The Most Re-Shot Seinfeld Scene Because Of Stars Breaking Character
It takes a certain kind of professionalism and training for actors to not break character during a scene. However, if a joke or performance is strong enough, even professionals will collapse into laughter during a take. This can make working on a sitcom especially fun, as the emotions on set usually aren't too intense, so the actors can let loose in a more relaxed, happy environment.
The groundbreaking NBC series "Seinfeld" was shot as a four-camera sitcom, but the cast was always working under certain constraints. For one, production was challenging because according to Jason Alexander, "the sets were minimal. If you knew you were doing a series for nine years, you would never build that set" (via Television Academy Foundation/YouTube). As a result, it was harder for Alexander and the other three actors to move on camera. Notably, this inadvertently made the small crew grow closer because they had to figure out how their performances would work together, even before they started shooting.
Because of the cast's dedication to sorting out scenes ahead of time, they likely didn't expect to find making one scene so funny that they had to reshoot it over and over ... and over again.
Jerry Stiller made the whole cast break whenever they filmed this scene
There are several great "Seinfeld" blooper compilations available online, but comedy legend Jerry Stiller is the real reason why this scene from Season 8, Episode 4 ("The Little Kicks") had to be redone over and over. After Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) insults George (Jason Alexander) for lacking even the smallest iota of intelligence, Frank Costanza (Jerry Stiller), George's aggressive father, challenges her. "You want a piece of me?!" he says in his trademark loud voice, appearing to incite a physical confrontation.
The scene made it to air, but Stiller's deliveries are so hilarious that nobody, including Alexander and Louis-Dreyfus, can hold it together during multiple takes. Alexander rolls to the floor laughing when Stiller says, "What the **** does that mean?" In one of many failed takes, Louis-Dreyfus giggles and asks him to repeat the line just one more time. Ever the professional, Stiller holds out the longest, but even he starts cracking up at one point.
During a 2014 Reddit Ask Me Anything session, Jerry Seinfeld admitted this was the scene the crew had to reshoot the most throughout the entire run of the series. "We had to do [it] over and over because nobody could stop laughing," Seinfeld wrote. "Every time Jerry Stiller would say "Do you want a piece of me?" we had to stop."
Some people are just so funny that it's impossible not to react, even during a big television production.