Summary
- Furious over a lack of screen time, Jason Alexander considered quitting Seinfeld and even gave Larry David an ultimatum to stay.
- Seinfeld character George Costanza was based on Larry David, a fact Jason Alexander learned midway through season one.
- Larry David left Seinfeld after season 7, wanting a break from the stress despite the show's huge success.
Jason Alexander earned seven Emmy nominations for his role of George Costanza in Seinfeld but at one point, he nearly quit the show. The actor told co-creator Larry David he planned to quit the comedy unless one specific request was met.
Jason Alexander was a successful theater actor before he landed the role of George in Seinfeld. Alexander admitted that leaving the stage for the small screen was a risk, which is why he became upset he wasn't getting enough screen time on the sitcom. So, he gave Larry David, the show's co-creator and writer, an ultimatum that could have changed the show forever.
In the following, we take a closer look at why Jason Alexander threatened to quit Seinfeld. We also discuss how Jason Alexander found out his Seinfeld character was based off Larry David, and how Alexnder felt when Larry David quit Seinfeld.
Why Jason Alexander Demanded More Screen Time
Jason Alexander was left indignant after he was left out of an entire episode of season 3 of Seinfeld. George and Kramer are noticeably missing from Season 3's 20th episode, “The Pen."
“If you do that again, do it permanently."
Jason Alexander told Larry David after finding out he wasn't in the episode, “If you don’t need me to be here every week … I’d just as soon go back home.”
Jason Alexander Admitted Seinfeld Backend Profits Caused A Rift Among The Cast
Jason Alexander wasn't content with the circumstances surrounding the Seinfeld backend profits.
When Larry David attempted to explain to Jason Alexander how tough it was for all four characters to appear every episode, Alexander snapped back with, "Don’t tell me your problems. If you don’t need me here, I don’t want to be here."
Tony Award-winning Jason Alexander was worried that George, Jerry’s best friend, would have a diminished role in upcoming seasons of Seinfeld due to Jerry’s strong connection with Elaine. Although Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who played Elaine, was no happier with the creative team, feeling “she wasn’t getting material as funny as the boys.”
In a 2017 interview with Access Hollywood, Jason Alexander confirmed this happened, although admits that he is glad Larry David didn't let him quit "because I would have had no life and no career."
Larry David clearly listened to the actor, as George appeared in every episode of Seinfeld until the show ended in May 1998. He would become an iconic comedy character for moments like watching Breakfast at Tiffany's with strangers, the outgoing answering machine song and when he crawled through the vents of his office space.
Besides “The Pen,” Kramer was also missing from “Chinese Restaurant,” although the actor never appeared to be bothered by the absence.
How Jason Alexander Felt About Larry David Quitting Seinfeld
Seinfeld's name may have been in the title, but Larry David was a driving force behind the NBC sitcom. So, fans and critics were shocked when Larry David stood down from Seinfeld after season 7.
Larry David explained to Charlie Rose why he left the show during its height. There were no drama or behind the scenes issues, David simply felt ready to exit the comedy and try something else.
"I had been there for seven years, and that's a long time to suffer the way I do in my daily life. Seven years is a long time for someone to executive produce a show like that."
How Much Do Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards and Jason Alexander Make For Seinfeld Reruns?
Unlike Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David who continue to make millions, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards, and Jason Alexander aren't making much.
After leaving Seinfeld, Larry David wrote and directed Sour Grapes, a film which failed both commercially and critically. Film critic Robert Ebert, "I can't easily remember a film I've enjoyed less." Luckily, David would go on to make Curb Your Enthusiasm, one of the most celebrated sitcoms of the 21st century.
Jason Alexander had some theories about why Larry David would walk away from one of TV's biggest and most watched shows.
“[David] always saw the doing of Seinfeld as a very stressful thing. If it broke, it was going to be he and Jerry that broke it, but I think he took on more of that responsibility. We’d finish every taping and he’d go [mimicking David’s voice], ‘It can’t be done again! That’s it! It can’t be done!’…Like they had no idea for next week, but they had more than an idea. They had a draft. But he would feel pressure very acutely, and after seven years and the money he made, he thought he couldn’t do that anymore.”
How Jason Alexander Found Out His Seinfeld Character Was Based On Larry David
Seinfeld's George Contanza is a neurotic and self-loathing character who occasionally gets overconfident, but usually not at the right moments. George Costanza is based on Larry David, and was a vehicle for the writer to re-tell bizarre things that happened to him. This fact wasn't known to Jason Alexander when he took on the role. The actor admits he based his early performance on Woody Allen before learning mid-way through season 1 who his character was actually based on.
“Somewhere around episode ten a script came to the table, and we read it for everybody, and it just seems preposterous. The situation just seemed crazy. So I went to Larry and I said, ‘Larry, please help me with this because this would never happen to anybody, but if it did, nobody would react like this.’ And he said, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, this happened to me and it’s exactly what I did!'”
Jerry Seinfeld Revealed The Sad Truth Of Writing A Seinfeld Script With Larry David
Jerry Seinfeld admitted that he and Larry David were "killing themselves" behind the scenes on Seinfeld.
Following this reveal, Jason began to take note of Larry David's mannerisms and movements. As Seinfeld evolved, Jason Alexander's performance became more like Larry David. The one key aspect to portraying David, according to Alexander, is the face he would make when someone insulted him. It's the same expression he often makes on Curb Your Enthusiasm when he is annoyed by someone or feels insulted.
“He puts the tip of his tongue at the bottom of his teeth and he does this thing with his eyebrows. It’s just like he’s weighing it. He’s weighing it. ‘Do I attack? Do I retreat? Do I… What do I do? This is a guy who constantly perceives the world trying to c*** on him," Alexander explained.
