---
name: "Larry David"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/larry-david"
fi1m_id: "larry-david"
imdb_id: "nm0202970"
tmdb_id: 16376
wikidata_id: "Q23728"
roles: ["Writer","Producer","Actor"]
born: "2 July 1947"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-24T20:28:16.901732+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Larry David

## Identity

Larry David

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/larry-david
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** larry-david
- **IMDb ID:** nm0202970
- **TMDB ID:** 16376
- **Wikidata ID:** Q23728
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_David, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23728, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0202970/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/16376

Writer and producer. Born 2 July 1947 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer, Producer, Actor
- **Born:** 2 July 1947, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
- **Active:** 1989–present
- **Also known as:** Lawrence Gene David 
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 4: 3 acting, 1 writing
- **Frequently works with:** [Jeff Schaffer](https://film.one/person/jeff-schaffer.md), [Alec Berg](https://film.one/person/alec-berg.md), [Andy Ackerman](https://film.one/person/andy-ackerman.md), [David Mandel](https://film.one/person/david-mandel.md), [David Steinberg](https://film.one/person/david-steinberg.md), [Larry Charles](https://film.one/person/larry-charles.md)
- **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 2 Emmys (2 won · 6 nominated)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 90 (1), 2000s 84 (1), 2020s 48 (2)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_David, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23728, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0202970/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/16376

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Curb Your Enthusiasm*](https://film.one/tv/curb-your-enthusiasm.md) (84), [*Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America*](https://film.one/tv/life-larry-and-the-pursuit-of-unhappiness-an-almost-history-of-america.md) (55)
- **Netflix:** [*Seinfeld*](https://film.one/tv/seinfeld.md) (90)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Larry David

> Larry David writes comedy about people who cannot let a small thing go. *Seinfeld* is the exact version and *Curb Your Enthusiasm* the untidy one, and both are worth your evening, though the second is best taken an episode at a time.

The Larry David character has one move, and it is the explanation nobody asked for. Someone takes offence at something small, Larry sets out to clear it up, and each attempt makes it worse, because he cannot see that the other person stopped listening a while ago. That is *Curb Your Enthusiasm* (2000), in which David plays a version of himself, and it was the engine of *Seinfeld* (1989) before it, where one person's certainty that a problem is somebody else's fault can carry a whole scene. David's method is to take the irritation most people swallow and give it far more attention than it deserves.

He came to it through stand-up in New York clubs in the mid-1970s, then writing and performing on *Fridays* (1979–82) and writing on *Saturday Night Live* (1984–85). He met Jerry Seinfeld in 1976, and the series they made together was David's for its first seven seasons as head writer; he left in 1996 and returned to write the finale with Seinfeld in 1998. In between he wrote and directed a feature, *Sour Grapes* (1998). A 1999 special became *Curb*, which ran from 2000 to 2024, with the film *Clear History* (2013) along the way.

*Seinfeld* is the more exact of the two. It is written and plotted, and David, Seinfeld and Peter Mehlman among others follow every excuse and objection until a small grievance seems to justify almost anything. His rule for his programmes is "no hugging, no learning", and *Seinfeld* keeps to it: nobody grows, nobody is forgiven, and the comedy is better for it. *Curb* throws the script away for outlines and improvisation, and Robert B. Weide and Jeff Schaffer direct it so that people appear to be working out what they mean while saying it. Patrick Alexander Stewart's watchful camera puts us too close to the quarrel to escape it. We laughed at David's persistence and then wanted him to stop talking, and the wanting is the joke.

He is also generous with the people who have to put up with him. Susie Essman's Susie Greene is the one force Larry cannot talk around, JB Smoove's Leon brings a different rhythm to conversations that might otherwise sound alike, and Cheryl Hines's steadiness lets us measure how unreasonable he is being. Jeff Garlin has been beside him for all twelve seasons. The cost of the method is repetition. Over a run of *Curb* the quarrels start to wear, which is why we suggest an episode at a time, and viewers who need someone to like will not find them here. Both series ended in ways that divided their audiences; we will not say how. In 2026 he began a new historical sketch series, *Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness*, and it is a fair bet that nobody in it learns anything either.

