Michael Richards Reveals ‘Biggest Regret’ After ‘Seinfeld’ Fame: ‘I Let Anger Get the Best of Me’

As Jerry Seinfeld’s lovably kooky neighbor Cosmo Kramer, Michael Richards rarely walked into a room. Instead, he slid or tripped or burst through the door mid-sentence. “I always feared dropping into caricature or being too cartoony,” Michael tells Closer, confessing that he spent a lot of time creating a backstory for Kramer to ground him in his own peculiar logic. “The first time we see Kramer he’s running this business through a phone that he has in his pocket. I made the choice that there is no business. This is all his imagination at work, which makes him a little crazy. And that amused me.”

In his first memoir, Entrances and Exits, the actor shares his life story, tales from his time on Seinfeld, his brush with prostate cancer, anger issues and his life today.

When did you discover acting?

“I was 13. It was exciting because up until that point, I wasn’t much of a student at school. Nothing interested me until drama class.”

Were you a funny kid?

“Oh, I had a great imagination. I did make my friends laugh, and it came easy. I wasn’t a class clown who would disturb class to get attention. No, but the funny was there when I was with my friends having fun.”

You were born in Southern California. Did your family have any link to show business?

“No, but L.A. is my place. By the time I was 7 years old, I was sneaking into the back lots of MGM, which were just down the street from my house. Playing around the back lots, I got a sense of make-believe. I was sort of amazed by the type of work going on so close to my home.”

Did you have any comedy heroes?

“I didn’t worship them in a heroic way, but I was aware of Laurel and Hardy because they were on television and they worked at MGM. I would recognize the streets in the background of their old comedies. So I felt at a young age that they were around. I could be riding my bike down the street thinking, ‘I’m going to run into Laurel and Hardy.’ But it only happened in spirit.”

How did you get into stand-up?

“I was 19 and I used to tell stories to my friends to make them laugh. A friend of mine, Ed Begley Jr. — we got the idea to put on some old tattered tuxes and go to the Troubadour and say, ‘Hey, we’re funny people. We want to be on your stage.’ We played a gig a few times a week, just going cuckoo on stage in between the bands. We were given $25 a night. Isn’t that something?”

Were you prepared for the fame that came along with playing Kramer on Seinfeld?

“I think so. I’d been around the block. Seinfeld was my third TV show. I came off the sketch comedy series Fridays, which I did for three seasons.”

So you felt like a veteran?

“Yes, but that goes for all of us. Julia [Louis-Dreyfus] was off Saturday Night Live. Jason [Alexander] was off Broadway and had just won a Tony. Jerry, of course, was already a well-established stand-up comic. So the four of us were pros. We’d been around comedy for years, and the beauty of our chemistry took us the rest of the distance.”

With Kramer you created one of television’s most quirky characters.

“Yeah. I liked that he’s living entirely through his imagination. It means he can be anything the next week. So if he thinks he’s a psychiatrist or a movie star, he is those people. It’s Walter Mitty-like. Kramer has a commitment to this imaginary life that he believes is as real as the hand in front of your face.”

You have a 12-year-old son. What kind of a dad are you?

“I can be strict. If my son has to practice piano, I have to go, ‘You’ve got to get on it.’ As a parent, I sort of set the schedule for the day. But my sense of humor is around. My son has a great sense of humor. I’m funny around the house with him.”

Do you think he’ll follow in your footsteps?

“Maybe. He likes making these short little videos. He brings them to school and shows them to his class. He makes his friends laugh at school.”

In 2006, you got into trouble for using racial slurs onstage after a group of men heckled your act. How did you get through that?

“Well, first I owned it. It’s all my show. I lived with it for years and I still do. My biggest regret is that I let anger get the best of me. I got swamped and shattered by rage. I think we have to become sensitive toward the dark that’s in each and every one of us. There is a lot of hate and anger, and it needs to be processed.”

In 2018, you were diagnosed with prostate cancer. How did that change your outlook on life?

“I was going through a period for many years, even before the club, but certainly during the time of Seinfeld, where I wasn’t enjoying myself enough. It was always hard work, and I was always leaning on myself, feeling that it has to be better. I could say that the cancer assisted me in getting to a place of acceptance in knowing that I can pass. It assisted me in becoming more sensitive to my fellow man. It helped me be sensitive to existence.”

How is your health today?

“I’m clear of cancer. I go in for checkups, but I’m healthy.”

That’s wonderful. What is next for you?

“At one time in my life, it was all professional. Now, I just like being out in the open for the man that I am. No vocation, it’s not career-oriented. I’m not seeking a comeback. I like just being present and talking with people. I’m not out to entertain, but if something happens, it could.”

What are you proudest of?

“Most proud? Oh, well, certainly being able to make people laugh. And I think with my family, I’m really proud of my son. The amount of time that my wife and I are devoted to raising this remarkable boy, that is just a blessing. That is a huge accomplishment, and I’m grateful that I can be so present for it.”