Susie Essman Says Fans Are 'Visibly Upset' When She's Nice to Them: 'They Want Me to Say Go F--- Yourself!'

'Curb Your Enthusiasm' came to an end on Sunday, April 7, following 12 seasons spanning 24 years

Susie Essman
(L-R) Susie Essman is pictured attending the 2024 Garden Of Laughs Comedy Benefit at Madison Square Garden on March 27, 2024 in New York City. . Photo:

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Susie Essman's onscreen persona is not who she is in real life.

At the Curb Your Enthusiasm: An Evening with Larry David event in New York City on Friday, April 5, the actress, 68, opened up about how her Curb Your Enthusiasm character Susie Greene had influenced her fans' perception of her true demeanor.

"They are visibly upset when I am kind and gracious to them," she said of when her followers approach her in person. "When they come up to me in the street and I like, I love you, I like to thank you. They see the face drops."

"They want me to say go f--- yourself and keep walking. That's not who I am in real life. That's called acting," she continued, adding that she and Larry David both played heightened versions of themselves on the beloved series. "Larry is not really that character."

Susie Essman
Susie Essman on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'.

HBO

Essman — who played the fictionalized wife of David's best friend and manager Jeff Greene (played by Jeff Garlin) — is one of the only cast members who has been in every season of the long-running show.

Curb Your Enthusiasm concluded on Sunday, April 7 after 12 seasons spanning 24 years. The series finale picked up after David fell from grace as a liberal hero because he gave Bruce Springsteen COVID.

The series premiered on HBO in 2000 and was inspired by an hourlong mockumentary initially intended as a one-off in which David, 76, portrays an exaggerated version of himself. The show went on hiatus in 2011 after season 8 and resumed in 2017.

The series earned 51 Emmy nominations and six Golden Globe nominations during its run.

J.B. Smoove, Larry David, Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman, Jerry Seinfeld
(L-R) J.B. Smoove, Larry David, Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman, Jerry Seinfeld on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'.

John Johnson/HBO

“As Curb comes to an end, I will now have the opportunity to finally shed this 'Larry David' persona and become the person God intended me to be — the thoughtful, kind, caring, considerate human being I was until I got derailed by portraying this malignant character,” David joked in December when Curb announced its final season. “And so 'Larry David,' I bid you farewell. Your misanthropy will not be missed. And for those of you who would like to get in touch with me, you can reach me at Doctors Without Borders."

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Curb Your Enthusiasm is available to stream in full on Max.

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