Newman

Newman's role is primarily as Jerry's nemesis and a frequent collaborator in Kramer's elaborate and bizarre schemes. Often described as Jerry's "sworn enemy" ("The Andrea Doria"), Newman is cunning and often schemes against Jerry. He speaks often in a humorously sinister tone (mainly to Jerry). Jerry refers to Newman as "pure evil" on more than one occasion. Jerry's trademark greeting for Newman is to say "Hello, Newman" in a snide and condescending tone, while Newman responds "Hello, Jerry" in a falsely jovial tone. Helen Seinfeld also greets Newman in the same way.

Newman considers Jerry to be undeserving of his fame, referring to Jerry's audience as a "half soused nightclub rabble that lap up your inane 'observations.'" Newman's own talents as a poet and wordsmith are not inconsiderable, yet similar recognition to Jerry has so far eluded him.

When asked about why the character Jerry hates Newman, Jerry Seinfeld stated in an interview with BuzzFeed Brews that "The real answer [for] why I hated Newman was because it just seemed funny to hate Newman... Everybody has one very eccentric friend that is kind of out there. You've got your friends that are like you, then you have that one friend that's really not like you at all and that's what you like about them, they're kind of an outer orbit. And their friend is someone you cannot deal with at all... but there was no real reason for me to hate Newman, he never did anything bad to me, it was just fun. It was fun to hate him."