Q: Hi Jerry. My question has to do with one little moment in the Soup Nazi episode. Wayne Knight walks out of the restaurant, looks at his bag and says "ummm...Jambalaya"...and then does this little dance down the sidewalk. It was hilarious. But not because of the line...because of the way he delivered it and what he did physically. So my question is...how did this happen? Did the script just have the line leaving it up to him on what to do with it? was it an ad-lib? Did the script describe the dance? Describe the process of getting this little golden moment on the screen. Thanks.
A: Very very well observed, first of all, let me compliment you on that. That moment, which I remember crystal clearly, is the enormous talent of an actor like Wayne Knight. And the script said "Newman looks in the bag, and says Jambalaya" but the delivery and the dance was all his.

Any time—and I mean any time (ask my wife)—I hear someone say the word ‘jambalaya’, I immediately respond with the line mentioned above. And I can clearly see the dance and the facial expression.

Also—I absolutely abhor reading anything on Reddit—but this was too good to pass up. So—if you’re like me, use the bookmarklet found here to prevent bleeding from the eyes.

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Joe Stracci