Highlights

• Guest stars had varying experiences on the Seinfeld set, with some finding it unwelcoming.
• Wayne Knight highlighted the professionalism and welcoming nature of Jerry Seinfeld, contrasting with the intimidating Larry David.
• Most guest stars praised the Seinfeld experience, but a few, like Armin Shimmerman and Keith Hernandez, had negative interactions with the cast.

In the decades since Seinfeld's finale, a lot has been said about the reality behind the scenes of the beloved NBC sitcom. While the Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David co-created series made the cast a ridiculous amount of money and remains relevant today, some negative things have come out about it. Primarily, this has come from some of the guest stars including one who claimed that Seinfeld and Julia Louis-Dreyfus shunned him between takes. Even baseball legend Keith Hernandez said that certain Seinfeld cast members were 'unfriendly'.

All of this has affected numerous Seinfeld cast members, including Jason Alexander who brought up the topic to one of the show's most adored and heavily-featured guest stars, Wayne Knight. This article will reveal what the Newman actor said about working on Seinfeld and whether or not he found the main cast to be 'unfriendly' or 'unwelcoming'. Following that, we will touch upon what two other guest stars said about their experience working on the hit NBC series.

What Wayne Knight Said About The Seinfeld Cast Being Unfriendly And Unwelcoming

While introducing Wayne Knight on his podcast, "Really? No, Really?", Jason Alexander revealed his affection for his former Seinfeld co-star. In fact, Alexander stated that he was "happy to work with" Knight on all of those seasons of their hit NBC sitcom. Alexander also claimed that he "admired" and "respected" Knight. Not just for his work on Seinfeld and in the movies, but in his extensive stage work. The two, after all, are both heavily involved in the theater world.

In fact, Alexander has almost entirely dedicated his acting career to the stage following his Seinfeld run playing George Constanza. But it was later in the interview when the two actors discussed the most interesting Seinfeld-related topic... whether or not the show was a positive place for actors. The topic was brought up by Alexander and shared with Wayne Knight:

"Recently I've seen -- there was an actor named Armin Shimmerman, who did an episode of [Seinfeld]. And I saw something about Keith Hernandez. Bth oof which -- Armin said that our cast was very unwelcoming to him. He felt like he was not appreciated at all. Keith Hernandez said that I, in particular... I think the word was 'standoff-ish'."

Jason Alexander went on to claim that he always thought that the Seinfeld cast was welcoming and friendly. And that the set itself was a good place for actors. He then turned to Wayne Knight to gather his thoughts on the matter.

"Have you ever been on another show?" Knight asked rhetorically. "And you still think that?"

"Were we warm, were we welcoming?" Jason Alexander asked.

"You were professional."

"You were the top show on television. And it was like, 'this is opening night on Broadway. Don't f*** it up.'"

"Is that the vibe you got?"

Wayne Knight then went on to reveal what he thought the Seinfeld set was really like. During his monologue, he revealed truths about both co-creators, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David.

"The vibe is that everybody was thrilled to be there. And they understood the nature of this beast. And Jerry [Seinfeld] was welcoming and very friendly. Ah, Larry [David] was scary as hell. Because he was too relaxed seeming. And you couldn't [read him]. Like, how could somebody so laconic and loose be so scary? I think that... I enjoyed being on the show because every time you started a scene, it delivered. You just had to not be in the way of it. Find the joke. Hit the joke. The joke is there."

Knight, who has a prolific career in Hollywood, went on to claim that his experience on Seinfeld was vastly different than what he witnessed on other sets. Mostly because he, as an actor, had to do a lot to work to find what was funny about a scene. But on Seinfeld, the writers had that all worked out ahead of time. What seemed to be the case, at least according to Wayne Knight, was that the Seinfeld set was a daunting place but the cast wasn't unfriendly.

Everyone had a big job to do as the stakes were high and the expectations were even higher. Perhaps not every guest star really understood that and even confused it with the cast being 'unwelcoming' or 'unfriendly'. In the end, Wayne Knight didn't find the Seinfeld set to be a bad place.

What Two Angry Seinfeld Guest Stars Said About Working On The Show

The truth is, the vast majority of Seinfeld guest stars have raved about their experience working on the hit NBC sitcom. Of course, that's not what the media has picked up. While guest stars like Jon Favreau, Steve Hytner, Courteney Cox, Wayne Knight, John O'Hurley, Patrick Warburton, Larry Thomas, James Spader, Kristin Davis, and Brenda Strong praised their time working with the cast, two guest stars in particular did not.

Armin Shimmerman, who played Stand in the 1996 episode "The Caddy", loathed the Seinfeld cast. During an interview at the Florida Supercon, Shimmerman said the following:

"I hated them – hated them. They were non-communicative, ugly, non-responsive, what’s the word? Insular."

Shimmerman went on to claim that none of the cast members said a word to him between takes, particularly Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jerry Seinfeld.

But Shimmerman wasn't the only Seinfeld guest star who had a negative experience. Baseball legend Keith Hernandez told Vulture that he found Jason Alexander to be difficult to work with.

“Jason Alexander was a little standoffish most of the week," Henandez said to Vulture. "[Jason Alexander] probably had to work his way through bit roles, and here I come as a guest star, and who am I? A retired baseball player? I’m just speculating.”

Hernandez did praise Jerry Seinfeld, however, and, in particular, loved working with Wayne Knight.