Seinfeld is great in a lot of ways, but it’s not often it’s associated with the Oscars. So yay for Bryan Cranston, who played recurring character Tim Whatley (the dentist who converted to Judaism for the jokes, of course) and just scored his first Oscar nomination for the lead role in Trumbo.
At first I was thinking he might be the first Seinfeld alum to get a nomination, but upon further thought and research, I realized I was wrong. Very wrong. Some others:
- Catherine Keener (Jerry’s girlfriend Nina, who painted Kramer’s portrait in “The Letter”) was nominated for Capote and Being John Malkovich;
- Candice Bergen (who played herself in “The Keys”) was nominated for Starting Over;
- Marlee Matlin (“The Lip Reader”) won for Children of a Lesser God (before she was on Seinfeld!);
- Carol Kane (who found Elaine’s electronic organizer in “The Marine Biologist”) was nominated for Hester Street;
- Jon Voight (who played himself in “The Mom and Pop Store”) was nominated for Ali, Runaway Train, and Midnight Cowboy, and won for Coming Home;
- Bette Midler, who played herself in “The Understudy,” was nominated for For the Boys and The Rose;
- Marisa Tomei played herself in “The Cadillac” just four years after winning the Oscar for My Cousin Vinny (and she’s since been nominated for The Wrestler and In the Bedroom);
- and Bruce Davison, the chairman of the Susan Ross Foundation, was nominated for Longtime Companion.