Curb Your Enthusiasm's Jeff Garlin Was Never Supposed To Be A Character On The Show
"Curb Your Enthusiasm" might be centered around Larry David, who plays a fictional version of himself, but arguably the best part of the show is the rotating cast of eccentric characters that flow in and out of Larry's life. Everyone on the show plays some heightened version of their real-life selves, including Larry's "manager," Jeff Greene, portrayed by the irreverent Jeff Garlin. Unlike many of the other characters in Larry's charmed life, Garlin is a consistent staple throughout every season of the show and often acts as a sounding board for some of his crazier ideas. Believe it or not, the original idea for the show did not include Garlin, and adding him to the main cast was a last-minute decision just before the show started filming.
However, Garlin was attached to the series in a creative capacity from the very beginning. In fact, making a meta HBO series was his idea in the first place. However, he had originally conceived of it as a comedy special, which he had some experience with behind the scenes.
"I had developed John Stewart and Larry's HBO specials and I always thought a really cool HBO special would be a behind-the-scenes making of an HBO special," he recalled in a 2010 panel at The Paley Center for Media. He and David were working in the same offices at the time and he pitched the idea to him over lunch one day. "He goes 'Uh, let me think about that,'" Garlin went on. "And then he called me right away. 'Let's do it.'"
Once they started to get the ball rolling, the concept was an immediate hit. At their pitch meeting, Garlin recalls the head of HBO at the time saying "'How could we not do this?'"
He planned to work behind the scenes
Although he had a few minor acting credits, Garlin never thought he would be playing a meta character when he conceived of the idea for "Curb Your Enthusiasm." However, David insisted on Garlin being a central figure on the show — front and off-center. "We started doing the special, but I also originally was not supposed to be in it," the comedian elaborated. He continued:
"I was only going to direct it, and he told me, 'No, no. It's better to be executive producer and you're gonna play my agent. You have to be my manager. You have to.' He insisted. I wasn't even going to. I had quit acting as far as I was concerned, and he insisted on that."
From there, Jeff's character evolved. His wife Susie, played by Susie Essman, was added to the cast and became a natural antagonist to Larry. Jeff's marital problems quickly became a fixture of the series, along with his rhythmic rapid-fire banter with Larry. Almost all of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" is improvised. When it comes to working with David, Garlin has always found their comedic rapport "very natural," as he described it in an interview with Vulture. Although the improv has a natural flow, it's also a practiced skill for Garlin. There's no way to prepare for the level of improv on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," but Garlin was as prepared as anyone can be — but he wasn't sure he would love it.
"When I moved out to Los Angeles, I would improvise with Second City alumni and didn't have the best time," he admitted. "The difference between myself and most people is they'd hear word that someone was in the room, or even it was just the potential, and it was all about them." Garlin said that he got used to being viewed as a "team player" because the scenes always ended up being about the other scene partner.
David insisted that Garlin act in the show
Garlin's character remains a second fiddle in every relationship he has, from his wife to his career, but the comedian doesn't mind playing backup. The supporting role has always come naturally to him, and he continues to do a stand-up job at it all these years later. "Immediately upon doing 'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' man, everything in my head was about Larry, not about me looking good," he elaborated to Vulture. "That grew from there. I do think I should win Best Supporting Actor every year." He explained that the award typically goes to the best person on screen who isn't the star, but actually doing a great job of supporting the leading role.
And while playing David's manager isn't the most exciting part on paper and, by his own admission, "there's a good deal of exposition" work in the role. But Garlin is comfortable playing a sidekick — after all, there are worse places to be than at the side of Larry David. "I am allowed to be funny, but it just happens naturally within the course of a scene," the "Goldbergs" actor added. "Whether it's used or not, it's ultimately not up to me. Some of the things I've done where I've been very proud in terms of making a choice beyond exposition have been on the cutting room floor."
He doesn't mind being David's sidekick
David had so much fun improvising with Garlin that the show was picked up for series that the comedy legend himself suggested they make his one-off special idea into a series in which they would both star — Garlin supporting of course. He talked about his experience with The Paley Center for Media.
"Then the first day of filming, which was at HBO's offices when they were in Century City, he said to me, 'Wouldn't this be great to do as a series?' and I of course go, 'Yeah!' you know, not thinking that there's any chance in hell you know, sort of like a whimsical thing on his part, because it was also very strange — we had fun from the get-go — and it was also very strange, and we noticed this when we were auditioning people, but especially we start shooting, it felt like we've been working together as a team for like 20 years. That doesn't happen and it was fun right away. So, I'm really happy that it worked out the way it did. I thank Larry." In the end, it was their dynamic and the meta concept that the whole series was built around — Jeff was the brawny brains, and David was the brainy brawn. Without Jeff Greene, what would Larry be? Well, I guess he would still be Larry. But you get it.
Unfortunately, Jeff Garlin has been mired in controversy over the years and was asked to leave "The Goldbergs" after multiple reports of sexual harassment.