In the world of television, it’s pretty rare for an actress-no matter how talented-will find tremendous success in two different roles (let alone three). Yet that is just what Julia Louis-Dreyfus has managed to accomplish. Two of her characters, in particular, (Elaine Benes of Veep) are some of the most compelling female characters to have ever appeared on television.
Though there are some similarities between the two of them, they are actually quite different. The brilliance of Julia Louis-Dreyfus is that she manages to bring both of them to light, giving the canny viewer a choice as to which of these roles is truly the best.
Selina Meyer: She’s Just So Bad
From the very first episode, it’s quite clear that Selina Meyer is, quite simply, a bad person. She’s terribly abusive to her staff, even those that are competent at what they do (which, to be fair to Selina, is truly extraordinary, given her penchant for surrounding herself with idiots).
She has a truly toxic relationship with her daughter, and she seems to have no significant moral com that guides her actions in either her personal or her political life.
Elaine Benes: She’s Messy
It would have been strange in a show like Seinfeld to have a character that actually seems to have their life together, and it’s very fortunate that Julia Louis-Dreyfus was the one chosen to bring Elaine Benes to life in all of her glorious messiness.
The character of Elaine could very easily have become some sort of boring voice of reason character, but in fact, there are many times when she’s as prone to terrible decisions and behavior as any of the men that surround her.
Selina Meyer: She’s An Empowered Woman
Say what one will about Selina Meyer, she is empowered. In fact, it’s important to that she is in many ways a trailblazer.
The irony of the show is that, despite all of her best efforts, Selina is in many ways a very canny and smart politician; it’s just that she has a tendency to either be let down by her staff (whom she insists on keeping) or to get in her own way. The brilliant of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ performance is that she allows the audience to see both of these sides of Selina.
Elaine Benes: She Gives As Good As She Gets With Her Male Costars
One of the things that have always been brilliant about Seinfeld, and in particular Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ performance as Elaine, is that it allowed her the opportunity to really spar with the men in the cast. Time and again, the audience gets to see her go toe-to-toe with them and, as often as not, she’s the one who ends up coming out on top.
This was a particularly noteworthy accomplishment, especially considering the rather limited types of roles that women were (and are) expected to play in comedy.
Selina Meyer: She (Mostly) Realizes How Awful She Is
If Selina Meyer were the type of awful person who simply isn’t conscious of the fact, she probably wouldn’t be nearly as interesting as a character. As it turns out, however, there are numerous times when she really does seem to have an understanding that she’s a bit of a monster.
Once again, this is due in large part to the way that Julia Louis-Dreyfus was determined to play her, as a woman conscious of her own flaws but not really willing to change them in any meaningful way.
Elaine Benes: She’s Not Afraid To Go After Men
The possibility of having female characters that are driven by sexual desires as much as men is something that has always existed uneasily in comedy, in part because of the different ways in which society views such desires in men and women.
As a character, Elaine doesn’t really seem to care what either society or her friends think of her amorous adventures, and it’s quite refreshing to see the way that she goes after men, determined to fulfill her own desires.
Selina Meyer: She Can Be Harsher Than On Network Television
As feisty and groundbreaking as Elaine was, she still had to exist within the rather strict rules of network television. Selina Meyer has no such restrictions since she’s on the very permissive HBO. As a result, there’s a sharpness and a fierceness, and perhaps even a harshness, to her character that would never have been able to exist on network television of the 1990s.
As a result, the audience really gets to see the darkest depths of her psyche.
Elaine Benes: She’s Relatable
Part of what makes Elaine Benes such a compelling character is the fact that she’s a mess. She’s constantly showing the audience how her life is on the brink of collapse.
It’s precisely the fact that she doesn’t have her life together, that she’s not some sort of ideal that will always be unattainable, that makes her such a great character. Even now, twenty years after the show left the air, Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ turn as this character leaves an indelible impression.
Selina Meyer: She Has More People To Play Off Of
One of the most brilliant things about Veep is that it has such a uniformly excellent cast. While this was also true of Seinfeld, there are simply more people in the HBO show and, as a result, it gives Julia Louis-Dreyfus a lot more material to work with in of her interactions with other people.
As a result, the audience gets to see the many different facets of Selina’s character through her interactions with others, both in her professional and her private life.
Elaine Benes: She’s Unabashedly Selfish
In addition to being a bit of a selfish person. This isn’t a character flaw, necessarily, particularly since she doesn’t really make any apologies for being the way that she is.
There’s a unique pleasure, it seems, in seeing a truly talented actress like Julia Louis-Dreyfus give her all to bring this bad but relatable person to life in such a way that she still manages to be a television touchstone.