Trivia

Before landing the role of Newman in Seinfeld (1989), he had auditioned for the role of George Costanza.

Credits an episode of Seinfeld with prompting him to lose weight. After shooting several takes of a scene requiring him to run through a field, he began to experience heart palpitations. He visited his doctor and was told that he was approaching morbid obesity and diabetes. Knight then embarked upon a diet-and-exercise program that allowed him to lose 117 lbs, dropping his weight from 327 to 210 lbs.

Worked as a private detective in between acting jobs in his early days.

Has worn the same pair of his trademark glasses since his role in Seinfeld (1989).

Reports claim he was the first person to be cast for Jurassic Park (1993) after Steven Spielberg saw him in the "interview scene" of Basic Instinct (1992).

The first reference to "Newman" on Seinfeld (1989) has the unseen character attempting suicide by jumping out of Jerry's building. In the original episode, the voice of "Newman" is supplied by Larry David (co-creator of Seinfeld (1989)). On the syndicated version, Wayne Knight's voice was dubbed in.

While attending college in Georgia, was told by a theater professor that he would never make it as an actor.

Held his wedding ceremony in Michael Richards' house.

Performed at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Virginia, after he dropped out of college.

He is of British (father) and Italian (mother) descent.

He attended the University of Georgia for a short time.

Has a son born around 2010.

Completed Anthony Hines/Larry Charles's pilot, Lee Mathers (2010), for CBS, with Paul Kaye and Nicollette Sheridan', as Kaye's erstwhile manager and partner-in-crime. (February 2010)

In early 2024 he could be seen in a 30 second television advertisement for Paycom in a rather amusingly sinister role, entitled 'The Nemesis:Manifesto'.

His name borrows from two of Batman's aliases, Bruce Wayne and The Dark Knight. Fittingly, he provided the voice of Batman's enemy Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin in Harley Quinn (2019).

He has appeared in two films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Dirty Dancing (1987) and Jurassic Park (1993).

He has appeared in two films that have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and JFK (1991).

Was among those considered for the role of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story (1995). He ultimately played Al in Toy Story 2 (1999).