Nabbing a guest spot on the prestigious HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm is high on the list of many celebrities in Hollywood, and plenty of great faces have already appeared in the sitcom. Every season boasts an impressive range of celebrities who come on board to portray an exaggerated version of themselves. While an array of talent has guest starred on the show, the most memorable performances from guest stars often come from established actors.
Curb Your Enthusiasm has had massive guest stars such as Ben Stiller, David Schwimmer, Sean Penn, and Seth Rogen. These Hollywood heavyweights jump aboard to play themselves for a single episode or are sometimes tied into the season’s storyline and appear in multiple episodes. Other actors like Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, and Vince Vaughn, have played themselves throughout a range of seasons. However, the guest stars that tend to be most remembered, are the ones who show up once, riff and argue with Larry, and make a smooth exit. Here are the six best guest stars on Curb Your Enthusiasm ranked.
6. Elizabeth Banks
Elizabeth Banks has cemented herself in Hollywood as one of the funniest leading ladies. She has starred in comedy classics like The 40 Year Old Virgin and Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and has also shown of her dramatic abilities in movies like The Hunger Games and The Next Three Days. She has also forayed into a career behind the camera with 2019’s Charlie’s Angels and 2023’s wacky horror comedy, Cocaine Bear.
One of the standout performances of her career falls with her guest spot on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Playing herself in the episode, she meets Larry in a restaurant when he is at the height of his problems with the Ayatollah. In the episode, Larry has been sentenced to death and after spending weeks in hiding, he decides to embrace his situation in hopes that his plight will make him appear more attractive to women. Larry’s plan works and he successfully woes Elizabeth Banks and a hilarious series of mishaps ensue. They get into trouble in the restaurant and wind up ducking and diving a policeman who is pursuing them throughout the episode. Banks’ performance was on point and she stood her ground tremendously across from the seasoned improv master, Larry David.
5. Michael J. Fox
Throughout the show, Larry argues with more people than he could ever remember. His day-to-day life is a series of callouts and mishaps. A standout fight from Curb Your Enthusiasm, is Larry’s hilarious battle with Michael J. Fox in Season 8. The season saw Larry moving to New York to get out of a charity function that he unwittingly agreed to. When Larry moves into his apartment, he bumps into Michael J. Fox and after some misunderstandings, the two immediately go at each other.
The feud escalates and Larry ends up showered in soda after Michael shakes the can before handing it to him, a move Larry insists was intentional but Michael insists was down the disease he suffers from: Parkinsons. Michael J. Fox delivered a stand-out performance of the season and made light-hearted comedy out of his condition whilst also bringing some serious awareness to it. He also made a cameo appearance in a later season, where he admitted that he in fact did shake the soda can on purpose to exact revenge on Larry.
4. Rosie O’Donnell
Quite often in Curb Your Enthusiasm, the people that Larry bickers with the most are his friends. Rosie O’Donnell appeared as herself in three episodes of the show, but her appearance in season 8 goes down as one of the funniest back-and-forths of Larry’s argumentative encounters. While attending an event, Larry and Rosie both boast about the amazing woman they have just met but before they know it, they realize they are dating the same woman. A bitter rivalry is ignited and the two friends start to play dirty to fight for the affections of this woman.
3. Bill Buckner
It’s fair to say that Larry’s escapades in New York in season 8 make it one of the best seasons, and also rank it as one of the greatest seasons for guest spots. While the funniest guest stars are typically fellow comedians, Larry managed to pull an amazing comedic performance from Major League Baseball star, Bill Buckner. Despite Buckner’s legendary presence as a world-class Baseball star, he was infamous for an error that never left his side.
When playing at the 1986 World Series, Buckner foiled the game when he let the ball dribble between his legs. For years after this, people would yell at him in the street and display true hatred against him. Larry, of course, saw a storyline here and convinced Buckner to star in an episode as himself. The episode saw the two become close buddies, hang around New York, and attend a funeral together before getting into a massive argument in true Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion. The episode has gone down as one of the highest-rated episodes of the whole show and is a truly hilarious guest spot.
2. Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais has expressed many times over his career that Larry David was a massive influence on him and has called him a “genius” in dozens of interviews. So, of course it was inevitable that he would one day appear on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Gervais’ sitcom, Extras, saw guest stars play exaggerated, unflattering, and often ludicrous versions of themselves, so come season 8 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, the tables had turned and it was Gervais’ turn to play up to the camera.
The episode saw the two comedians argue over an expensive bottle of wine and an overpriced theater ticket before setting out on a competition to gain the interest of the same woman. Gervais did not hold back in his rendition of a self-obsessed actor and painted himself to be one of the most egotistical guest stars the show had ever seen. Thus marking it one of the greatest guest star moments of the entire show and a truly hysterical episode.
1. Jon Hamm
Jon Hamm quickly became regarded as one of the great dramatic actors of Hollywood after his role in Mad Men. He went on to star opposite Ben Affleck in The Town and played a lead role in Clint Eastwood’s The Ballad of Richard Jewell. However, he rarely had the chance to show off his comedic chops, until Larry David cast him as himself in season 10 episode 8 of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
The side-splitting episode saw Jon shadowing Larry in and around LA as he prepares for a film role where the character is based on Larry. He attends lunches with Larry and is even present for some cringingly awkward arguments between Larry and his ex-wife, Cheryl. The two go on to become good pals and a dynamic duo is formed, and in typical Larry David fashion, they are both kicked out of a dinner party, a moment they baske in with great pride. By the end of the episode, Jon has successfully embodied not only Larry’s mannerisms, but his whole demeanor, much to everyone’s dismay.
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