Actor Wayne Knight achieved television immortality assaying the role of the frenetic mailman "Newman", nemesis of the eponymous lead character in the classic TV series Seinfeld (1989). He also appeared in Jurassic Park (1993) as "Dennis Nedry" and in one of the most notorious scenes in American cinema as one of the detectives interrogating Sharon ...
Clare De Chenu (m. 2006), Paula Sutor (m. 1996–2003)
Parents
Grace Monti, William Knight
Nominations
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
Movies
Alice in Wasteland, Any Given Sunday, Throttle
TV Shows
The Exes, Woke Up Dead, Catscratch, Brandy & Mr. Whiskers, Xiaolin Showdown, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Toonsylvania, Seinfeld, The Edge, Gear, The Second Half
Star Sign
Leo
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Trademark
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High-pitched voice
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Often plays characters with a cynical demeanor
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Large spectacles
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Quote
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One good thing about TV Land is you're always surrounded by people who know what they're doing, in terms of your fellow actors.
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Small towns are the worst for getting recognized.
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There is no fact-checking on tertiary celebrities. You can say whatever you'd like, and it will just rise up again.
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Whatever road you've been given, enjoy that road.
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There's an appreciation of the whole picture of life as opposed to just ambition and circumstance and all the stuff that happens in this business. You find yourself lucky enough to be working with somebody really talented who you know and who you trust.
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I think most people's careers in theater are based on delusion. It's just that mine started early.
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I was never the mascot of the Georgia football team.
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I'm a wuss - a complete wuss!
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I'm not really in touch with those 'Seinfeld' lads except Jason Alexander.
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I've been in Los Angeles for a while, and the kind of psychological connection that one makes to people, it just doesn't happen out here.
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I had the most fun on '3rd Rock'. It was a great show to work on.
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I know there are some people in British Columbia who are still holding a vigil for '3rd Rock'.
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I want to go skydiving. I'd love to go to the Galapagos. Nature still excites me.
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I have this assemblage of small facts, which looks like intelligence but no real depth of knowledge about anything. That's why I'm an actor.
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I love Tom Kenny. And Jill Talley. And Jennifer Aniston, too!
He is of British (father) and Italian (mother) descent.
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Worked as a private detective in between acting jobs in his early days.
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Before landing the role of Newman in Seinfeld (1989), he had auditioned for the role of George Costanza.
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Performed at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Virginia, after he dropped out of college.
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Credits an episode of Seinfeld with prompting him to lose weight. After shooting several takes of a scene requiring him to run through a field, he began to experience heart palpitations. He visited his doctor and was told that he was approaching morbid obesity and diabetes. Knight then embarked upon a diet-and-exercise program that allowed him to lose 117 lbs, dropping his weight from 327 to 210 lbs.
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Has worn the same pair of his trademark glasses since his role in Seinfeld (1989).
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While attending college in Georgia, was told by a theater professor that he would never make it as an actor.
The first reference to "Newman" on Seinfeld (1989) has the unseen character attempting suicide by jumping out of Jerry's building. In the original episode, the voice of "Newman" is supplied by Larry David (co-creator of Seinfeld (1989)). On the syndicated version, Wayne Knight's voice was dubbed in.
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He attended the University of Georgia for a short time.
$8 Million
