Best 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' guest stars, ranked by their feuds with Larry

The best celebrity foes on Curb Your Enthusiasm

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASMLarry David — Jessica Miglio/HBO

Dozens of celebrities have appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm as themselves over the years, whether in tiny cameos or meaty recurring roles. What these guest spots have in common is that, in nearly every actor's case, they ended up getting into it with the series' misanthropic star, Larry David. We've run down the 22 most notable celebrities-as-themselves Curb appearances — ranked, as only they could be, by just how hilariously juicy their feuds with Larry were.

22. Shaquille O'Neal

Larry wasn't shy about his hatred for the Lakers in the season 2 episode "Shaq," but he somehow managed to nab tickets right on the floor when his manager Jeff (Jeff Garlin) had to bail. This did not go Shaquille O'Neal's way: Larry ended up extending his legs in the middle of the game, Shaq tripped on them, and he ended up sustaining a serious injury. L.A. ended up hating Larry, but, unfortunately, we didn't get Shaq's thoughts on the matter.

21. Alanis Morissette

A rumor of a terrorist attack forced Alanis Morissette to perform for a charity benefit in Larry David's home. While Larry didn't do anything directly to the artist — she even revealed to him the secret subject of "Mr. Duplicity" — a combination of his feuding and secret-spreading did lead to her performing in a neck brace. So there's that.

20. Michael York

Ron-Batzdorff---HBO-(Photo-2) — Ron Batzdorff/HBO

Michael York went in on a restaurant investment with Larry in season 3, a decision he would repeatedly regret as he tried to gently steer the team away from Larry's strange ideas and even stranger hang-ups.

19. Dylan O'Brien

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, from left: Dylan O'Brien, Jeff Garlin, Larry David, ‘Angel Muffin', (Season 11, ep. 1102, aired Oct. 31, 2021). photo: John P. Johnson / ©HBO / Courtesy Everett Collection — John P. Johnson/HBO/Everett

In a season 11 episode, Larry hoped to meet Dylan O'Brien, the prospective lead of his show, Young Larry, by attending the actor's rock concert. In typical Larry fashion, he plugged his ears with tissue paper during the performance, which got them off to a bad start. After he tried to make amends by bringing along a friend's dog, it all went wrong when the dog ended up being hit by a car.

18. Woody Harrelson

Larry David and Woody Harrelson on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'. John P. Johnson/HBO/Everett

Woody Harrelson, well-known as one of the most prominent vegans in Hollywood, played a hardcore animal rights activist version of himself in a season 11 episode. When Larry hoped to convince Harrelson to star on his show Young Larry, the former went to absurd lengths to convince the latter of his devotion to animal rights. One dropped grape led to a blowout fight that resulted in the two parting ways.

17. Martin Scorsese

"Do balls read?" was just one of the many questions Larry forced Martin Scorsese to reluctantly consider when he was cast as a mobster in one of his films. Scorsese's appearances were limited, but he was visibly exhausted by Larry by the time he was finished on the show.

16. Richard Lewis

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM: Richard Lewis, Larry David. photo: Claudette Barius — Claudette Barius/HBO

Richard Lewis keeps coming back for more, despite having had countless dates and love interests ruined by Larry's intervention. (The scandal surrounding "Vehicular Fellatio" remains a personal favorite.) Larry did give him a kidney, however — though the road to that decision was long, winding, selfish, and maybe even accidental.

15. Hugh Hefner

John-P.-Johnson---HBO-(Photo-5) — John P. Johnson/HBO

Hugh Hefner was dryly hilarious in his Curb guest spot, which took place at the Playboy Mansion after Jeff was given an invitation. He was a cryptic presence here, unrevealing in such a way that actually drove Larry crazy — especially when Hefner sort-of-inadvertently stole his expensive smoking jacket.

14. John McEnroe

Claudette-Barius---HBO — Claudette Barius/HBO

John McEnroe and Larry shared a few laughs over "The Freak Book," which originated as a goof gift to Ted Danson, but, after a limo ride filled with maddeningly inane questions, the tennis pro couldn't help but indulge his infamously angry side as he zeroed in on Larry for blame.

13. Lucy Lawless

Claudette-Barius---HBO-(Photo-2) — Claudette Barius/HBO

The Xena actress was Larry's first post-Cheryl (Cheryl Hines) date, which meant anything was on the table. And while things started out surprisingly well, she left him, disgusted, after he made a premature presumption of sex.

12. Jimmy Kimmel

Jimmy Kimmel's appearance in the season 9 premiere initially seemed like a harmless cameo...before descending into total chaos. We're not sure of the fallout for the late-night host, but we were reassured that after Larry impersonated the Ayatollah on his show and created a massive backlash, Kimmel wanted nothing to do with him.

