While Jerry Stiller made Frank Costanza one of TV’s most iconic characters, he was actually the second actor to play the role after Seinfeld recast George’s father following season 4. From Seinfeld’s true Festivus holiday to the famous line “serenity now”, to stealing back his rye bread from Susan’s parents, Frank Costanza is considered Seinfeld’s best recurring character—alongside Seinfeld's dastardly neighbor Newman (Wayne Knight), of course. Frank Costanza is also one of comedian Jerry Stiller’s best-remembered roles, but it was John Randolph who originated the character in Seinfeld season 4.
Frank Costanza made his first appearance in Seinfeld’s season 4 episode “The Handicap Spot,” where George wraps his parents into the drama by borrowing his father's car. In this episode, Frank was played by actor John Randolph, who was best known for his Broadway career and role as Clark Griswold’s father in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Frank didn’t reappear until Seinfeld’s season 5 episode “The Puffy Shirt,” officially recast with Jerry Stiller. After Stiller’s casting, Frank Costanza became a much more popular and involved Seinfeld character, with his performance being starkly different from that of Randolph.
Similar to Jerry’s dad being recast after season 1, Seinfeld decided to change Frank’s actor when bringing him back in season 5. Frank was originally written as passive, where George’s mother Estelle would be the more dominant, loud, and aggressive presence. The bizarre sensibility that Stiller brought to the character was completely absent in John Randolph’s version of Frank, who played the character with far more reserve. After Randolph’s one-episode stint, Seinfeld producers decided they wanted to develop Frank into a far more "Seinfeldian" persona. Series co-creator Larry David mentioned on Seinfeld’s DVD extras that he couldn’t remember whether the recasting began because Randolph wasn’t available to return or not, but they quickly decided that they wanted to go in a new direction with Frank’s actor.
While Seinfeld’s cast and producers had nothing but lovely words to say about Randolph, it was clear that he wasn’t the best actor to portray Frank Costanza. George Costanza actor Jason Alexander admitted that Randolph looked too “WASPy” and was a bit older and gentler with soft energy, so not only did he not physically resemble Alexander, “he didn’t look like a Costanza.” When deciding to bring Frank back for Seinfeld season 5, the casting director recruited Jerry Stiller, who truly captured the spirit of the character that they imagined. Although Randolph’s Frank could be slightly angry and crass, the intrigue of the character paled in comparison to Stiller’s, which was fueled by over-the-top emotion, a combative personality, and just as much ridiculous energy as the rest of the cast.
Jerry Stiller would quickly turn Frank Costanza into the eccentric grouch that viewers remember, but upon finding out that he would be replacing John Randolph, the comedian initially had mixed feelings about taking the role. Stiller quickly gave in and joined Seinfeld’s comedic cast despite his guilt of replacing Randolph, with part of the personality change upon Frank’s Seinfeld recast being due to Stiller’s own read of the character. Stiller was initially asked to wear a bald cap and contrast Estelle as a meeker persona, but the actor decided on his fourth day to start screaming back at George’s mother in their scenes together, believing this was a much more compelling dynamic. Seinfeld showrunner Larry David loved his performance, and thus the iconic Frank Costanza that audiences know today was born.
After recasting Frank Costanza with Jerry Stiller, David convinced NBC to let them reshoot the scenes with Frank from season 4’s “The Handicap Spot,” thus allowing for better continuity with just one actor playing George’s father. NBC agreed to Larry David's reshooting request, so the syndicated airing of Seinfeld’s episode would feature Stiller in the episode rather than Randolph, with the reshot version also being the only one available on Netflix. John Randolph’s portrayal of Frank Costanza is still available on Seinfeld’s DVDs and a few streaming services, but most viewers who didn’t watch the season 4 episode’s original broadcast have only seen Jerry Stiller play the iconic character.
