Jason Alexander

Watching a very old episode of Seinfeld last night and noticed something about Jason Alexander's performance as George....first of all, much is talked about George being Larry David's alter-ego and how he is the genius behind the character. Little is talked about what Jason Alexander, actor, brought to the table.

We now have the ability to compare Seinfeld and Curb and suss out the difference. George has a magnanimous element to his character that Larry does not. There is a touch of nobility about some of George's gestures and his plights. I am reminded of this when George fools the woman in the subway into thinking he is a rich stockbroker. Of course, she ultimately discovers he is a loser with a mere $9 in his wallet when she takes him up to a hotel room and he has an incredible coda when she walks out on him - "Can I call you?" All of which is pure Larry David. But what Jason pulls off, that Larry in Curb never could, is the ability to fool the woman in the first place. When George talks about how the "big brokerage houses killed my father...and how he isn't about making money...he's about PEOPLE." For a moment there - we almost believe in George, that maybe George actually does have it in him, somewhere to be successful and bright and sturdy. It is this element of the George character that allows us to watch his inevitable downfalls and feel so all the more pain (and humor).