Early Roles

So I was watching an episode of "Seinfeld" the other day and I realized one of the actresses playing a bit part was none other than Debra Messing from "Will And Grace" fame.  Obviously, this was a few years before her own sitcom became a huge hit, but it got me wondering; how many times have I seen a big name star, either from television or film, that made an appearance on a show I liked before they got their big break??  Many stars got their starts in commercials or television, so I was pretty sure it happened quite often.  I decided to find out, but I wanted to try and find these stars-before-they-were-stars by going through each and every episode of TV shows I loved, ones I've seen multiple times and come back for more.  I thought I'd start with the show that inspired these thoughts....

SEINFELD

Kevin Dunn -  Season One, Episode 4 "Male Unbonding" 6/14/1990

From his name, maybe you don't recognize him.  But if you watched one of the funniest shows ever put on TV, you definitely know who he is!  I'm talking about that multi-award winning satire "Veep" which aired from 2013 to 2019, and Kevin Dunn played Ben Cafferty, White House Chief Of Staff, in 54 hilarious episodes.  Now sure, he's not the biggest name that'll be on this list, but he was one of my very favourite characters on "Veep", so I felt I needed to mention him.  Anyway, he played Joel Horneck in this episode of "Seinfeld", a childhood friend of Jerry's that wants to meet up, but Jerry just wants him to leave him alone.  Dunn had appeared in about a dozen TV shows before he appeared on "Seinfeld", and has gone on to appear in more than 100 more shows and movies.

Siobhan Fallon - Season Two, Episode 9 "The Deal" 5/2/1991

Now known as Siobhan Fallon Hogan, you may remember her as a regular on "Saturday Night Live" in the early '90's.  Well she appeared on "Seinfeld" first, only by a few months, but still.  In this episode she played Elaine's weird friend Tina that gives her bad advice on just about everything.  She's really a non-entity in the episode, stuck there for some comic relief, but it earned her two other appearances on the show.  Fallon would go on to be a regular on "SNL" for about 20 episodes in 1991 and 1992, but went on to appear in more than 70 shows and movies in her career, including getting critical praise for her role in the Bjork vehicle Dancer In The Dark from 2000.

Michael Chiklis - Season Three, Episode 10 "The Stranded" 11/27/1991

Although his new TV show "The Commish" aired a couple of months before this episode of "Seinfeld", Chiklis was still relatively unknown.  He wouldn't be nominated for any major awards for another decade or so when he played Vic Mackey in "The Shield", a role he'd have for seven years and 89 episodes.  And look, he still had hair!  In this episode, Chiklis plays Steve Pocatello, one of George's co-workers who throws a party on Long Island, one that all the regulars try to escape.

Maggie Wheeler - Season Three, Episode 16 "The Fix Up" 2/5/1992

Credited at the time as Maggie Jakobson, she was mostly "known" for being on a failed sketch comedy show called "The New Show" and as a voice artist on a cartoon called "Silverhawks".  In a couple of years EVERYBODY would know her as Chandler's on-again/off-again girlfriend Janice on a little show called "Friends" that was somewhat successful.  On her "Seinfeld" episode she plays Cynthia, a friend of Elaine's set up to date George.  The outrageously annoying voice is not present.

Peter Krauss - Season Three, Episode 18 "The Limo" 2/26/1992

Is the name familiar?  It should be; Peter Krauss has been nominated and won many awards since his brief stint on "Seinfeld" - Emmys, Golden Globes, SAGs.  Maybe you remember him from his 23 episodes on "Cybill" between 1995 and 1997.  Or how about his 45 episodes on "Sports Night" from 1998 to 2000?  If not those, how about his starring role on 63 episodes of the multi-award winning "Six Feet Under" as Nate Fisher which ran from 2001 to 2005??  This was Krauss' third acting gig and he definitely went on to bigger things.  Oh yeah, 103 episodes of "Parenthood"...and 79 episodes of 9-1-1...and..

Catherine Keener - Season Three, Episode 20 "The Letter" 3/25/1992

She has become one of my very favourite actresses, and she had about a dozen professional TV and film gigs before her appearance on the show, but nobody really knew who she was.  Soon she'd star in a bunch of great films like Out Of Sight, Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Capote, and dozens more.  Nominated for 2 Academy Awards and 2 Golden Globes, she became one of the most sought after actresses in Hollywood.  In her one appearance on "Seinfeld" she played Nina West, an artist girlfriend of Jerry's, who goes on to paint the ultra-popular portrait of Kramer that we all know and love.

Denise Richards - Season Four, Episode 16 "The Shoes" 2/4/1993

She had appeared on about 7 shows before making an appearance on this episode of "Seinfeld" playing a young woman with cleavage you could stare at...well, at least George could stare at.  Although she was playing a teenager, Richards (credited as Denise Lee Richards) was already in her 20's.  She had a very successful career as the sexy comic relief in many films and TV shows afterward, including "Spin City", "Two And A Half Men", and Drop Dead Gorgeous.  She recently completed a 195-episode stretch on the soap opera "The Bold And The Beautiful".  In this memorable episode, she plays the daughter of the producer that Jerry and George need to impress with their script about nothing.  George kind of ruins things.

