The 11 most OMG celeb cameos on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’

Ten seasons of Larry David’s unscripted, gallows humour series Curb Your Enthusiasm (watch seasons 1-10 now on Crave) has resulted in some pretty epic celebrity guest stars and cameos. It seems that celebs, like us, love David’s pitch-black comedy, in which he plays a blithely awful human being. Is it because it makes them look better standing next to him? Or is it because it allows them to act out the most depraved versions of themselves on camera? We’re going to call this one a tie.

Over the course of the show, some stars have played characters invented by David (like Cheri Oteri’s nanny from hell) while others have played themselves (like Mila Kunis, owner of a spite store inspired by Larry’s Lattes). Whatever the case, it’s always hilarious. So in celebration of the show’s soon-to-debut 11th season, here are 11 of our favourite celebrity guest spots.

David Schwimmer

As Schwimmer’s time on Friends (stream now on Crave) wrapped up, the actor known for his nice-guy Ross persona showed up for a three-episode run on Curb to play himself — a version far less affable than his most famous character. Passive-aggressive to the core, Schwimmer lives to make Larry’s life miserable in the smallest ways — which, if you know Larry’s character, is precisely the way to ruin him.

Stephen Colbert

The nicest man in television (Colbert) plays a monster in this episode — one who curses Larry, getting inside his head before his stage debut in The Producers. David bombs onstage in front of a packed theatre, but saves the show by doing a stand-up routine that the audience loves.

The problem is that, in a Producers-like scheme, the show’s backers (guest stars Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks) were counting on David to fail — which, for once, he doesn’t. Does this make Colbert a master reverse psychologist? We think… maybe. 

Shaquille O’Neal

Sitting court side at a Lakers game, the notoriously fidgety Larry (a Knicks fan with a hate-on for LA’s team) stretches his legs at an inopportune time and trips star player, Shaq. An injured O’Neal has to leave the game and Larry has to make his exit with the jumbotron cameras on him as he claims, “it was an accident!” TBH we believe him, since when he attempts something purposeful, it usually fails.

Laverne Cox

As part of his sexual harassment lawsuit, Larry agrees to speak at a Survivors United event and is introduced by actor and LGBTQ+ activist Laverne Cox. Knowing that Cox has a head cold (because she makes it clear during a disastrous pre-speech meeting), Larry dodges her onstage hug. Cox, in return, allows the audience to believe that he’s shunning her because he’s a bigot, when in reality, he’s just a misanthrope and a germaphobe. 

Sacha Baron Cohen and Dustin Hoffman

At the end of Season 5, Larry decides to donate his kidney to Richard after mistakenly converting to Christianity. While he’s on the operating table, he dies (temporarily) and meets his argumentative, perfectly-cast guardian angels: Cohen and Hoffman. As well as his (insert honorable mention here) Bea Arthur.

Catherine O’Hara

The preternaturally perfect O’Hara guest stars as series regular Marty Funkhouser’s unstable sister… Bam Bam. After she and Jeff have sex, she outs him for it at a dinner party thrown by his wife, Susie, creating complete chaos as she winks and licks her wine glass suggestively looking like a disheveled and delusional Diane Keaton.

Steve Coogan

As David’s long-suffering wife Cheryl makes an overdue escape from their marriage, Larry seeks help from his snooty therapist (Coogan) who advises him to give Cheryl an ultimatum. Things go off the rails (like, even more than usual) when Coogan’s character agrees to pretend to mug Cheryl’s own therapist so Larry can appear heroic by “saving” her. An arrest ensues. Obviously.

Coogan’s performance as a bad therapist and even worse petty criminal is a highlight of Season Six as we get to watch him get utterly and hilariously ground down under the weight of Larry’s chaos.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

When Larry asks Lin-Manuel Miranda for two tickets to Hamilton for his “shucker,” we immediately get a bad feeling about the two men's work partnership (they've partnered on Larry’s Fatwa! The Musical). And we are correct to feel that way. Manuel plays a micro-managing, dictatorial overseer who refuses to compromise on the most inconsequential detail. Of course, Miranda is playing against type, which is what makes it so funny when he trades competitive insults with David.

Carrie Brownstein

In Season 9, Sleater Kinney guitarist Brownstein follows up her comedy success on Portlandia with a guest spot on Curb as Larry’s incompetent assistant who was foisted on him by Jimmy Kimmel. She disappears for days at a time for health reasons (read: constipation) and, though the episode really fixates on the toilet humour aspect, Brownstein manages to completely chew the scenery as one of the series’ most highly skilled ad-libbers.

John Hamm

Hamm shadows Larry in an effort to play a character very much like David. During their time together, Larry’s personal life explodes as he’s outed for sleeping with Cheryl’s sister after trying to cash in on the sale of her house. Instead of being horrified by David, Hamm laps up Larry’s bad behaviour like a gleeful kid on Christmas morning — and he’ll be back in his “there are two Larry Davids” role in Season 11. 

Sean Penn

In this genius episode, Larry sparks a trend that comes back to haunt him after he opens a spite store to mess with a cafe owner who banned him for complaining too much. The move inspires spite operations by Hollywood stars like Jonah Hill (spite deli), Mila Kunis (spite jeweler) and, best of all, a beautiful cameo from a slightly unhinged Sean Penn as the owner/operator of an exotic bird store — correction, a SPITE exotic bird store.

Watch season 11 of Curb Your Enthusiasm Sunday, Oct. 24 on Crave.

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