20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About Seinfeld
4. Morty Seinfeld And Frank Costanza Were Recast
Jerry Stiller is so perfect as Frank Costanza, it's hard to picture anyone else yammering about Festivus or yelling "Serenity Now!" However, John Randolph played Frank when the character was introduced in the episode, The Handicap Spot. When Frank reappeared in the following season, he was replaced with Stiller.
Now, recasting a character isn't that uncommon in tv shows. But what makes Frank's recasting so fascinating is that the cast reshot all of Randolph's scenes in The Handicap Spot episode with Stiller in the role. Because the original version of The Handicap Spot is no longer aired, a lot of viewers don't know that anyone played Frank except for Stiller.
Interestingly, Frank wasn't the only actor who was recast. Jerry Seinfeld's dad, Morty, was played by Philip Bruns in the second episode but he was replaced because the producer thought he was too laid-back for the role. In the following season, Barney Martin took over for Morty.
The producer wanted to reshoot the scene of Bruns with Martin for the sake of continuity but he couldn't because the actors were noticeably older by the time the thought occurred to him.