‘Seinfeld’: Jason Alexander Worried He’d Lose George Costanza Role to a ‘Pretty Woman’ Co-Star
Before Seinfeld, Jason Alexander had another major claim to fame. He was in the blockbuster movie Pretty Woman. Alexander played Richard Gere’s lawyer. If you didn’t get that he’s sleazy by this point in the movie, he famously slaps Julia Roberts. When it came to the Seinfeld audition, Alexander thought he would lose the role of George Costanza to another Pretty Woman star.
Alexander was on The Adam Carolla Show on Feb. 23 to discuss his own new podcast, Really? No, Really. Carolla wasn’t going to let an hour go by without talking Seinfeld though. Here’s the story of Alexander’s Seinfeld audition and the intimidating competition.
Jason Alexander recognized his ‘Seinfeld’ competition from ‘Pretty Woman’
Alexander said that when he read for NBC, he saw standup comedian Larry Miller in the office, too. Miller became a staple in Garry Marshall movies, appearing in Runaway Bride, The Princess Diaries 2, and Mother’s Day. Miller famously played the dad in 10 Things I Hate About You and the dean in The Nutty Professor. Even more intimidating, Miller knew Jerry Seinfeld from the standup scene.
“Larry Miller was at the network,” Alexander said on The Adam Carolla Show. “I think he and I were the only guys reading that day. I didn’t know Jerry Seinfeld at all but I did know one thing. Larry Miller was his very good friend and went, ‘I’m not getting this obviously. I’m here to keep Larry Miller from asking for the sun and the moon.’”
Larry Miller in ‘Pretty Woman’
Miller is involved in the most famous scene in Pretty Woman. After Vivian (Roberts) is turned away from a Beverly Hills shop, Edward (Gere) sets her up at the shop where she has her famous shopping montage. Miller played Mr. Hollister, the shopkeeper who accommodates her. Alexander agreed with Carolla’s cohost Bryan Bishop that Miller had the more likable role in Pretty Woman.
“You bet he was, and funnier,” Alexander said.
Still, Jason Alexander beat Larry Miller for ‘Seinfeld’
Alexander need not have worried. Seinfeld casting director Marc Hirschfield told That Riot Show in 2020 why Miller wasn’t the right fit for George Costanza.
“The thing was, Larry has a great cadence to him,” Hirschfield said on The Riot Show. “But there is kind of a buttoned down quality to him. I don’t know if I can explain more than that. There’s a formal quality to him, a reserve. Jason is a lot more volatile and his neuroses, he wears on his sleeve. Larry’s is more internal. It just was a better counterpoint to Jerry’s character.”
Alexander wasn’t privy to this. He just knew he nailed the audition, and found out when he flew back home to New York.
“I did the audition,” Alexander said. “I thought yeah, that was fun, that was fine. When it landed I had a call that said it’s you. So it was just a straight up audition.”
