Newman (Seinfeld)

Newmanis arecurring characterin the television showSeinfeld, portrayed byWayne Knightfrom 1992 until the show's finale in 1998. He isJerry Seinfeld'sarch-nemesisandCosmo Kramer's close friend.
Newman makes his first physical appearance in "The Suicide", but he is first established as a character in the earlier episode "The Revenge", in which only his voice (provided byLarry David) is heard. Wayne Knight dubbed over the dialogue for syndication airings.
Newman lives in apartment 5E, which is directly down the hall from Jerry's apartment, 5A. However, there arecontinuity inconsistenciesregarding his residence. In the season 6 episode "The Doodle", Newman's apartment is 5F. In the Season 7 episode "The Engagement", Newman's apartment is 5E. In the Season 9 episode "The Strongbox", another man, Phil, is seen entering 5E. At other times, it seems Newman lives in a different part of the building from Jerry altogether. In "The Big Salad", Newman greets Jerry with "what brings you down to the east wing?", while in "The Calzone", Newman says that George "hangs out with Jerry in the west wing of the building". In "The Wig Master", Kramer tells Jerry that Newman "has a girlupthere", referring to his apartment.
Newman was created as a counterpoint to the Jerry character, though the reason for their animosity is never revealed. Seinfeld once described Newman as theLex Luthorto hisSuperman.Knight has described him as "pure evil",as did Jerry in the episode "The Big Salad" when he says "I've looked into his eyes. He's pure evil."
Newman's role is primarily as Jerry's nemesis and a frequent collaborator inKramer's elaborate and bizarre schemes. Often described as Jerry's "sworn enemy" ("The Andrea Doria"), Newman is cunning and often schemes against Jerry. He speaks often in a humorously sinister tone (mainly to Jerry). Jerry refers to Newman as "pure evil" on more than one occasion. Jerry's trademark greeting for Newman is to say "Hello,Newman" in a snide and condescending tone, while Newman responds "Hello, Jerry" in a falsely jovial tone.Helen Seinfeldalso greets Newman in the same way.
Newman considers Jerry to be undeserving of his fame, referring to Jerry's audience as a "half soused nightclub rabble that lap up your inane 'observations.'" Newman's own talents as apoetand wordsmith are considerable, yet recognition similar to Jerry’s has so far eluded him.
When asked about why the character Jerry hates Newman,Jerry Seinfeldstated in an interview with BuzzFeed Brews that "The real answer [for] why I hated Newman was because it just seemed funny to hate Newman... Everybody has one very eccentric friend that is kind of out there. You've got your friends that are like you, then you have that one friend that's really not like you at all and that's what you like about them, they're kind of an outer orbit. Andtheirfriend is someone you cannot deal with at all... but there was no real reason for me to hate Newman, he never did anything bad to me, it was just fun. It was fun to hate him."
Newman is a frequent source of annoyance and problems for Jerry, such in "The Doodle" when Newman's secret use of Jerry's apartment results in afleainfestation, and in "The Raincoats" when Newman gets Jerry into trouble with his parents after he tells them Jerry was making out with his girlfriend during the filmSchindler's List. Jerry's response upon discovering Newman is to blame for any situation is to clench his fist and mutter "Newman!"
However, the depth of Jerry and Newman's enmity seems to vary, and Jerry sometimes seems to consider him merely an annoying neighbor, rather than an outright enemy. Occasionally events lead one of them ("The Blood"), or both ("The Soup Nazi"), to briefly forget their differences and at times even work together on some scheme, such as in "The Shower Head" when they join with Kramer to buyblack marketnon-water-saving shower heads. In "The Old Man", Jerry casually mentions "a couple of friends", referring to Kramer and Newman. In "The Soul Mate", Jerry and Newman go to the doctor together to get vasectomies (although they end up changing their minds). In "The Label Maker", Jerry and Newman also attendSuper Bowl XXIXtogether, but only because of a ticket mix-up. Earlier in the same episode, Jerry reluctantly agrees withGeorgethat Newman is "merry", which appeared to be a compliment of sorts.
Newman is a good friend of Kramer's, and the pair are forever participating in variousget-rich-quick schemes. In "The Bookstore", Newman and Kramer decide to use arickshawto transport people from place to place. In "The Old Man", they try to find valuable records to sell for cash, and in "The Bottle Deposit" they attempt to cash-in by transporting New York bottles to Michigan for the higherredemption value, using aU.S. Mailtruck obtained by Newman in his job as aletter carrier.
Despite his girth, Newman shows surprising athletic ability. Jerry claims he is a "fantastic" tennis player and he is seen running athletically in several episodes. He can climb trees very well ("like aring-tailed lemur", as Kramer puts it), a skill he claims to have learned in thePacific Northwest.
Despite taking pride in his work, Newman is paradoxically portrayed as a slacker who has bad habits like hiding bags of mail in Jerry's storage locker in the basement rather than delivering them. He protests irrationally the idea that any mail is considered "junk" despite his obvious lack of respect for mail. He has been known to occasionally use his position for unethical ends, such as deliberately withholding mail (often utility bills or the like) for the purpose of blackmail, retaliation, or using hisunionto get out of jail.
He has a few friends from the post office and girlfriends in a couple of episodes. In "The Bottle Deposit", after he is dumped from his mail truck, he seeks refuge in a farmer's house, but is kicked out for having sex with the farmer's daughter, who calls him "Norman" (this was a mistake by the actress/character, not the revelation of Newman's actual first name‍— the character "Newman" was never given a first name). Newman is also seen with a supermodel after his birthday wish comes true in "The Betrayal".
