I don’t know much about Alexander’s work, except for his work as “George” from Seinfeld. I think he was in “Pretty Woman” with Julia Roberts, but that’s about all I can remember him in until I saw him in “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. In “Curb”, many characters that play themselves seem to “play themselves”, (i.e. they seem to portray themselves close to their own personalities).
I don’t know if this is true, but if so, Alexander seems to be a fairly arrogant, unlikable prick. I know he’s been trying to break away from his “George Costanza” persona, but if he’s anything like he is portraying himself in CYE, he’s a real jackass, and it’s easy to see why he’s not been getting a lot of work. I saw him show up in a Jenny Craig ad, so pickings may be slim for Jason.
Anyone out here know what he’s like IRL, and if my Mickey Mouse analysis is accurate?
I don’t think people play their *actual *selves on CYE, so much as they play their most *recognizable *“self”, which in Alexander’s case, is George Constanza. He’s not exactly a tabloid darling, people don’t know much about his personal life.
Every year, he plays in the World Series of Poker. ESPN gives him some camera time and he appears to an affable fellow. I think he actually made it fairly deep this past summer in the WSoP.
I’ve also seen him in other things where he seems like a nice guy, not that that means anything. I always thought he’s probably really good at what he does and can make it believable. He’s probably pretty typecast at this point, and doesn’t exactly have leading man looks. I doubt he’s hurting any for money.
Interesting. **statsman1982 **and Krokodil, have you had the chance to see him in CYE? If he’s trying to be “in character”, it’s not a very appealing one.
Perhaps he’s had a hard time shaking the “George” character, and this is his way to break free of it.
It sounds to me like you both have seen him in other roles and have enjoyed him.
I think the best thing to see would be that clip from Real Time with Bill Maher. That would probably be the best insight into his real personality. I’ll do some searching for it. Thanks for the tip.
ETA: Sorry, I missed a number of replies before posting, but the theme is familiar.
I just got the impression, especially from Jerry Seinfeld and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, that they were basically “playing themselves”, so I just attached that to Alexander. Perhaps that was unfair. I have to say, he was easily the most abrasive of the Seinfeld cast, but when in the George character, he was his usual, paranoid Costanza.
I’ll chime in with the rest in saying that in interviews I’ve seen he comes across as a pretty quiet, good-natured guy. It’s probably a combination of the George character and in some weird, triple-backwards way that on CYE he’s playing a version of Larry David (if that makes any sense) - and Larry David does strike me as being a bit of a prick in real life.
As noted above, CYE is scripted and is satirical. I have seen Alexander on Everybody Hates Chris as Chris’s principal, and his character seemed pretty caring and down-to-earth. Hard to say if that is the real Jason Alexander, but that character came across as pretty appealing. I also see him in commercial advertisements for the ASPCA, and he comes across as caring and sympathetic in that one as well, and hopefully, he is being true to himself in that one.
That’s how I understood it. Which, after watching CYE, I can see the resemblance. Costanza is a bit more of a dependent wimp than David portrays himself on the show, but you can see the resemblance in the characters.
I saw an anniversary show about CYE, and everyone loved Larry David. Granted, he’s the reason they all have jobs, but they all speak well of his personality, generosity, and sense of humor.
I would say that is should be the sign of a very good actor that it is difficult to know who or what is the true Jason Alexander.
I know many actors play themselves, but even with Jason Alexander playing George you could see where he started out imitating Woody Allen and then started really developing the character and also started integrating some of the personality of Larry David.
Jason Alexander was in the parody show Forbidden Broadway, and then won a Tony for Jerome Robbin’s Broadway. No way you can succeed in live theatre by being an arrogant little prick.
His Goerge Cantzana peronatlity shows how versitle an actor he really is.
He played himself/stereotypical Hollywood-type in the Brad Paisley video of “Celebrity” and seemed to be a really good sport about making fun of the demanding arrogant celebrities. I’d have to guess that someone willing to do the things he did there is probably a likeable guy.
I’ve seen him sing and dance because (lord help me) I’ve seen the multicultural version of the R&H Cinderella starring Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother. He’s terrific!
In this area, ION TV is rerunning the Criminal Minds tonight at 10:00 where Alexander plays a serial killer who walks into the police station and confuses to his crimes.
I’d have to disagree with that assessment. Actors who play themselves on CYE are playing fictionalized versions of themselves (as is Larry himself), which may or may not mirror their own personalities, or sometimes highlight a public perception of them for comedic value. Christian Slater, for example, played “himself” as an insufferable asshole.
It’s no secret that the George character was mostly based on the real-life Larry David. Hence, I thought it was a clever choice on CYE to give Jason some of Larry’s more unlikeable traits, and for the two of them to not get along.