## Biography

Larry David is an American writer, producer and actor, also credited as Lawrence Gene David. Born on 2 July 1947 in Brooklyn, New York, he attended the University of Maryland and began performing stand-up comedy in New York nightclubs in 1974. He wrote for and performed on the sketch show Fridays from 1979 to 1982 and later worked as a writer on Saturday Night Live.

In 1989, David co-created the sitcom *Seinfeld* with Jerry Seinfeld. He served as writer and producer on the series until 1996 and returned to write the 1998 finale. David created the HBO series *Curb Your Enthusiasm* in 2000, starring as a fictionalised version of himself. He wrote and directed the feature film *Sour Grapes* (1998).

*Sources: biography.com, britannica.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

### Performed in (3)

- *Balls Up* (2026), Fi1m 40, as Translator App Voice (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/balls-up.md)
- *Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America* (2026), Fi1m 55, as Various Characters — [page](https://film.one/tv/life-larry-and-the-pursuit-of-unhappiness-an-almost-history-of-america.md)
- *Curb Your Enthusiasm* (2000), Fi1m 84, as Larry David — [page](https://film.one/tv/curb-your-enthusiasm.md)

### Wrote (1) — the average rests on these

- *Seinfeld* (1989), Fi1m 90, Producer, Creator, Writer, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/seinfeld.md)

## Complete filmography (27)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America* (2026), series, Various Characters, Executive Producer, Writer, Creator — Fi1m 55, [page](https://film.one/tv/life-larry-and-the-pursuit-of-unhappiness-an-almost-history-of-america.md)
- *Balls Up* (2026), as Translator App Voice (voice) — Fi1m 40, [page](https://film.one/film/balls-up.md)
- *Toast of Tinseltown* (2022), series, as Sola Mirronek
- *Salman Rushdie: Death on a Trail* (2019), as Larry David (archive footage)
- *Who Is the Real Martin Short?* (2017), Actor
- *Clear History* (2013), as Nathan Flomm / Rolly DaVore · Producer, Writer
- *The Three Stooges* (2012), as Sister Mary-Mengele
- *The Paul Reiser Show* (2011), series, as Larry David
- *Whatever Works* (2009), as Boris Yellnikoff
- *Hannah Montana* (2006), series, as Larry David
- *Ricky Gervais Meets...* (2006), series, as Larry David
- *Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg* (2005), series, Actor
- *MTVU Stand In* (2005), series, Actor
- *Envy* (2004), Executive Producer
- *Curb Your Enthusiasm* (2000), series, as Larry David · Executive Producer, Story, Creator — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/curb-your-enthusiasm.md)
- *Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm* (1999), as Larry David · Story
- *The Sopranos* (1999), series, as Larry David (uncredited) (archive footage) — Fi1m 94, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-sopranos.md)
- *Sour Grapes* (1998), as Studio Executive / Annoying Doctor / Singing Bum (uncredited) · Writer, Director
- *Love & War* (1992), series, Actor
- *Seinfeld* (1989), series, as George Steinbrenner, Steinbrenner, Subway Announcer (voice), Newman (voice), Heckler (voice), The Car Thief (voice), Man at Table (voice) (uncredited), Boxing Referee on TV (voice), Man in Hallway, Offstage Voice (voice), Kosher Meal Passenger (voice), Office Worker, Character in Checkmate (voice) — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/tv/seinfeld.md)
- *New York Stories* (1989), as Theater Manager
- *Norman's Corner* (1988), Writer
- *Radio Days* (1987), as Communist Neighbor
- *It's Garry Shandling's Show* (1986), series, Writer
- *Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?* (1983), as Mort's Friend At Cafe
- *Second Thoughts* (1983), as Monroe Clark
- *Fridays* (1980), series, Writer

