Jerry Seinfeld Says Andy Kaufman Could Have Pulled Off Cosmo Kramer Role

If Andy Kaufman was still around during the 1990s, Jerry Seinfeld says the entertainer would have made an exemplary Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld. During a recent stop on The Howard Stern Show to promote his new Netflix stand-up special, the first of such in decades, Seinfeld revealed that while Michael Richards will forever be known the lovable character, Kaufman also could have done a bang-up job in the role.

“I worshipped Andy Kaufman,” Seinfeld said after Stern assumed the comedian wasn’t a fan of Kaufman. “You know, it’s funny that you say that, because Michael Richards is one of those parts where you could never cast somebody else, but now that you mention it, Andy could have pulled off Kramer. He is the only other name I have ever heard, now that you mention it, who could have pulled off Kramer. That’s interesting.”

Kaufman, of course, cut his teeth on being an eccentric entertainer, even going the length to get upset when people called him a comedian. Through the use of characters, like Tony Clifton and Foreign Man, Kaufman started performing during the first season of Saturday Night Live. Eventually, he got his big break on Taxi, a show he appeared on until shortly before his death after a battle with lung cancer in 1984.

Even decades after its television run ended, Seinfeld has been in the news of late as its rights have shifted streamers. After Netflix ended up losing the rights for The Office and Parks and Rec, the leading streamer swooped in a grabbed the rights for Seinfeld from Hulu. Seinfeld will join the service sometime in 2021.

“Jerry & Elaine & George & Kramer & Netflix -All 180 episodes of the Emmy-Award winning Seinfeld are coming to Netflix — worldwide! — starting in 2021.”

Seinfeld himself also has a new deal with Netflix for his stand-up special. During the same stop on Stern, Seinfeld says he already has the material for another special should the opportunity arise.

“I already have the material to do another special, but I always like to give a little less than you really want,” Seinfeld said. “If you look back at all the stuff I have ever done — like the TV series, we could have done one, two, three more years. The reason people still love that show is we didn’t wear it out.”

All nine seasons of Seinfeld are streaming on Hulu.

Cover photo by Jim Britt/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images