10 Questions with Larry Thomas

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When I went to do the interview, Larry's agent warned me about a couple rules that were very important when talking to him:

Interviewing Procedure:
1. When you walk in move immediately to the right.
2. Ask your questions with no enthusiasm at all.
3. Put your money on the table and move to your left.
4. Record the answers and do not give any comments.

Larry will appear in the upcoming Films on Tap production, BachelorMan, as the doctor of Ted Davis, played by David DeLuise.

Thomas has also appeared in films like Hyacinth, Surface to Air, and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. He's also appeared on TV shows like Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Caroline in the City, and Grace Under Fire. But he will always be remembered for his most famous role:

ELAINE: Boy, I’m in the mood for a cheeseburger. JERRY: No. We gotta go to the soup place. ELAINE: What soup place? GEORGE: Oh, there’s a soup stand, Kramer’s been going there. JERRY: He’s always raving. I finally got a chance to go there the other day, and I tell you this, you will be stunned. ELAINE: Stunned by soup? JERRY: You can’t eat this soup standing up, your knees buckle. ELAINE: Huh. All right. Come on. JERRY: There’s only one caveat -- the guy who runs the place is a little temperamental, especially about the ordering procedure. He’s secretly referred to as the Soup Nazi. ELAINE: Why? What happends if you don’t order right? JERRY: He yells and you don’t get your soup. ELAINE: What? JERRY: Just follow the ordering procedure and you will be fine.

THOMAS: I just shot an episode of the Geena Davis Show, which I believe airs on Feb. 27th - as always - check your local listings. I play a tailor named, "Giancarlo." He's a little nicer than The Soup Nazi, but just as outrageous.

I'm also writing plays and teleplays.

COT: Okay: Soup Nazi: Best thing ever, or bane of your existence?

THOMAS: A little of both. Playing the Soup Nazi brought me things I really love: Being well known, getting stopped for autographs and the biggest thrill was being caricatured in Mad Magazine. Oh, and an Emmy nomination - almost forgot that.

But of course, I've been typcast as a character that speaks foreign dialects and some directors in Hollywood won't use me because that's politically incorrect. But being associated with probably the greatest show of our generation, Seinfeld, is a really terrific thing for anyone.

COT: Is soup good food?

THOMAS: I think so, depending on the soup. If you go to my website, http://www.nycravings.com/maestro.htm, you'll find that this soup is definitely good food.

THOMAS: Actually, if I smile in public, I always get a comment about not being mean. A lot of people who asked me to do autograph shows want me to wear the chef costume. I say no. The truth is the fans are really great and people always ask me about me. Fans are more sophisticated and interested in meeting the actor. Of course, some people have no clue. One guy came up to me once and said, "I ate at your soup kitchen in New York"...

COT: Who are some of your heroes and/or influences?

THOMAS: The Three Stooges. I'm a fanatic. I can recite entire routines. W.C. Fields, too. I used to stay up all night watching him.

COT: How did you originally get into acting?

THOMAS: The truth is, when I was 20 there was a girl I met in Junior College who said she was getting into acting, and so I enrolled in the acting class... and that's how it started. I just wanted to follow that girl and ended up interested in acting.

THOMAS: Yes. I met him in New York when I was promoting Soup Maestro. I went over to his kitchen and he shook my hand. He doesn't like Seinfeld, though. He calls him "Jerry the Clown." He thinks Seinfeld is a horrible show and abused him and took advantage of him and all that. But he shook my hand. At one point said I was a good actor.

It's funny: Inside Edition and Extra were covering it, but both thought that me and the real Soup Nazi being friendly wasn't a good story, so they didn't show the handshake. I guess if he would have kicked me in the balls, we would have made "a good story."

COT: Didn't he end up suing Seinfeld?

THOMAS: No, but they were afraid he was going to and it caused them to back off the character. They wouldn't let the writer do a follow up episode. Castle Rock called him "the loose canon in New York."

COT: How did you find out about your Emmy nomination?

THOMAS: They don't announce the guest actor category the morning of, just the main nominations, so I had to call the academy. There were 35 submissions with pretty famous names. Traditionally it's a celebrity cameo category. So I called and she read off the nominations: Tim Conway, Mandy Patankin, Griffin Dunne, yada yada, and of course she leaves my name for the end ".. and…. Larry Thomas…" It was really cool, the people from the academy were pulling for me. I was thrilled to be in a category with those great names… Even though they make you pay a hundred bucks to be considered for an Emmy nomination… welcome to Hollywood…

Interview by Rodney Lee Conover.

The Soup Nazi's Indian Mulligatawny Soup ELAINE: Do you need anything? KRAMER: Oh, a hot bowl of Mulligatawny would hit the spot. ELAINE: Mulligatawny? KRAMER: Yeah, it's an Indian soup. Simmered to perfection by one of the great soup artisans in the modern era. ELAINE: Oh. Who, the Soup Nazi? KRAMER: He's not a Nazi. He just happens to be a little eccentric. You know, most geniuses are.

4 quarts water (16 cups) 6 cups chicken stock 2 potatoes, peeled & sliced 2 carrots, peeled & sliced 2 stalks celery, with tops 2 cups peeled & diced eggplant (about 1/2 of an eggplant) 1 medium onion, chopped 1 cup frozen yellow corn 2/3 cup canned roasted red pepper, diced 1/2 cup tomato sauce 1/2 cup shelled pistachios 1/2 cup roasted cashews 1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley 1/4 cup lemon juice 1/4 cup butter 3 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon curry powder 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon thyme 1 bay leaf dash marjoram dash nutmeg 1. Combine all ingredients in a large pot over high heat. 2. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 4-5 hours or until soup has reduced by more than half, and is thick and brownish in color. It should have the consistency of chili. Stir occasionally for the first few hours, but stir often in the last hour. The edges of the potatoes should become more rounded, and the nuts will soften. Serve hot. Makes 4-6 servings. (http://www.topsecretrecipes.com)