Wayne Knight Parodied Two Of His Most Memorable Movies On Seinfeld

Back when there were clearer lines of separation between films and television, there was more delineated cross-pollination between the mediums. Nowadays, the concept of a TV star appearing in a major motion picture or a movie star leading the cast of a series is all too common, but during the 1990s, there was still a novelty to the concept. While a slice of pop culture parodying another bit of pop culture has been around ever since there's been multiple mediums of entertainment, such a thing is made that much more entertaining if one or more of the original creators happen to be involved with the parody.

Although the '90s were a time in which TV stars trying to make the leap to films was still difficult (as evident by the disparate experiences of, say, George Clooney and David Caruso), this was less of a problem for character actors. In fact, supporting actors and character actors were practically embraced by filmmakers and casting directors in a lot of ways, not just for their range but for their ability to be recognizable but not so much that it would distract or confuse a general audience.

As such, Wayne Knight was one of the most employed actors of the decade, having come from a theater background as well as a career as a legit private eye, two aspects that contributed to his ability to slide between comedy and drama. The early '90s saw him appear in several controversial and/or popular films, including "JFK" and "Basic Instinct." In 1992, the same year that "Basic Instinct" was released, Knight was cast on the increasingly popular NBC sitcom "Seinfeld" as Jerry Seinfeld's nemesis, the postal employee Newman. Given Knight's success in the role as well as his then-recent turns in two of the most talked-about films ever made, Knight got to be involved in parodying both "JFK" and "Basic Instinct" on "Seinfeld."

In retrospect, the period between 1991 and 1993 must've felt like a crazy whirlwind to Wayne Knight, who went from being a relatively unknown character actor to, well, a very well known character actor. It certainly helped that the roles he was landing weren't just in buzzy films, but that they also happened to be featured in key scenes within those films. First, in "JFK," his Numa Bertel is an important part of Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) showing how the "magic bullet" theory of JFK's assassination can be debunked. Then, in "Basic Instinct," Knight plays John Corelli, a District Attorney present at the interrogation of murder suspect and author Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone), during which Tramell slyly seduces the group of men she's being questioned by. Part of each film's identity in pop culture revolved around these very scenes, hence why Knight's association with them made him that much more famous.

In this midst of his role as Newman on "Seinfeld" beginning to take off, the series parodied "JFK" in a scene featuring Newman within the February 12, 1992 episode, "The Boyfriend." The "Basic Instinct" parody came later, in the October 17, 1996 episode, "The Package." During an interview with Vulture in 2022, Knight fondly recalled both parody scenes from the show:

"What's ironic is, I did 'JFK' and then 'Basic Instinct.' In 'Seinfeld,' we did parodies of the scenes I did in 'JFK' and 'Basic Instinct.' There's an interrogation scene where Jerry's being interrogated for potential mail fraud. The room is very hot, and he has a cold drink between his legs. And I, as Newman, am staring at the cold drink between his legs and licking my lips. And we did the 'second spitter' scene, which was a parody of the 'JFK' 'second shooter' scene."

Upon this reflection, Knight observed the irony of his film work and TV work reflecting each other in such a short period of time, saying "It's like my film career became a source of parody a mere two years later."

Despite Knight's film career becoming fodder for "Seinfeld" bits, there was another direct consequence of his appearance in "Basic Instinct": his casting in "Jurassic Park." Apparently, Steven Spielberg was very taken with Knight's work in his big "Basic Instinct" scene (which Knight was apparently coached by director Paul Verhoeven for). He enjoyed Knight's appearance enough that he allegedly said he deliberately waited through the end credits of the film to find the actor's name. When asked about this, Knight said that although he couldn't confirm the story, he had a couple theories as to why Spielberg was so eager to cast him:

"I didn't get a direct statement on that [story]. I learned it through others. But I also knew I was perhaps the first person he cast. Fat people like that might die; you better lock them down! The idea was that the look on my face and the sweat on my brow — just imagine, instead of it being open legs, it was a dinosaur."

This latter observation is a pretty astute one on Knight's part, for in both "Basic Instinct" and "Jurassic Park," a good part of the actors' job was to regard something they hadn't personally encountered before with a mixture of fear and awe. In the former film, it's a sexually independent and powerful (perhaps dangerous) woman, and in the latter, it's a long-extinct killer animal. When put that way, it's almost as if Knight was parodying his "Basic Instinct" role in "Jurassic Park," never mind later on in "Seinfeld." I guess that, in addition to being a great actor, the guy is just a natural at parodies, too.