11. Mel Brooks

John-P.-Johnson---HBO-(Photo-3) — John P. Johnson/HBO

Mel Brooks cast Larry in his revival of The Producers for a scheme so meta it would make fans of the musical proud: Intentionally miscast Larry, create a flop (sound familiar?), and make bank off of it. But even while it was all part of the plan, Brooks wasn't faking his fatigue at getting through all those rehearsals with a guy most certainly unsuited to Broadway.

10. Wanda Sykes

672009_CYE701_12_04_DH_0350 — Doug Hyun/HBO

There have been moments when Wanda Sykes has been a bit more endeared by Larry, but, for the most part, she's called him out on everything from his "racist dog" to his own potentially racist parking lot behavior. Their biting back-and-forth never disappointed.

9. Christian Slater

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM: Larry David, Christian Slater. photo: Doug Hyun — Doug Hyun/HBO

Did you know Christian Slater eats a lot of caviar? Too much, Larry would argue. At a party for friends Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen, Larry ratted the Heathers actor out for his apparent indulgence, leaving him a little embarrassed — and willing to take out a low-effort (but high-impact) act of revenge.

8. Ricky Gervais

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASMLarry David and Ricky Gervais — Jessica Miglio/HBO

The predictably exasperating Ricky Gervais–Larry David standoff took up much of season 8's "The Hero." Gervais effortlessly riffed on his public persona: smarmy, full of himself, and a fan of the deep cut. ("I love broad comedy, I love the laugh track on it," he said of Seinfeld.) It's hard to say Larry bothered him, since Gervais spent much of the episode one-upping his social not-so-niceties, but he certainly bothered Larry.

7. Julia Louis-Dreyfus

597967_curb_enthusiasm_b — Larry Watson/HBO

Julia Louis-Dreyfus has appeared in more seasons than any of the other Seinfeld cast members, and, as such, has experienced a special kind of tension with Larry. He called her out for not respecting wood and created some unnecessary drama with her daughter in the reunion-centric season 7, botched an attempted creative collaboration in season 2, and, most memorably, put her through the wringer when setting up a meeting between her and a fan (also: Larry's pesky neighbor) in season 1's "The Wire."

6. Ben Stiller

Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 4 (2004)L-R: Ben Stiller and Larry David — HBO

Larry's original Producers costar Ben Stiller decided to bow out of the play with Mel Brooks solely because he couldn't stand to be around Larry. Highlights of their doomed collaboration include a birthday bash fiasco ("Who celebrates their birthday so far from the actual date?" Larry demanded to know) and some awkwardness with the actor's wife, Christine Taylor.

5. David Schwimmer

John-P.-Johnson---HBO-(Photo-2) — John P. Johnson/HBO

And then there was the Producers replacement, David Schwimmer. Sure, Schwimmer made it to Broadway — which is more than Ben Stiller could say — but there were still some truly cringeworthy interactions between him and Larry. The tension reached its peak when Larry managed to grossly offend his father on multiple occasions. The senior Schwimmer ended up leaving an episode-ending voicemail for the ages.

4. Ted Danson

Curb-Your-Enthusiasm-03 — John P. Johnson/HBO

Ted Danson's main Curb season was the third, when he and Larry went in on a restaurant venture together, and Larry, predictably, kept bringing things off course. But he's always around and griping with our Curb hero. A few exceptions notwithstanding, he's one of the few who seems to know how to get the upper hand on Larry, an old friend who doesn't make time for his neuroses. Of course, this has Larry consistently ready for arguments over any and all social mores.

3. Rosie O'Donnell

Rosie O'Donnell's handful of Curb appearances were awfully intense, a special kind of feud that tended to spark violence. In "Denise Handicapped," the two got into a literal fistfight over a check before O'Donnell presumably beat him up again at the episode's conclusion. And, in "The Bisexual," they battled over a woman's affections, Larry turning to "juicing" (while they also competed on the softball field) to try to one-up her. It didn't go well.

2. Jason Alexander

Curb Your Enthusiasm -Season 2 (2001)L-R: Jason Alexander and Larry David — HBO

Season 7 of Curb could have easily been renamed Larry vs. Jason: Whether it was tipping rules, pen etiquette, Seinfeld scripts, or Larry's own ex-wife Cheryl, the two argued over everything, remaining the bitter center of an otherwise jovial reunion season. It's an especially rich feud, of course, since the season featured Jason Alexander getting back into the role of George Costanza, a role closely modeled on Larry by Larry.

1. Michael J. Fox

The ultimate Curb feud has to be Michael J. Fox playing upstairs neighbor to Larry David. The 2011 episode "Larry vs. Michael J. Fox" managed to delicately employ Fox's Parkinson's disease to uproarious comic effect, as Larry tried to figure out whether the commotion on the floor above him was deliberate or, well, "Parkinson's." It was an ugly feud on both sides that led to one of them getting banned from New York by the mayor.