LOS ANGELES, California — Hello, Newman … we’re seeing a lot less of you these days.
Wayne Knight, who appeared in 44 episodes of “Seinfeld” as Jerry’s neighbor and nemesis, was the subject of plenty of weight jokes during the series’ run in the 1990s. That’s because Knight was more than 100 pounds heavier.
But Knight, 69, tells TMZ he has dropped 110 pounds from his peak weight, which he was at during his appearance as computer whiz and thief Nedry in the original “Jurassic Park” in 1993. In a video on the TMZ website, a photographer tells Knight he’s tougher to recognize because of his thinner frame.
“Well, that’s not good,” Knight jokes.
He said his weight loss has come over a “period of many years,” saying that it involved “everything that anyone could ever try, from therapy to drugs to surgery to radiation to being taken by aliens.” When asked which one worked, he joked “I don’t know.”
“No, I lose 10. I gained 50. I lose 100,” he said.
There is a downside, though … Knight believes his weight loss has not helped his career.
“It takes time,” he said. “It takes time for people to accept you as you are and they find out whether or not you can still do things without being fat.
“It’s just what it is,” he said. “You just have to accept the fact that you can’t sell something that you’re not.”
Knight is most famous for his role in “Seinfeld,” but he’s also appeared in several other TV shows and movies, including “3rd Rock from the Sun,” “JFK,” “Space Jam,” and “Toy Story 2.”