Share and Follow
Highlights
- Seinfeld is still popular today, even among younger generations, and is considered one of the best-written TV series of all time.
- Bryan Cranston had a memorable and hilarious cameo on Seinfeld, where he improvised a scene by inhaling laughing gas, making Jerry Seinfeld break character.
- Cranston’s recurring role on Seinfeld boosted his career and helped him prepare for his future role on Malcolm in the Middle.
Although its final episode aired in 1998, Seinfeld is still one of the most popular sitcoms of all time. Throughout its nine seasons, fans fell in love with the entire cast. That’s why, even today, Seinfeld is still popular among younger generations and is considered one of the Best-Written TV Series of All Time by the Writers’ Guild of America.
Throughout the years, many celebrities made guest appearances on Seinfeld before becoming famous. Some popular actors who had small roles in this popular series include The White Lotus star Jennifer Coolidge, Friends alum Courtney Cox, Better Call Saul’s Bob Odenkirk, and Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston.
In fact, this star claims that making Jerry Seinfeld laugh during one of his cameos is still one of the highlights of his career!
Jerry Seinfeld Had A Few Favorite Seinfeld Episodes, But Says This Was His Best
Jerry Seinfeld enjoys Seinfeld in retrospect, but he does have one specific favorite episode that he thinks he did great comedy in.
Bryan Cranston Had An Unlikely Source of Inspiration For One Of His Most Iconic Seinfeld Scenes
Bryan Cranston first appeared on Seinfeld in the season 6 episode, “The Mom and Pop Store,” in which he plays Tim Whatley, Jerry and Kramer’s dentist. But his most iconic appearance on the show was in the season 8 episode “The Yada Yada.”
In this episode, Jerry Seinfeld goes to the dentist for a standard. As Tim (Cranston) is about to put him under, he inhales some of the nitrous oxide gas himself before passing the mask to Jerry. Of course, this simple gag is considered one of the funniest scenes in Seinfeld. What’s surprising is that Cranston had an unlikely ally on set, who helped him come up with this hilarious scene.
Even Jerry Couldn’t Hold It Together For This Seinfeld Scene
In the bloopers from one Seinfeld episode, even Jerry Seinfeld can’t keep a straight face, though Michael Richards executed his lines flawlessly.
Cranston inhaling the laughing gas wasn’t on the script but rather was suggested by a worker on the set. “I was playing the dentist and Jerry thought that I was molesting him in the chair,” Cranston explained during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show. “There was a guy on a ladder, an electrician, who says to me, ‘Hey, you know what would be funny?’ when nobody else was on the set but me.” Intrigued, Cranston asked him to share his idea, “He goes, ‘If you took a hit of the laughing gas before you give it to Jerry.’”
Cranston loved the idea, thinking it was hilarious. So, when everyone came back to shoot the scene, he did exactly what the electrician suggested. The bit was so funny that Jerry Seinfeld broke character and couldn’t stop laughing.
Ultimately, they had to re-shoot the scene several times due to Seinfeld’s laughter. Ultimately, this bit ended up being one of the best scenes in the entire episode.
Read Related Also: Shakira's Former Nanny Played A Role In Her Divorce From Gerard Pique, And It Cost Her Big Time
Bryan Cranston’s Seinfeld Cameo Was So Great That He Was Asked To Return Several Times
Bryan Cranston appeared in a total of five Seinfeld episodes, scattered across seasons 6, 8, and 9. But, initially, his character was only meant to appear in one episode. “Every time I went on the show, was going to be the only time I was going to was going to do that show,” Cranston said of his recurring role on Seinfeld during an interview for SiriusXM.
It all started because Cranston managed to make Jerry Seinfeld laugh during his callback audition. “And then they called me back, and they called me back and again and again and again and again,” the actor told GQ. “And pretty soon you have a recurring role on that.”
And fans loved it. Even the cast was happy to have Cranston around. In fact, Julia Louis-Dreyfus admitted that he didn’t mind kissing the actor during one of their scenes together.
Jerry Seinfeld Proved He Could Really Act With This “Best-Ever” Scene
Jerry Seinfeld pulled off a hilarious scene that had fans cackling, proving he could definitely act.
Although he got a recurring role on Seinfeld, Cranston never became a series regular. So, he would often be working on several different projects while filming his scenes for this sitcom.
“I looked different on each episode because I went off and did other things,” he explained. “And so I had a beard. I didn’t have a beard. I had long hair. I had short hair. I had a crew cut. I had a mustache. You know, it’s fun. The life of an actor. And they never bothered explaining, Why does Whatley look so different every time we see him?”
Bryan Cranston Claims Appearing on Seinfeld Boosted His Career
On more than one occasion, Bryan Cranston has admitted that Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David are comedy geniuses. In an interview for The Independent, he admitted that both Seinfeld and David “are like skilled surgeons with comedy. They’ll slice something up, remove a moment, or include a moment.”
He’s also admitted that he learned a lot during his short run on Seinfeld. “Coming onto that show was like comedy bootcamp,” he revealed during an interview for SiriusXM. “I was invited to participate in their comedy,” he said, referring to the creative duo behind Seinfeld. “It was a blast and Julia and Jason and Michael are extremely funny and gracious and I enjoyed the hell of it. It’s one of the best comedies in history.”
Moreover, playing Tim Whatley on Seinfeld ended up being a great career move for Cranston. “If you can make Jerry laugh, you’ve really hit a home run. Right after, I got Malcolm in the Middle; my experience on Seinfeld helped me get ready for that,” he told The Independent.
