcom Seinfeld launched the careers of its main cast, with the four primary actors going on separate paths for films and TV shows following the series finale. Seinfeld, considered a lovable show about nothing, follows Jerry Seinfeld in his 30s and 40s as a semi-fictional version of himself navigating the minutiae of dating and everyday life with his best friend George Costanza (Jason Alexander), ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and eccentric neighbor Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards). The show lasted a successful 9 seasons, where it typically held a top-ten spot for ratings and was nominated for 68 Emmys with a total of 10 wins.
Aside from boosting the careers of its main cast, Seinfeld also included plenty of recurring characters in the ‘90s who now have high notoriety today. One significant example is Bryan Cranston, who was featured in six episodes from 1994-1997 as Jerry’s dentist Dr. Tim Whatley, and is now better known for his Emmy-winning role as Walter White on Breaking Bad. Another notable star to come out of Seinfeld is Wayne Knight who played Jerry’s arch-nemesis, Newman, though the actor is still generally remembered for his Seinfeld role. While Jerry Stiller had already long been a staple of the comedy community, Seinfeld resurged his notoriety late in his career, in which he played the recurring role of George's father Frank Costanza.
Since Seinfeld premiered its controversial season 9 finale in 1998, the main cast has only appeared together on television one other time. While Jerry, Julia, and Jason appeared in a few separate episodes as themselves in early seasons, all four main cast members came back as both themselves and their characters for a season 7 episode of Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm in a fictional Seinfeld reunion episode. David revealed he was never keen on doing a real Seinfeld reunion show, so getting the gang back together for a fictional reboot was the best substitute. Aside from their joined appearance in Curb Your Enthusiasm, here’s what Seinfeld’s main cast has done since the show ended.
Jerry Seinfeld
After spending nine seasons on a show where he was playing himself, Jerry Seinfeld has largely strayed from scripted television and films since Seinfeld ended. The most notable exception to this is 2007’s animated Bee Movie, in which Seinfeld voiced the main protagonist Barry B. Benson. Aside from guest-starring in a 2017 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 as Freak Masterstroke, Jerry Seinfeld’s only film and TV appearances have been as himself, including cameos in 30 Rock and Louie.
Since Jerry first came to notoriety as a comedian, it’s no surprise this is where his career continued after Seinfeld season 9. From 2010-2011, he hosted a reality TV show called The Marriage Ref in which celebrities decide winners of real-life marital disputes. More notably, Jerry Seinfeld has been the host, executive producer, and creator of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee since 2012, which has earned him multiple Emmy awards. On separate occasions, Jerry has had each of his main Seinfeld co-stars on as guests. Going back to his stand-up comedy routes, Seinfeld has also released a few comedy records/shows since the series ended, including Netflix’s Jerry Before Seinfeld in 2017 and 23 Hours to Kill in 2020.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine)
Having played in the iconic Elaine Benes for 9 seasons until Seinfeld ended, Julia Louis-Dreyfus has arguably had the most successful career following the sitcom’s finale. From starring on plenty of his series, Louis-Dreyfus is known today as one of the most decorated television actors in history, tying Cloris Leachment at 8 awards for the most Emmy wins of any television performer. Her first major project after Seinfeld was the lead of a sitcom titled The New Adventures of Old Christine, which lasted from 2006-2010 after being canceled in season 5. The series won Julia Louis-Dreyfus another Emmy, and she soon booked the lead role on HBO’s hit show Veep, where she played Vice President Selina Meyer from 2012-2019. The series earned her a record-setting 6 Emmy awards, making her the actor with the most Emmy wins for the same role.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s first major film role following Seinfeld was in Pixar’s A Bug’s Life (1998) in which she voiced Princess Atta. Following movie gigs in Downhill (2020) opposite Will Ferrell and Disney’s animated Onward, Louis-Dreyfus has joined one of the most popular franchises in film/television history. Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays the MCU’s Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, making her conniving character’s mysterious debut in the Disney+ show The Falcon and the Winter Soldier before making a cameo in the post-credits scene of Black Widow. Fontaine is expected to progress into a more significant role, which means Louis-Dreyfus will have her hands full with projects for the foreseeable future.
Jason Alexander (George)
Jason Alexander seems to be the victim of the so-called “Seinfeld curse,” a superstitious belief that Seinfeld's massive success made it impossible for the show’s main actors to start new and accomplished shows. Julia Louis-Dreyfus obviously was the notable exception to this, but Alexander definitely had a difficult time shaking off the association of his iconic George Costanza role. Alexander’s first whack at prime-time television post-Seinfeld was in the lead role of 2001’s ABC sitcom Bob Patterson, though the show was canceled after 5 episodes. The former Seinfeld star was then given another opportunity for sitcom resurgence with Listen Up!, which only lasted one season before CBS canned it.
Aside from notable gigs in Jack Black’s Shallow Hall and the 2009 drama Hachi: A Dog’s Tale, Alexander has primarily been featured in direct-to-DVD voice roles for movies since Seinfeld’s season 9 finale. After having difficulty landing a long-lasting series, Alexander has typically been recruited for guest or recurring roles in successful TV shows. Seinfeld's George Costanza actor has been featured as a guest in a 2001 episode of Friends, a villain in Criminal Minds, the voice of Poseidon in the animated Hercules series, the principal in Everybody Hates Chris, the voice of Sy Borgman in Harley Quinn’s animated show, and Gene Lundy in CBS’s Young Sheldon.
Michael Richards (Kramer)
It’s difficult to escape an iconically bizarre character like Cosmo Kramer in Seinfeld, and Michael Richards will always be tied to his Emmy-winning role. Like his Seinfeld co-stars, Richards got his start in Hollywood as a comedian, having been featured on a few comedy specials and late-night comedy shows. Similar to Jason Alexander, Richards quickly tried to follow up Seinfeld with a comedy series of his own. The Michael Richards Show, a sitcom starring himself, ran for approximately 2 months before NBC canceled it. The actor of Seinfeld's Kramer character had a pretty slow career after the series finale, typically taking on small roles in projects like Bee Movie with Jerry Seinfeld, Faith, Love, & Hope, and the canceled show Kirstie.
Part of the reason why Richards has had such a slow career after his elevated notoriety with Seinfeld is due to an infamous incident while he was doing stand-up at Laugh Factory. Richards went back to his comedy beginnings after Seinfeld ended, and had been doing stand-up until 2006 when one show included Richards launching into an offensive, racist rant about a group of audience members. Jerry Seinfeld was apparently present at this event and reprimanded audience members for laughing at Richards’ racist explosion because what he was saying was offensive and not funny. Richards apologized on many outlets while trying to make amends, but the incident was widely parodied and stained his reputation. In his episode of Netflix's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, the Seinfeld star cited the event as the reason why he quit stand-up.