Larry David’s fictionalized self is surrounded by colorful characters brought to life by a gifted cast in Curb Your Enthusiasm. The show revolves around David’s life as a successful TV producer in Los Angeles, which has allowed some of Hollywood’s most prolific stars to play satirically exaggerated versions of themselves, while others have enjoyed the freedom of creating an original character. The only constant in every single episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm is David himself, but ing players like his manager, Jeff Greene, and his wife-turned-ex-wife, Cheryl, have remained a consistent presence since the beginning of the series.
This is far from an average situation comedy. As some of the best quotes in Curb Your Enthusiasm are entirely improvised, based on story outlines dreamt up by David, the actors have to be talented enough to make these lines funny while also moving the story forward. It’s a tall order, but master comedians like Susie Essman and J.B. Smoove are up to the task.
Larry David As Himself
Larry David plays an absurdly neurotic, curmudgeonly, and socially inept version of himself in Curb Your Enthusiasm. Like his fictionalized self, David is a prolific TV writer and producer best known as the co-creator of Seinfeld. Throughout his career, David has accrued 27 Emmy nominations. David briefly wrote for Saturday Night Live early in his career and now recurs on the iconic sketch show as Bernie Sanders. He wrote and directed the movie Sour Grapes, wrote and starred in the Broadway play Fish in the Dark. David has also starred in the HBO movie Clear History.
Jeff Garlin As Jeff Greene
Larry’s manager, best friend, and partner-in-crime, Jeff Greene, is played by Jeff Garlin. Jeff is one of the only Curb Your Enthusiasm characters who actually likes Larry. Garlin also stars in The Goldbergs as Murray Goldberg, the patriarch of the titular family. His other projects include semi-pro wrestler Marvin in Mad About You and studio executive Mort Meyers in Arrested Development. Garlin primarily works as a standup comedian, but he can be seen in the movies Daddy Day Care and Safety Not Guaranteed, and he voiced Captain B. McCrea in WALL-E.
Susie Essman As Susie Greene
Jeff’s wife, Susie Greene, is played by Susie Essman. No one yells at Larry more frequently or more furiously than Susie, yet she continues to hang out with him. Although Susie ends up in an argument with Larry most of the time and kicks him out of the house, she still invites him over. Like Garlin, Essman spends more time as a comedian than an actor, but she’s had her fair share of acting roles. She played Ilana’s mother Bobbi Wexler in Broad City and voiced Mittens in the movie Bolt.
Cheryl Hines As Cheryl David
Larry’s wife and later ex-wife, Cheryl David, is played by Cheryl Hines. Larry and Cheryl were married for the first five seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm before separating in the middle of season 6. Larry spent the rest of that season and all of season 7 trying to win Cheryl back, but their divorce was finalized in the season 8 premiere and they’ve had an on-and-off romance ever since. Hines also played Dallas Royce in Suburgatory, Kristen Bell’s mother in A Bad Moms Christmas, and made her directorial debut with the movie Serious Moonlight.
J.B. Smoove As Leon Black
Larry’s eccentric and quotable sidekick, Leon Black, is played by J.B. Smoove. Leon is Larry’s roommate who moved in when his family was displaced by a hurricane and never left. He eventually moved from Larry’s guest room into his guest house. Smoove began his career on Def Comedy Jam and worked as a writer and performer on Saturday Night Live before he was cast in Curb Your Enthusiasm. He also starred in the sitcom The Millers, the reality TV spoof Real Husbands of Hollywood, and played Peter Parker’s teacher and field trip chaperone Julius Dell in the MCU’s Spider-Man movies.
Richard Lewis As Himself
Like David, Richard Lewis plays an exaggerated version of himself in Curb Your Enthusiasm. Lewis is Larry’s childhood friend and fellow comedian with whom he shares a love-hate relationship. He dresses in all-black attire and thinks every woman he dates is “the one.” As a standup, Lewis is known for his neurotic observations, self-deprecating humor, and dark comedic sensibility. As an actor, he’s known for starring opposite Jamie Lee Curtis in the sitcom Anything but Love and playing Peter in Leaving Las Vegas and Prince John in the Mel Brooks spoof, Robin Hood: Men in Tights.
Bob Einstein As Marty Funkho
Larry’s straight-laced friend Marty Funkho is played by the late, great Bob Einstein. Funkho is much more endeared to Jeff, Susie, and Cheryl than he is to Larry. He often fills the “straight man” role opposite Larry’s audacious antics, like stealing flowers from Funkho’s mother’s roadside memorial site. Einstein was a perfect deadpan foil for David in these outrageous situations. Besides playing the endlessly quotable Funkho, Einstein is known for playing the naive stuntman Super Dave Osborne, as well as George Bluth’s proxy, Larry Middleman, in Arrested Development. The character of Funkho was retired in Curb Your Enthusiasm after Einstein ed away in 2019.
Curb Your Enthusiasm ing Cast & Characters
Ted Danson as himself: Ted Danson plays himself in Curb Your Enthusiasm. The TV version of Danson begrudgingly continues a friendship with Larry, despite his animosity towards him. The real Danson is known for his roles as Sam Malone in Cheers, Dr. John Becker in Becker, and Michael in The Good Place.
Mary Steenburgen as herself: Danson’s real-life wife, Mary Steenburgen, appears alongside him in Curb Your Enthusiasm, also playing herself. Steenburgen is best known for playing Emily Hobbs in Elf and Doc Brown’s love interest Clara Clayton in Back to the Future Part III. She received an Oscar for her breakout performance in Melvin and Howard.
Wanda Sykes as herself: Wanda Sykes plays herself as a friend of Cheryl’s, who reluctantly maintains a friendship with Larry. Sykes is a standup comic who was first noticed for her Emmy-winning work on The Chris Rock Show.
Shelley Berman as Nat David: Larry’s father Nat is played by Shelley Berman. During his comedy career, Berman released three gold records and won the first ever Grammy Award for a spoken comedy album.
Richard Kind as Andy David: Larry’s loudmouthed cousin Andy is played by Richard Kind. Kind is known for playing Dr. Mark Devanow in Mad About You, Paul Lassiter in Spin City, and Arthur in the Coen brothers’ A Serious Man, and for voicing Bing Bong in Inside Out.
Kaitlin Olson as Becky: Cheryl’s sister Becky is played by Kaitlin Olson. Olson is now best known for playing Dee Reynolds in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Mackenzie Murphy in The Mick.
Ashly Holloway as Sammi Greene: Jeff and Susie’s daughter, Sammi, is played by Ashly Holloway. Holloway also provided the voice of Sister Sarah in The Polar Express and made a cameo appearance in a doctor’s office in the Friends episode “The One with the Pediatrician.”
Vivica A. Fox as Loretta Black: Loretta Black, Leon’s sister and Larry’s brief love interest, is played by Vivica A. Fox. Fox began her career on the musical variety series Soul Train and later played Carmen Silva on the soap opera, Days of Our Lives, and Vernita Green in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill films.
Antoinette Spolar as Antoinette: Larry’s on-and-off assistant, Antoinette, is played by Antoinette Spolar. Spolar also voiced Jessica in Invader Zim and guest-starred in the Friends episode “The One with the Ball.”
Saverio Guerra as Mocha Joe: Coffee shop proprietor Mocha Joe, one of Larry’s many enemies in Curb Your Enthusiasm, is played by Saverio Guerra. Guerra also played Bob in Danson’s sitcom Becker and Woodstock in Spike Lee’s David Berkowitz movie Summer of Sam.