Lisa Edelstein - Season Five, Episode 1 "The Mango" 9/16/1993

Another actor whose name you may not recognize, but her face should be very familiar.  From "Seinfeld" she would go on to play in many TV shows and movies before becoming a breakout star on TV's "House M.D." as Dr. Lisa Cuddy.  She starred on that hugely popular show for 153 episodes between 2004 and 2011.  More recently she has received rave reviews for her role as Phoebe on "The Kaminsky Method" on Netflix.  In this episode she plays Karen, George's new girlfriend who is not sure he can please sexually...until his newest favourite fruit  helps him gain some confidence.

Anna Gunn - Season Five, Episode 3 "The Glasses" 9/30/1993

She had just completed a two-year stint on a sitcom I have never heard of, "Down The Shore"(it was tied for 122nd of 138 shows in 1992) before making her appearance on "Seinfeld".  Afterwards she bounced around from TV show to TV show, getting some recurring roles on "The Practice" and "Deadwood".  Then came 2008 and Anna Gunn would become a major star, starring as Skyler White in the best show ever created, "Breaking Bad".  In this episode she played Amy, Jerry's latest girlfriend who finds his apartment too warm.  Hilarity ensues.

Jennifer Coolidge - Season Five, Episode 9 "The Masseuse" 11/18/1993

This one is kinda cool because she doesn't look very much like the actress we all know today.  It was her first job for television and from there we all got to know Jennifer Coolidge mostly as Stiffler's Mom in the American Pie movies.  She became very sought after at that time, appearing in big movies like Best In Show, Legally Blonde, A Mighty Wind, Click, and a whole bunch of those awful satire flicks that came out every month or so.  But it all started here when she played Jerry's girlfriend who's a masseuse but won't give him a massage.

Jon Favreau - Season Five, Episode 20 "The Fire" 5/5/1994

Although people may have recognized him from the cult film PCU that was released just about a month before this episode, Jon Favreau was still a relative newcomer to the Hollywood scene.  It would still be a couple of years before his movie Swingers was released, which would make him a much more famous.  After other TV appearances and fairly successful films, Favreau went on to be a pretty huge director, helming giant hits like Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Th Jungle Book and The Lion King.  In his "Seinfeld" appearance, he was great as the angry clown that witnesses George push kids out of his way to save himself when he thinks a fire has broken out.  Very funny stuff.

French Stewart - Season Five, Episode 22 "The Opposite" 5/19/1994

Coming off a recurring role on "The New WKRP In Cincinnati", which nobody watched, Stewart got a role on this episode of "Seinfeld" playing the manager of the movie theatre who has to tell Elaine that her boyfriend was in a car accident.  Of course he'd go on to much more fame and fortune when he landed the role of Harry Solomon for 139 episodes of "3rd Rock From The Sun" and more recently as the very funny Chef Rudy on "Mom".

Patton Oswalt - Season Six, Episode 5 "The Couch" 10/27/1994

He started as a stand-up comedian and writer before making his television debut on "Seinfeld" as the clerk of the video store George goes to.  From here he went on to star in dozens of TV shows and movies.  He has become a very prolific voice actor appearing on many animated shows and notably as the narrator for the show "The Goldbergs" which has had a pretty good 10 year run.  His stand-up specials have always been successful as well, winning an Emmy for one of them back in 2016.

Ana Gasteyer - Season Seven, Episode Six "The Soup Nazi" 11/2/1995

How lucky do you have to be to get your first TV acting gig in one of the most talked about episodes of a sitcom ever??  Well Miss Gasteyer made her debut opposite the the Soup Nazi and then went on to star on "Saturday Night Live" for seven years.  She's had other spot roles on TV and in movies, but her great comedic timing and characters are what we remember most.  That and getting yelled at by the freakin' Soup Nazi!!

Debra Messing - Season Seven, Episode 21 "The Wait Out" 5/9/1996

The episode that got me on this adventure, Debra Messing had appeared in a few TV shows before this episode aired, but nobody knew "who" she was yet, although her popularity was on the rise with a season of "Ned And Stacey" in the can.  Of course she'd go on to be one of the leads in one of the most successful sitcoms of all time, "Will And Grace", earning 5 Emmy nominations (winning once) and 7 Golden Globe nominations for her role as Grace Adler.  In her first "Seinfeld" episode (she'd come back in the "Yada Yada" episode a couple years later) she plays a woman that George convinces could have done better than her current husband, played by Cary Elwes.

Kyle Gass - Season Eight, Episode 9 "The Abstinence" 11/21/1996

He had some small roles in a few films before his a appearance on "Seinfeld", but Kyle Gass would become much better known in about half a year's time when he teamed up with his pal Jack Black for the "Tenacious D" series.  The music duo became so popular that they made a feature film in 2006 which is a big guilty pleasure of mine.  In this episode, Gass is credited as "Smoker", one of the men that Kramer recruits to start a smoking den in his apartment.

Chris Parnell - Season Nine, Episode 1 "The Butter Shave" 9/25/1997

In about a year, Chris Parnell would become a bit player on "Saturday Night Live", and end up staying there for about nine years!  He made a couple of appearances on screen just before this episode of "Seinfeld" aired, but nothing of importance.  These days you can hear his voice in just about every cartoon, commercial or narration put on TV.  Parnell played an NBC executive in this episode, perhaps foreshadowing his long stay at SNL.

That turned out to be more than I thought.  I was going to continue listing other shows on this post, but I'll have to dedicate a new post for those.  Hope y'all enjoyed this trip down memory lane.