10 Actors Who Were On Curb Your Enthusiasm Before They Were Famous

With Curb Your Enthusiasm being so unique in the sitcom-sphere for the characters’ outbursts of rage and the genius improvizing from the whole cast, the third USP of the show is its incredible guest stars.

Almost every episode features a famous comedian or actor as themselves, but the show has also seen many famous faces in bit parts before they got to where they are now. As Curb has now been on the air for over two decades, it has given actors from the older seasons enough time to rise to stardom, and it’s fascinating to see where they began.

10 Oscar Nunez

Before playing the smartest character at Dunder Mifflin, Oscar Martinez, Oscar Nunez played a toll booth operator in the irreverent show. Being typecast for playing into Mexican stereotypes, his role in Curb Your Enthusiasm is no different, as he puts on a thick accent and insistently argues with Larry about the most menial of things.

The role is a far cry from Oscar Martinez, the role that Nunez has become most famous for, but it was a great showcase of the actor’s comedy chops before he was cast in The Office.

9 Doug Benson

In Curb, Doug Benson has such a tiny role that it’s easy to miss, as he plays Barry’s cousin in the classic episode “The Acupuncturist.” After his role in Curb, the comedian went on to create the Supersize Me influenced documentary, Super High Me, in which he documents the effects of smoking weed all day for 30 days.

Not only that, but he has his fingers in a lot of different pies too, as he has the hugely popular YouTube channel Getting High With Doug, and can be seen all over TV.

8 Melissa McCarthy

Out of every other actor who has appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm, none of them have seen half as much success as Melissa McCarthy. The actor has become a certified movie star, leading her own movies year after year.

McCarthy featured as a salesperson at a toy store in Curb in 2004, and even though she’s in the episode for less than two minutes, she dominated the screen and stole the limelight from Larry in that short time. She’s overly friendly and smiles through the pain of having to listen to Larry talk about biracial dolls, and it’s classic McCarthy.

7 Bob Odenkirk

Bob Odenkirk had seen success before he appeared in Curb Your Enthusiasm, as he even had his own show with Mr. Show with fellow comedian David Cross. However, the show was very much a sleeper hit and Odenkirk didn’t see true fame until becoming the now-iconic Saul Goodman in the crime drama Breaking Bad and the just-as-good spin-off, Better Call Saul.

Odenkirk appeared in the first season of Curb, and in one of the best episodes, he plays Gil, a former porn star who reveals way too much about his past career in front of Cheryl at a dinner party.

6 Anton Yelchin

The late, great Anton Yelchin quickly became a movie star, as he starred as Pavel Chekhov in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot and its two sequels, and he had a big role in Terminator Salvation. However, one of the young star’s first big appearances was when he was just 14 years old, playing Cheryl’s young cousin, Stewart.

Unsurprisingly, it was another guest feature where the character came to blows with Larry. Despite being so young, Larry still got angry at Stewart when he wouldn’t reveal how he did a card trick.

5 Jorge Garcia

Coming literally just a few months before the world was introduced to him through the landmark TV show Lost, Jorge Garcia featured in Curb for just a couple of minutes as a drug dealer. In yet another weird altercation with Larry, the drug dealer hilariously sells Larry some weed called “Schwag.”

After his brief stint as the drug dealer, Garcia was one of the actors who appeared in most episodes of Lost and then had a main role in six seasons of Hawaii Five-O.

4 Bobby Lee

Bobby Lee plays one of the funnier unrealistic characters in season 5, as he plays the Korean bookie Sung, who constantly screws over Larry. At the time of his appearance on Curb, Lee was a small-time comedian who performed in comedy clubs around the US, constantly traveling, and he also had recurring roles on Mad TV.

However, in the time since, Lee has had bit roles in so many blockbuster comedies, and just like Doug Benson, Lee has a massive presence on YouTube, as he hosts the podcast Tiger Belly with his wife.

3 Kaitlin Olson

Kaitlin Olsen most famously plays Dee in It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, which is coincidentally clearly very influenced by Curb due to how hateful the characters are and how much the show is improvised. The theme tune for always sunny is even free-to-use, just like Curb’s. And on top of that, they have shared the same actor too.

Before playing one of the funniest sitcom characters right now, Kaitlin Olsen played Cheryl’s sister, who takes advantage of Cheryl and Larry at every chance she gets. Olsen even returned to Curb in the latest season and had a much bigger role wherein she actually briefly dates Larry.

2 Ken Jeong

Though his breakthrough was just around the corner as he starred in The Hangover the following year, Ken Jeong was appearing around TV as producers were discovering his potential.

Along with Community and The Office, Jeong featured in Curb Your Enthusiasm with such a tiny role that his character name was simply Pedestrian. The Pedestrian has his baseball jersey robbed by Leon when Larry believes the jersey was his after it was stolen from a dry cleaner.

1 JB Smoove

JB Smoove was arguably the greatest thing to happen to Curb, as he was introduced in season 6, having a recurring role and playing the fan-favorite Leon. Leon was a breath of fresh air in a show that could have become stale if it wasn’t for him, and Smoove has had a starring role in every season ever since.

On top of being a staple in Curb Your Enthusiasm, Smoove now features in tons of TV shows and movies, and he’s returning to the MCU in the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home.