TheThings
Seinfeld’s Guest Actors Didn’t Make Much For Their Roles, But Some Are Still Getting Checks Today
BY ROXANA LOOMES
August 25, 2023
During its nine-year run, Seinfeld, famously known as the “show about nothing,” was a great vehicle for many guest stars. Talented actors like Marcia Cross, Courteney Cox, Jeremy Piven, and Bryan Cranston joined the original, incredible cast of the show and many saw their own careers get a boost as a result.
Questions remain about how much money these guest stars made on a show that made its creator and main stars a pretty penny. So, how much did guest stars make on Seinfeld? Let’s find out.
It’s not a secret that Seinfeld made Jerry Seinfeld a small fortune. Playing himself, a New York comedian navigating the trivialities of modern life in the US, Seinfeld quickly became an icon for the driftless ’90s urban man whose answer to the boredom of everyday life was his dry humor.
Fans loved his ability to find laughter and humor in the most commonplace situations. While other actors may have lost the favor of the audience by putting too much focus on themselves, Jerry was so relatable and charismatic that he became the reason fans turned in to watch the show. As such, it was only fair that he made millions from his work on it.
In fact, Jerry Seinfeld may soon become a billionaire, having a $950 million net worth. Some of this money is not directly the result of his work on the eponymous show, but most of it is.
The show’s other creator, Larry David, who had a smaller part to play in the show, also made millions. Larry played the owner of the New York Yankees on Seinfeld and was a hit with viewers because he managed to capture the real owner’s larger-than-life persona perfectly.
After Seinfeld’s successful nine-year run, Larry David went on to write Curb Your Enthusiasm for HBO. He also starred in the show, which, like Seinfeld, was a hit with audiences. Larry has also made a name for himself as a movie actor, having starred in quirky movies like Whatever Works.
As a result of his work, he boasts a personal net worth of $400 million, a lot of which is the direct result of his involvement with Seinfeld.
How Much Were Seinfeld Guest Actors Paid?
As with any other show, guest actors on Seinfeld were paid depending on a number of factors, including how many episodes they appeared in.
For example, Patrick Warburton, who appeared in 10 episodes as Elaine Benes’s (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) boyfriend, now has a net worth of $20 million. While this may sound like a lot of money, fans wouldn’t think of it as much when compared with Jerry Seinfeld’s net worth or the fact that Jerry was paid $1 million per episode.
On the other hand, stars whose careers took off after appearing on Seinfeld, like Courteney Cox, may have made less money on the show because they didn’t appear in as many episodes. Nevertheless, using the show as a launching pad for their careers made them money in the long run. In Courteney’s case, she landed her lucrative job on Friends, arguably Seinfeld’s greatest competitor in the 1990s, and is now worth $150 million despite the fact that she only appeared in one Seinfeld episode.
However, most of the guest actors only received modest salaries for appearing on the show, in contrast with the core cast’s large paychecks. For example, Julia Louis-Dreyfus made between $40 thousand and $600,000 per episode. However, the show couldn’t afford to reward its many guest stars in the same way.
Despite that fact, the show acted as a good vehicle to fame and fortune for many actors, like Estelle Harris, who played George Constanza’s mother on the show. She played the part for 25 episodes and has a net worth of $5 million today.
Who Was The Highest-Paid Guest Actor On Seinfeld?
It should come as no surprise that the highest-paid guest actor on Seinfeld, however, was Larry Thomas, the Soup Nazi who had an entire episode written about him and also appeared in the series finale.
Playing the meanest soup maker in Manhattan, Larry Thomas was paid $2,610 per episode when he was originally cast. In an interview with Jane Wells, he explained that the amount was “the most they would pay any guest-star. And that includes like, Bette Midler.”
For the series finale, where Larry only made a cameo, his salary increased to $3,500. While this is not in any way comparable to what the main stars were making per episode, it worked out fine for Larry, who was also making money whenever the episode was re-aired.
For example, when the finale was re-aired in prime time a week after its initial release, Larry was paid another $3,500.
Before the show went to syndication, the Seinfeld finale was aired yet a third time on prime time, making Larry Thomas another $3,500.
Overall, the guest actors on Seinfeld were not paid anything matching the core cast, which was a sign of the times (and is still common today).
