During the height of its popularity, Seinfield was one of the most-loved TV shows in history, and by the time the show was wrapping up, the cast’s pay was certainly reflective of that.
Jerry Seinfeld, the titular character of the sitcom, was raking in a staggering $1 million dollars per episode throughout the show’s ninth and final season.
But despite being offered eye-watering figures to return for a tenth outing, the actor and comedian denied the offer, which understandably has left a lot of fans baffled.
Seinfeld wasn’t turning down a minor pay raise, either. A tenth season would’ve seen the actor earn $5 million dollars per episode, five times more than the previous season alone.
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Even more astonishing, it would’ve been 250 times more per episode than he made in the show’s debut season.
However, Seinfeld felt the show needed to end when it did because he worried it would grow stale if it continued past season nine.
“I could not go to that point where it starts to age and whither,” Seinfeld told Howard Stern back in 2013.
“And it doesn’t take long. Too much cake, too much anything–it changes the whole feeling.”
Seinfeld added that he’s always been able to feel when it was the right time to stop doing something.
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“I have a sense of timing. I have it in jokes, I have it in my sets, I have it in my career,” he explained. “I knew when I was ready to do something bigger like the sitcom. I just knew. And I knew that was our moment.”
While both these reasons are valid and understandable, the fact he turned down such an impressive payday still confuses many observers.
So, when once again questioned on his decision in 2018, this time by the New York Times, Seinfeld elaborated even further on his choice.
"The most important word in art is 'proportion,'" he said. “How much? How long is this joke going to be? How many words? How many minutes? And getting that right is what makes it art or what makes it mediocre.”
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While Seinfeld (the man) will always be heavily associated with Seinfeld (the show), he says he actively avoids watching it when it comes on.
“I think there’s a level of focus you need to get something to a certain point creatively,” the star explained.
“You pay a price for that, which is you can’t ever look at it again.”
Topics: Entertainment, Film and TV, Celebrity