Newman has unrequited romantic feelings forElaineover the course of the series, but in "The Reverse Peephole", he rejects her advances when she tries to seduce him to get back a fur coat, out of loyalty to his current girlfriend. In a deleted scene, after the relationship is ended, he approaches Elaine in hopes that her offer is still open.
Newman's angry rants are bombastic and verbose, displaying an impressive command of language. Newman's final monologue against Jerry occurs in "The Finale" after Jerry refuses to take him toParis:
Newman is an employee of theUnited States Postal Service, which is portrayed in the series as a powerful and nefarious, yet bureaucratic and inept organization. When they are arrested in "The Engagement", Newman assures Kramer and Elaine that they will not be prosecuted: "In 20 minutes, that place'll be swarming with mailmen. We'll be back on the street by lunch." Newman's occupation is first revealed in "The Old Man". George, upon learning it, asks "Aren't [postal workers] the guys thatalways go crazy and come back with a gun and shoot everybody?" Newman's ominous reply is "Sometimes." When asked why, Newman has an outburst about the unending nature of mail delivery.
In "The Junk Mail", Kramer realizes the Postal Service has become obsolete and starts an anti-mail campaign; he is later abducted by Post Office security men. Newman attempted earlier to dissuade Kramer: "You don't know the half of what goes on here." For his efforts to save Kramer, Newman is escorted by Postal Service employees with a bucket on his head, pleading for Kramer to "tell the world my story."
In "The Package", Newman's business card is shown; it simply reads "Newman".
Newman claims that he once worked the same postal route asserial killerDavid Berkowitz, otherwise known as the "Son of Sam", who was working for the Postal Service at the time of his 1977 capture. When the police come to arrest him in "The Engagement", his first words to them are, "What took you so long?", the same words Berkowitz used when arrested. In real life, however, Berkowitz did not have a mail route; he worked as a letter-sorter.
In October 2020, Wayne Knight reprised his role as Newman to deliver an online "public service announcement" regarding the2020 United States Postal Service crisis. In the video, he accused PresidentDonald Trumpof trying to delayvoting by mailin the2020 presidential electionby undercutting the Postal Service, asserting that "the only person who can slow down the mail is a mailman."
Series co-creatorLarry Davidconceived the character when writing the script forseason two's "The Revenge". Newman was envisioned as Kramer'sAfrican-Americansuicidal friend. He was set to appear in one scene, in which he explained that he jumped from the apartment building, but an awning had broken his fall.Tim Russ, who would go on to star inStar Trek: Voyager, auditioned for the role, as didWilliam Thomas, Jr., known for his appearance onThe Cosby Show, who was cast in the part.However, between the first and the second draft, the plot was significantly reduced; the scene in which the character appeared was cut, and Newman's role in the episode was cut down to a brief dialogue with Kramer, with Newman off-screen.David recorded the lines himself,though he was not credited.
While conceiving a plotline for the third-season episode "The Suicide", the writing staff decided to create a friend for Kramer.Though they never had the intention of having the Newman character return on the show,they felt it was easy to use him again, as he had already been introduced.Newman was initially envisioned as the son of the landlord who owned Jerry and Kramer's building,making him able to snitch about the building's inhabitants without being punished for it.However, in between drafts the writing staff decided to make Newman an inhabitant of the building and more of a nemesis to Jerry.
Among the actors who auditioned for the part wereArmin Shimerman,Dan SchneiderandWayne Knight.Knight remarked that he was very excited to audition, as he was already a fan of the show.David immediately thought Knight was "terrific" for the part,and was also amused by his hefty appearance as opposed to Kramer's slim figure.Though Seinfeld felt introducing a friend of Kramer might ruin the character's mystique, Knight's performance convinced him otherwise.The part was initially a one-time guest-appearance, but Seinfeld and David were impressed with Knight and felt Newman was a character they could further exploit; asMichael Richardslater explained "our show was driven by characters and there was no way they were going to let Wayne Knight go."Newman would remain a recurring character until the series'finalein 1998. To establish better continuity, Knight re-recorded Newman's lines in "The Revenge" for the syndicated version of the episode.Both versions of the dialogue were included on theSeinfeld: Volume 1DVDboxset.
When it was announced in 1998 that the show would end, Knight proclaimed "I'm gonna burn all of Newman's clothes and those funky black shoes I've been wearing all these years. He dresses likeJack Ruby. Nobody's done more with a muted plaid than I have."Prior to the finale,The New York Daily Newsasked Knight if he would be interested in a spin-off focusing on Newman, to which he replied, "I think he could show up onLaw & Orderas a snitch, but as for a weekly dose of Newman, well, I think if occasionally you're hit in the head with a ball-peen hammer, you might get slightly dazed. But if you were getting hit week after week, you might get pissed off."
In aSacramento Beeinterview, Wayne Knight explained that he was once pulled over by a police officer who merely stopped him to say "Hello, Newman" to him.
Mike JoyofFox Sportsoften responds, "Hello, Newman" whenRyan Newmanwins aMonster Energy NASCAR Cup Seriesrace.  This has happened in the2008 Daytona 500and2017 Camping World 500.
Newman was rankedNo. 1on a list byTV.comof the ten most annoying neighbors in television.TV Guideincluded him in a 2013 list, "The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time".In 2016,Rolling Stoneranked him #16 of their "40 Greatest TV Villains of All Time".