Festivus for the Rest of Us! The Hidden Gems and Interesting Facts About the Sitcom Seinfeld

Jason Alexander Then

Jason Alexander is probably best known for his role as Seinfeld’s resident neurotic, George Costanza. Early in his tenure as George, he also made an appearance in the iconic film Pretty Woman alongside Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. Even before that he won a Tony award on Broadway for a role in Jerome Robbins’ Broadway. Before acting, he was apparently an avid magician.

Jason studied for a time at Boston University but left before completing his degree. He wanted to pursue classical acting but was discouraged by a professor because of his appearance. The professor apparently remarked, “I know your heart and soul are Hamlet, but you will never play Hamlet.” The same professor did, however, have some good advice for Jason, pushing him towards comedy. Jason recalled while teaching an acting Master Class at Boston University’s CFA that the professor told him, “‘Learn to do comedy and love it.’ He was right.”

A Conversation about Buttons

Seinfeld has always been described as a show about nothing. Specifically, it was able to encompass the monotony of everyday life and make hit hilarious. If you give Seinfeld another watch, you should focus about the sheer hilarity of the common conversations had between the characters.

It’s easy to just focus on the punchlines and not the tiny comic minutia occurring, but sometimes that’s where the most hilarious bits lie, especially in the conversations between George Costanza and Jerry Seinfeld. One hilarious bit that was ongoing between George and Jerry, particularly in season 9, was about an everyday item: buttons. George and Jerry had a recurring conversation about shirt buttons. As silly as this sounds, bits like this are what made the show a classic.