Who Played The Bubble Boy On Seinfeld?
"Seinfeld" certainly left fans with a slew of memorable episodes and characters thanks to the ridiculous antics of Jerry and his friends. While many people disagree on the best episodes of "Seinfeld," the series left fans with a laundry list of favorite moments. Whether it was George (Jason Alexander) desperately trying to keep the high score on "Frogger," Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) weeding out those who weren't sponge-worthy, or Kramer's (Michael Richards) addiction to Kenny Rogers' chicken, Seinfeld and his pals found themselves in one quirky situation after the other. And then there's the unmistakable magic of the "Bubble Boy" episode, and the guy who landed the role of the unforgettable guest star.
The Season 4 episode, "The Bubble Boy," had even George Costanza himself worried the show might be teetering on television controversy. "First of all, the whole concept of the episode seemed wrong to me," Alexander said in an interview during the "Seinfeld: Inside Look" series. "'The Bubble Boy' is a perfect example of everything you shouldn't be doing." Alexander might have worried the subject matter of a sick boy confined to a bubble may have been pushing the envelope too far, but "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David loved the idea right from the get-go.
The casting department did a fantastic job hiring Brian Doyle-Murray to portray the Bubble Boy's father, but with such a crucial role to fill, you might be surprised by whom the showrunners brought aboard to play the boy who berates George when he cheats at Trivial Pursuit. So, who played the Bubble Boy, Donald Sanger?
Writer Jon Hayman portrayed the Bubble Boy
With their choice of Hollywood players to pick from, the casting department turned to a most unlikely candidate. "They cast our writer, Jon Hayman, a 50-year-old guy," Jason Alexander said in the interview he gave during the "Seinfeld: Inside Look" episode. Hayman is best known as a writer and producer for "The Chris Rock Show" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," but he just happened to be at the right place at the right time.
Hayman is never seen on-screen, except for his arms, but it's hard to deny the impact of his unforgettable, raspy voice when he verbally spars with George over the historical significance of the Moors versus the Moops. "Jon Hayman was a comedian who was working on the show that year, who was a very sarcastic fellow," Larry David explained during the same interview. Seinfeld himself said the episode was never about making fun of the boy's condition, and the writers went out of their way to make Donald an unlikeable character, so the audience wouldn't sympathize with his bad behavior.
"When someone says it's a bubble boy, you think about, you know, John Travolta [starring in "The Boy In The Plastic Bubble"] being helpless and soft and sweet," guest star Heidi Swedberg said during the interview. "Jon Hayman is none of those things." Hayman has only six acting credits to his name, but he reprised the role of Donald on two more occasions: Season 4, Episode 23 ("The Pilot") and Season 9, Episode 22 ("The Finale").