## Gallery

- ![Larry David](https://film.one/media/person/61634/gallery-242943e40ac4.jpg) Larry David — David Shankbone, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Larry_David_at_the_2009_Tribeca_Film_Festival_2.jpg/1280px-Larry_David_at_the_2009_Tribeca_Film_Festival_2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Hollywood Time: "Curb Your Enthusiasm" films at my office building (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/61634/gallery-046895409be4.jpg) Hollywood Time: "Curb Your Enthusiasm" films at my office building (2009) — GraceFamily, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/Curb_Your_Enthusiasm_-_3320193711.jpg/1280px-Curb_Your_Enthusiasm_-_3320193711.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Hollywood Time: "Curb Your Enthusiasm" films at my office building - Look you can see the star Larry David in this photo (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/61634/gallery-af9a684d0607.jpg) Hollywood Time: "Curb Your Enthusiasm" films at my office building - Look you can see the star Larry David in this photo (2009) — GraceFamily, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Curb_Your_Enthusiasm_-_3320229743.jpg/1280px-Curb_Your_Enthusiasm_-_3320229743.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Hollywood Time: "Curb Your Enthusiasm" films at my office building. (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/61634/gallery-dad7dc703f4b.jpg) Hollywood Time: "Curb Your Enthusiasm" films at my office building. (2009) — GraceFamily, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Curb_Your_Enthusiasm_-_3321074034.jpg/1280px-Curb_Your_Enthusiasm_-_3321074034.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Larry David](https://film.one/media/person/61634/gallery-a87cc78e1475.jpg) Larry David — Image via TMDB
- ![Larry David](https://film.one/media/person/61634/gallery-bae8c31142ac.jpg) Larry David — Image via TMDB
- ![Larry David](https://film.one/media/person/61634/gallery-6e60697c7003.jpg) Larry David — Image via TMDB
- ![Larry David at a ceremony for Mary Steenburgen to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/61634/gallery-1256aef9e69c.jpg) Larry David at a ceremony for Mary Steenburgen to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (2009) — Angela George at https://www.flickr.com/photos/sharongraphics/, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/LarryDavidDec09.jpg/1280px-LarryDavidDec09.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Larry David at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival premier of the Farrelly Brothers-produced film Lost Son of Havana about Luis Tiant.](https://film.one/media/person/61634/gallery-d2558ab7bf5b.jpg) Larry David at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival premier of the Farrelly Brothers-produced film Lost Son of Havana about Luis Tiant. — David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Larry_David_NYC_East_Village_crowd.jpg/1280px-Larry_David_NYC_East_Village_crowd.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Primetime Emmy Awards — 2 won, 6 nominated

- 2016: Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series (nominated), for *Saturday Night Live*
- 2012: Outstanding Comedy Series (nominated), for *Curb Your Enthusiasm*
- 2003: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (nominated), for *Curb Your Enthusiasm*
- 1994: Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (nominated)
- 1993: Outstanding Comedy Series (won), for *Seinfeld*
- 1993: Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (won), for *The Contest*
- 1992: Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (nominated)
- 1991: Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (nominated)

### SAG Awards — 0 won, 2 nominated

- 2006: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series (nominated), for *Curb Your Enthusiasm*
- 2006: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (nominated), for *Curb Your Enthusiasm*

### Other awards — 3 won, 4 nominated

- Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Comedy Series 2012: Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Comedy Series (nominated), for *Curb Your Enthusiasm*
- Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement 2010: Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement (won), for *Curb Your Enthusiasm*
- Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Comedy Series 2006: Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Comedy Series (won), for *Curb Your Enthusiasm*
- Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy 2004: Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy (nominated), for *Curb Your Enthusiasm*
- TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy 2003: TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy (nominated), for *Curb Your Enthusiasm*
- Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Comedy 1995: Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Comedy (won), for *The Mango*
- Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Comedy 1994: Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Comedy (nominated), for *The Contest*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/larry-david