Seinfeld Has So Many Amazing Supporting Characters, But I'll Never Tire Of These 10 In Particular

Seinfeld is renowned for its iconic supporting characters, but a few in particular stood out from the rest. I’m a lifelong Seinfeld fan, and I’ve rewatched the show more times than I can remember (yes, even Seinfeld’s shaky first season and its zany final season). Seinfeld’s grounded situations, relatable neuroses, and dark, absurdist humor made it the perfect antidote to broader, lighter, happier shows like Friends and Will & Grace. The curmudgeonly concoction of Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David’s comedic voices created a wholly unique perspective satirizing the ludicrous unwritten rules of polite society.

Of course, Seinfeld had a great main cast. George Costanza is anxiety and insecurity incarnate; Elaine Benes blazed the trail for feminist comedy icons like Abbi, Ilana, and Liz Lemon; Cosmo Kramer is the gold standard of physical comedy and a master of ill-advised get-rich-quick schemes; and Jerry is the everyman who holds the whole ensemble together as the sardonic voice of reason. But Seinfeld wouldn’t be what it is without its eclectic mix of supporting characters. From Newman to Frank Costanza, I adore all the reprobates from Seinfeld’s rogues’ gallery.

10 Tim Whatley

Played By Bryan Cranston

Before he was known as Walter White from Breaking Bad, and even before he was known as Hal from Malcolm in the Middle, Bryan Cranston was best known for his recurring role as Jerry’s dentist Tim Whatley in Seinfeld. When Whatley was first introduced, he was a relatively normal guy; the strangest thing he did was re-gift a label maker that Elaine gave him. But every time he reappeared on the show, the writers added a new layer of absurdity to his characterization.

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He converted to Judaism just for the jokes (which offended Jerry, not as a Jewish person, but as a comedian). He put pornographic magazines in his waiting room and turned his office into a house of ill repute. As Whatley got wackier and wackier, Cranston had more and more fun with the character.

9 Estelle Costanza

Played By Estelle Harris

Every painfully relatable foible of havingan overbearing, temperamental mother is hilariously encapsulated in the character of Estelle Costanza, and Estelle Harris played the part to perfection. Estelle made her debut in Seinfeld’s most highly acclaimed episode — season 4, episode 11, “The Contest” — in which she’s hospitalized after catching George treating his body like an amusement park. This was the perfect introduction to her character: she’s high-strung, overdramatic, and a hilarious foil for George.

*IMDB's Highest Rated Episodes of Seinfeld* (1989-1998)**
Episode Number	Title	IMDB Score
S4.E11	The Contest	9.5
S7.E6	The Soup Nazi	9.5
S5.E21	The Opposite	9.5
S4.E17	The Outing	9.4
S5.E14	The Marine Biologist	9.2

Every time Estelle reappeared for the rest of the series, she maintained that level of hilarity. She always brought out the worst in George and knew how to push his buttons. A lot of George’s funniest rants are in response to his mother, like arguing with whether or not she’s “out there.” Even though Estelle is the mother from hell, she’s also impossible not to love.

8 J. Peterman

Played By John O’Hurley

In the last three seasons of Seinfeld, Elaine got a job working for the J. Peterman Company. J. Peterman is a real company, but the version of Peterman that employed Elaine on-screen — played brilliantly by John O’Hurley — is entirely fictional. He’s based more on the flowery descriptions and fanciful stories found in the J. Peterman catalog than the founder of the company himself (whose real name is John Peterman, not Jacopo Peterman, as Seinfeld suggests).

Peterman is one of the most distinctive characters in Seinfeld’s ensemble, with a voice that’s entirely his own.

Peterman is one of the most distinctive characters in Seinfeld’s ensemble, with a voice that’s entirely his own. O’Hurley played the character with theatrical line deliveries inspired by 1940s radio dramas and old-school TV journalists. Whether they disagreed on the results of a drug test or the quality of The English Patient, Peterman was always a great scene partner for Elaine.

7 Mickey Abbott

Played By Danny Woodburn

Kramer had a few sidekicks throughout Seinfeld’s run, like dedicated Kramerica Industries intern Darin, but arguably the funniest (besides Newman) was Mickey Abbott, played by Danny Woodburn. Mickey is one of Kramer’s closest friends— he’s always there when Kramer needs him, no matter how ridiculous the request — but he’s also one of his closest rivals. They’re both single and they’re both aspiring actors, so they often find themselves competing for dates and acting roles.

Out of all the other characters in Seinfeld, Mickey had the least patience for Kramer’s antics — which was always fun to watch. When Kramer got them fired from a Santa-and-his-elf gig at the mall for spouting communist mottos to the kids, Mickey was furious. When Kramer showed up to Mickey’s Actors Studio audition in a pair of immovable jeans, Mickey attacked him on-stage.

