November 17, 2009 3:58 pm
Doug Hyun Larry David and J. B. Smoove in a scene from “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
J. B. Smoove was happy enough to return this season to “Curb Your Enthusiasm” as Leon Black, the houseguest who moved into Larry David‘s mansion and never took the hint that it was time to move out. But on Sunday night’s episode, Mr. Smoove got to play a central role in a story line involving this season’s (fictional) “Seinfeld” reunion, and a memorable scene in which Michael Richards received his comic comeuppance for a notorious 2006 incident in which he was filmed shouting racial epithets at hecklers at a comedy club.
On Tuesday, Mr. Smoove, the comedian and actor (“Pootie Tang”), spoke about his work on the current season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and his longstanding admiration for Mr. Richards. These are excerpts from that conversation.
Q.
How were you brought back to “Curb Your Enthusiasm” this season?
A.
I knew Leon would carry over from last season — I knew that the Blacks had taken over Larry’s house and made it our fort. I wish black people had a flag they could put into the ground, like when the troops stormed Iwo Jima. We should have climbed to the roof of Larry’s mansion and put that flag down.
Q.
Once you knew that this season would deal with a “Seinfeld” reunion, did you suspect that you might play a role in commenting on Michael Richards’s outburst?
A.
I had no idea. I had my own ideas of how Leon would have handled it. I think Leon would have been there that night. He might even have been the guy who coerced him, who yelled at Michael Richards and caused him to say that. This would have been the time when they meet again — “Hey, I know you!”
Q.
How did you feel personally when that incident occurred?
A.
I wasn’t bothered by it. I think we all make mistakes. I don’t want to kill a man’s career. He apologized for it. I can’t see someone being so upset with it that they’d never want him to be on TV again. You can pass the blame along, or you can accept your responsibility, and he accepted his actions. Sometimes, when you get a girl pregnant, you blame the condom. His condom broke that night.
Q.
How did you approach the scene where Michael is caught on camera as he confronts you?
A.
There were a bunch of different versions of that scene. They could have gone really, really hard with this scene, but I’m not sure that would have done anything, or maybe made it worse. You make light of it, but you don’t stomp it into the ground. There’s definitely some clips where Leon lashes back at him. [laughs] I mean, Leon don’t just sit there and let it happen. I’m standing with my people — you don’t just run up on me.
Q.
Do you enjoy working with Michael?
A.
He is definitely a fun guy. When I first started doing comedy years ago, I used to be the biggest Michael Richards fan. I used to love this dude. He was on a TV show called “Fridays,” and man, he was tall and lanky — and I was tall and lanky. I love physical comedy and he was a physical comedian, and I said, “Man, I love this guy.”
After I sat down with him and talked to him, I thought he was a cool cat. But at the same time, he did bring up the stuff that happened. He can’t help it. You’re hanging out with a black guy, your co-star, that’s got to come up. We were talking about a way of doing the scene, and he said, “You know what, J. B.? If that moment had never happened in that club, we could do something so much more with this scene.” I said, “You’re absolutely right.” We could have gone anywhere, if there was no handcuffs. It’s different when you’re doing it for fun, and when you’re doing it for real.
Q.
The episode implied that Leon had never seen an episode of “Seinfeld” in his life. I assume that doesn’t apply to you?
A.
Oh, yeah, I’ve seen “Seinfeld” 1,000 times. There was one line, in an alternate take where Larry was like, “I can’t believe you never saw ‘Seinfeld.'” And I said, “Nah, I’m not really into that stuff. I’m more into comedies.” And he was like, “It is a comedy!”
Q.
I know you can’t give away plot details, but is Leon in the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” season finale?
A.
I have no idea until I see the show. I was happy to be a part of this season, and it’s the “Seinfeld” season. It’s an ongoing joke that a black man is always the first one to get killed in movies. Hey, man, they didn’t kill me off.
