Abbott Elementary’s Lisa Ann Walter Auditioned for Susie Greene on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ – ‘You Got to Really Give It to Jeff, I Could Not Do It’ [Exclusive]
Who knew? Lisa Ann Walter who brought the hilarious Sicilian-loving teacher Melissa Schemmenti to life on Abbott Elementary almost played the raunchy Susie Greene on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Walter recently spilled the tea to Showbiz Cheat Sheet during an interview about her partnership with Fiber One. Walter actually played a snarky nurse who puts Larry David in his place in a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode. But she dished that she was considered for the role of Susie.
Lisa Ann Walter shares why she ‘couldn’t do’ the role of Susie on ‘Curb’
“I will tell you a secret. This is the showbiz secret,” she dished. “I originally auditioned to play the Susie Essman role and I went in three times. And I knew Jeff [Garlin] from standup in New York. They were like, ‘You got to really give it to Jeff.’ I could not do it. They were like, ‘No, like, you got to call him like a fat …’ I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t do it.”
Actor Jeff Garlin plays Jeff Greene, Larry David’s manager on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Susie Greene, who is played by Susie Essman, is Jeff’s crass and hilariously abrasive wife who doesn’t hold back when it comes to insulting Jeff.
Lisa Ann Walter still appeared on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’
Walter said Essman is brilliant and perfect for the role of Susie. “This is taking nothing from Susie,” she said. “She’s iconic in that role. But it was not the right one for me.”
Curb Your Enthusiasm producers still wanted the Abbott Elementary star in the series in some way. “And then they asked me to come back for something else that wound up not being a part that stayed in the show,” she said.
“So when they started production, it was actually towards the beginning of the first season and they said, ‘Come play this nurse.’ And I was pregnant with my twins,” she recalled. “I was only four and a half months pregnant, but I was already popped because they were like number three and four. So I think he was expecting sexy nurse. And I was like, ‘I’m gonna wear sweats.’ I was like, ‘I’m just gonna put on some funky scrubs.'”
Lisa from ‘Abbott Elementary’ made Larry break on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’
Being a comedic genius in her own right, Walter proudly got David to break when they filmed their scene. The scene involved Larry going to the doctor and getting into an altercation with Walter’s character, the nurse, who schools him on waiting his turn.
“I made him break, and that’s when I called out, Lorie Dobb, that’s what it looked like when he wrote his name. Nothing is scripted. It’s just all improv. So I was like, Lorie? Lorie Dobb? And he came up to do the scene and was just like, ‘I can’t, I can’t,'” she laughed.
And while Walter wouldn’t say no to a return to Curb Your Enthusiasm, she’s busy with Abbott Elementary. Plus she partnered with Fiber One and their “Fall off Forgiveness” campaign. Those who fell short of their 2023 health goals can file a “claim” and possibly win a one-year supply of Fiber One goodies.
Visit FallOffForgiveness.com for more information.
