Wednesday, 5/21/97 Richards’ stand-up savvy goes on ‘Trial’ in
premiere lead role ‘Seinfeld’ neurotic adds dose of his physical
comedy to new movie
By Aimee Phan Daily Bruin Staff While some comedians are
memorable for catch phrases and certain material, comedian Michael
Richards has become a comedic icon for the way he enters a room on
the hit show "Seinfeld." His zany physical comedy and unique
portrayal of Cosmo Kramer for the past eight years has turned
Richards into one of the most beloved comic actors in the industry.
And though he has played this character for almost a decade, he
still finds Kramer a joy to play. "I’m challenged with the
storylines," Richards says. "That’s the good thing about television
– it could be the same character, but the character is always in
different circumstances. So I stay fresh that way. And fortunately,
we’ve got such great writers on that show that I’m always finding a
new side to Kramer. It doesn’t feel old to me yet. "I’m always
crossing the line, always exploring what’s on the other side and I
think I’ve done it quite successfully with Kramer. I’m constantly
looking for another side." But Richards’ affection for his alter
ego doesn’t stop him from exploring other characters. Like most
successful television actors, Richards has branched out to doing
movies, starring in the upcoming courtroom comedy "Trial and Error"
with Jeff Daniels. Richards chose this film to be his first
leading-man comedic vehicle after co-starring last year in Diane
Keaton’s directoral debut, "Unstrung Heroes." "I wanted to do a
picture last summer (during ‘Seinfeld’s’ hiatus) and I had such
limited time," Richards says. "I was looking at a lot of material
and passing on them when I saw this project. And I thought that
this has some possibilities." After reading the script, Richards
agreed to portray the role of aspiring actor Richard Rietti on the
condition that he could do more physical comedy than was originally
set in the script. "I’m always looking for an action that is
funnier than the language," Richards says. "I like to do funny
rather than say funny, but if you can bring them both together,
that’s great. I love to find the physical moments because that is
something that transcends the language." He utilized both verbal
and physical comedy in his rewrite of the opening scene of "Trial
and Error," when his character improvises a hilarious audition in
which he’s being confronted by the mafia. Richards admits that this
scene was taken from his stand-up routine, when he was a stand-up
comedian in the early ’80s. "That scene came out of my stand-up,"
Richards says. "When Gary (Ross, ‘Trial’ producer) and I were
putting together the opening of the picture, we were trying to
think of the craziest kind of audition and yet something that the
character could commit to, to give it a certain amount of
credibility." Richards owes a lot of his character’s credibility as
a working actor to his nine-month stint as a stand-up comedian,
which not only gave him material for his new movie but also
connected him to other prominent comedians that he met on the
stand-up circuit. His friendships with these comics would soon lead
him to more successful comedy stints. "I never got out of comedy
when I started doing stand-up," Richards says. "Most of the people
that I know in the business were stand-up comedians and I knew them
all. So we’re all a generation now: Letterman, Leno, Paul (Reiser),
Garry Shandling. We were all in there getting $25 a night, and
because I was in the trenches with them, work came out of that
work." Another one of those comedians happened to be Jerry
Seinfeld. Richards was developing a name for himself as a physical
comedian when Seinfeld decided he would be perfect for the role of
Kramer. "I’ve always been known as an off-the-wall eccentricity
specialist comic," Richards says. "I had done some comedic moment
for Jay on ‘The Tonight Show’ when Jerry happened to catch it.
That’s why I was brought in to do ‘Seinfeld.’ Jerry knew me from
the days." The NBC sitcom about four neurotic friends became a
phenomenal success and is often regarded as one of the best
comedies on television. Richards became a standout on the show,
winning two Emmys and a huge following for his portrayal of Jerry’s
nutty neighbor. Richards admits that the show’s immense popularity
is still hard to fathom, but he appreciates the financial stability
the show has given him. "I still haven’t quite caught up with
what’s happened on the show," Richards says. "It made me a wealthy
man. It’s changed my life in that it’s bought me time to do just
about anything I want to do. I don’t have to grab at scripts or run
off and do a cereal commercial." Since Richards is already
comfortable with the amount of money that he receives on the
long-running sitcom, one wonders why it was necessary for Richards
and his co-stars Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus to demand
a salary increase for their ninth season. Rumors circulated that
the three co-stars, after learning of Seinfeld’s $1 million-per
episode contract, were demanding equal pay. Richards explains that
the salary negotiation was something the whole cast felt it was
entitled to, since NBC had been making millions off its show. "The
only reason why we’re asking for a bundle this time around is
because the show is making a bundle and has been and we haven’t
been a part of the syndication scene," Richards says. "And it’s
just making too much money with all its success in all its markets.
This wasn’t something we were planning on – this was supposed to be
our last year. Then, we said, OK, if that’s the case, let’s make
this a real deal here." One of the actors’ biggest allies in their
salary negotiations was Seinfeld himself. "Jerry’s been working
pretty hard to try to get GE (General Electric, owner of NBC) and
NBC on the ball," Richards says. "Jerry’s very much aware of what
we bring to the show and how it’s brought about the success of
things for him." The negotiations went well. It was announced last
week that Richards, Alexander, and Louis-Dreyfus were getting a 300
percent salary raise to $600,000 each per episode. But one thing
that Richards will always have, salary increase or no, is the love
and adoration of his fans. Because of his widespread recognition as
Kramer, Richards has lost the precious gift of privacy and
anonymity, especially when he is out in public. "I have to wear
hats and stay covered," Richards says. "I’ve been trying to adjust
to it. Sometimes I get perturbed because people stick video cameras
in my face or come and sit down at my table and start telling me
stories. I’ll ask them to leave and then they get insulted and say,
‘Well, we won’t watch your show anymore.’" But judging from the
ratings, it’s doubtful that they follow through. FILM: "Trial and
Error," starring Michael Richards and Jeff Daniels, will be
released May 30. New Line Cinema Michael Richards (left) of
"Seinfeld" and Jeff Daniels star in the new courtroom comedy "Trial
and Error." New Line Cinema Charlize Theron and Jeff Daniels star
in "Trial and Error," to be released May 30.