Andrew Santino Initially Auditioned For A Much Different Curb Your Enthusiasm Role
"Curb Your Enthusiasm" has long stood in a league of its own among sitcoms. Larry David's signature misanthropy is on full display in every episode, where he mines comedy from the smallest of inconveniences and everyday oddities. It has also been a showcase for plenty of comedic talent, with the list of guest stars on "Curbed" growing with each season. David's creative process is an oft-discussed aspect of the heavily improvised series, and actor Andrew Santino gave fans some behind-the-scenes insight in a recent interview.
In Season 10 of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Santino guest stars as an engineer who helps Larry design a new type of urinal. But while appearing on the "Steve-O's Wild Ride!" podcast, Santino said he originally auditioned for a completely different character than the urinal engineer he played on "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
Santino noted that he originally auditioned for the role of a man who owns a dog named Adolf. "They wanted me to do that, so I went in there with like a German accent and it crushed," Santino said, noting that David vetoed him for the role on account of his looks, which didn't line up with what the showrunner envisioned for that character.
Santino didn't look German enough for the role he auditioned
According to Andrew Santino, Larry David ended up recasting him away from the role he auditioned for because he wanted someone who looked stereotypically German. "He was like, 'He doesn't look Aryan. Dude, he has red hair,'" Santino said, paraphrasing David. "'We want a guy that looks like a Hitler boy.'"
That role ultimately went to Alan Tudyk, whose other work includes voicing the droid K-2SO in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" and The Joker on "Harley Quinn." In addition to owning a dog named Adolf, Tudyk's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" character is revealed to have trained it to respond to the Nazi salute. Unfortunately for the trumped-up TV version of David, he's also a remarkable inventor, able to design a coffee cup that keeps coffee hot for extended periods.
While Santino was a bit miffed at losing the role to Tudyk, David still wanted him to guest on "Curb Your Enthusiasm." As Santino told it, the casting director gave him the sheets for the urinal engineer he ended up playing and told him to come back when he was ready to read for the part. "I said, 'No, just give me three minutes to read this and I'll come back,'" Santino explained, saying he returned several minutes later for the follow-up audition. "And then I improved with Larry and I made him break like three times," Santino said.