6 Uncle Leo

Played By Len Lesser

“Jerry, hello!” While Jerry had a nice buffer from his Florida-bound parents, he was unfortunate enough to share a city with Uncle Leo. Played by Len Lesser, Uncle Leo is a perfect comedic representation of every annoying relative who wants to talk your ear off at a family function. Leo turns every little indiscretion into a huge event. If Jerry cuts a conversation short because he has an important meeting, everyone in the Seinfeld family will hear about it.

As the series went on, Leo’s storylines got zanier and zanier. In the early seasons, he would brag about his son’s accomplishments at the parks department and complain that Jerry didn’t call him enough. But in the later seasons, he had his eyebrows and mustache blown off in an explosion and became a hardened, Max Cady-style ex-con (at least in Jerry’s nightmares) after being caught shoplifting.

5 George Steinbrenner

Played By Larry David

In the early seasons of Seinfeld, George’s career was marked by miserable failure. He lost his job as a real estate agent when he yelled at his boss and tried to play it off as a joke, then spent a couple of seasons in a seemingly perpetual state of unemployment. But in the season 5 finale, things finally started to turn around for George when he landed his dream job as traveling secretary for the New York Yankees.

Suddenly, he had a competitive salary and he was rubbing shoulders with his favorite baseball players. The only downside was his boss, George Steinbrenner. It was a great gimmick to only ever show Steinbrenner from behind and have him voiced by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, and David nailed the motormouth eccentricity of the character. Every time George poked his head around Steinbrenner’s door and said, “You wanted to see me, Mr. Steinbrenner,” you knew you were about to laugh.

4 David Puddy

Played By Patrick Warburton

“Yeah, that’s right.” Elaine’s on-and-off love interest David Puddy, played by Patrick Warburton, brought a whole new comedic energy to the dynamic of Seinfeld. He started off as a parody of the meathead archetype — brash and overconfident despite his limited intellect — but over the years, he was rounded out as a more complex character. He’s a germophobe, a devout Christian, and a face-painting hockey fanatic.

Puddy wasn’t just a funny character in his own right; he also brilliantly subverted a well-worn sitcom cliché.

Puddy wasn’t just a funny character in his own right; he also brilliantly subverted a well-worn sitcom cliché. From Sam and Diane to Ross and Rachel to Jim and Pam, the will they/won’t they? couple is one of the oldest tropes in the sitcom genre. Usually, this trope is applied to two characters that the audience wants to see end up together, like Abbott Elementary’s Janine and Gregory, but Elaine and Puddy were so toxic for each other that no one wanted to see them end up together.

3 Jackie Chiles

Played By Phil Morris

For the most part, Seinfeld is a timeless show that still holds up today. But some of its cultural references are very specific to the ‘90s. The understudy storyline satirizes the Tonya Harding case, the abortion debate at Poppy’s restaurant satirizes the Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision, and Kramer’s eccentric, fast-talking lawyer Jackie Chiles is a parody of O.J. Simpson’s attorney, Johnnie Cochran. When I first watched Seinfeld, I had no idea Jackie was based on a real person, but I still found him hilarious.

That’s a testament to what a great character Jackie is. Phil Morris is so hysterical in the role that it doesn’t matter if a given audience member has the right frame of reference. Every time Kramer is in legal trouble, it’s a reason to get excited, because it means Jackie is about to show up.

2 Newman

Played By Wayne Knight

You know a character is great when just saying, “Hello,” is enough to get a huge reaction from the audience. Newman is one of the most iconic villains in TV history. There’s no reason in particular why Newman and Jerry hate each other so much, but that’s what made it so funny when they had to put their differences aside and work together toward a common goal, like catching their drug-addicted accountant in the act.

A collage of Elaine and Jerry with George and Kramer from Seinfeld in the background

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Wayne Knight delivers Newman’s flowery monologues with a Shakespearean commitment to the theatricality of the language and the emotions of the scene. Whether he’s ranting about why postal workers are driven to violence or telling Jerry that his “little play world” will soon come crumbling down, Newman is always a delight whenever he shows up in Seinfeld. He’s one of the show’s most well-written characters.

1 Frank Costanza

Played By Jerry Stiller

Jerry Stiller is one of those comic performers who can’t not be funny, like Will Ferrell. Whether it’s in The King of Queens or A Fish in the Bathtub, whatever Stiller does has me in stitches. Stiller is especially hilarious when he’s playing a hotheaded character and yelling a lot, and in that regard, Seinfeld’s Frank Costanza is his ultimate role. Frank’s brash outspokenness is a perfect match for his son’s timid insecurity (and perfectly explains why George is the way he is).

The writers of Seinfeld clearly realized what a gem they had with Stiller, because they wrote Frank into the show more and more in the later seasons. From his Festivus rant to his sinister phone call to Morty Seinfeld, Frank had a ton of hysterical moments throughout the series. Seinfeld has plenty of great supporting characters, but Frank is my favorite by far.