AJN goes one-on-one with Seinfeld star Jason Alexander

SINCE Seinfeld first achieved worldwide acclaim, fans have tried to pinpoint the secret behind the show’s enduring success.

When a member of social news website Reddit posed the question a year ago, “Is Seinfeld really that good? Is it worth watching now? If yes, why and what exactly is so good about it?”, responses included: “Seinfeld is one of the greatest sitcoms of all time and it is because it is about terrible people making bad decisions and never learning a lesson from it.” Another respondent stated, “Hard to explain, but it’s irreverent, sarcastic, hilarious, and unique.”

Yet another concluded: “George Costanza. Do I need to say more?”

Indeed, when Jason Alexander, who has become virtually synonymous with his on-screen character George Costanza, asked his male Twitter fans whether they felt most similar to Jerry, George or Kramer, 47 per cent of respondents selected George, while 33 per cent responded with Jerry and 20 per cent answered Kramer.

Interpreting the result, Alexander told The AJN he thought most fans selected George because of “the desire to be more than you are but the knowledge that it’s highly unlikely”.

“George has the most human and most revealed ego. He believes he is totally worthless and yet can’t understand why he isn’t appreciated much more.

“There is something endearing and sweet about that and it compensates (I hope) for his mostly absent ethics. He’s the guy who always got picked on and every now and then triumphs.”

Ultimately, though, Alexander hasn’t settled on a definitive answer to explain Seinfeld‘s success.

If he had, perhaps we would have seen a Seinfeld spin-off.

“If I knew how and why Seinfeld succeeded at all I would bottle it and reproduce it over and over,” said Alexander.

Often deemed the most successful sitcom of the 20th century, Seinfeld generated a dedicated fan base, with 75 million Americans tuning in to witness the great comedy’s finale in 1998.

Continuing to entertain audiences the world over, Seinfeld has remained a hit since – especially in Australia.

“Aussies love to laugh and they don’t mind having a good laugh [at] themselves,” said Alexander.

“The Seinfeld characters certainly were aware of their own foibles and as actors we revelled in putting those foibles out there.

“The show was dedicated to the laugh. Everything else be damned. And I think that resonated in Australia.”

To mark the 30th anniversary of Seinfeld, Alexander embarked on a nation-wide tour of Australia earlier this year.

Adding to the affection with which Australians hold the beloved sitcom, Alexander has even found a likeness between Seinfeld‘s awesome foursome and a few of Australia’s household names. 

“Mick Molloy could easily be George. Kitty Flanagan a more ladylike Elaine, The Umbilicals a two-man Kramer and Dave Hughes would be a fine Jerry stand-in.

“Hm, I smell a remake,” he concluded.

Since his Seinfeld days and along with his co-stars Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Michael Richards, Alexander has made frequent guest cameos on Larry David’s HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm.

He has also appeared on The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, and enjoyed an on-stage career in Broadway musicals including Jerome Robbins’ Broadway in 1989 and films such as Pretty Woman and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Alexander will be joined at JNF’s virtual gala by British government adviser Lord John Mann, Eurovision 2020 representative Eden Alene, past winner of Israeli Idol Hagit Yaso and Israeli mentalist Lior Suchard.

JNF Australia’s national online gala event is on Tuesday, September 1 at 8pm. Bookings at www.jnf.org.au/virtualgala.