Seinfeld star’s uniquely Australian talent

One of Seinfeld’s biggest stars has revealed the talent he only lets shine in Australia, his conspiracy theory fears and why he likes how Aussie “take the piss”.

IN LOS ANGELES

One of the stars of Seinfeld has revealed the question he gets asked in Australia – and how it led to a skill he shows off nowhere else in the world.

Talking to news.com.au in Los Angeles, Jason Alexander also shared the baffling and truly disgusting way he eats Vegemite, his fears after he took a deep dive into the world of conspiracy theories and his belief that Australians “taking the piss out of one another” is the secret behind Seinfeld’s enduring success down under.

You soon won’t be able to move for Alexander in Australia with a new ad for Uber Eats featuring the actor appearing on TV screens.

It will air first during the AFL Grand Final, a sport Alexander is familiar with having gone to a Collingwood match many moons ago.

“I got some idea of what the rules of Aussie rules football was, which is, in essence, there are no rules.” he said.

Jason Alexander in the new Australian Uber Eats advert.

In the Aussie-only Uber ad, Alexander, who played George Costanza on Seinfeld, orders a delivery of “canned laughter” after a joke at a dinner party falls flat and there’s no audience to chortle on cue. But the canned laughter gets out of hand when it interrupts any subsequent conversation he has, including at a funeral. Canned soup, it’s suggested, would have been a better option.

“I don’t know if somebody thought of me and then they came up with the idea of the canned laughter, the iconic sitcom approach,” he said.

“Or if they went, ‘we have an idea for a canned laughter and who could we get?’ But it was a pretty spot on match”.

Jason Alexander stars in a new Australian Uber commercial. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images)

Alexander’s unique Australian skill

Alexander’s comic chops and timing are on full display in the ads – and that may mean a question that has come up again and again in Australia resurfaces.

“People say to me, are you a stand-up comic? And the answer is, no, I’m not,” he insists.

It’s an easy assumption to make because Alexander’s Seinfeld co-stars – Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards and Jerry Seinfeld – all came from comedy backgrounds.

Alexander, however, studied theatre and built his career as an accomplished actor, singer and dancer on Broadway and in Hollywood in the 1980s.

In 1989, the year Seinfeld first aired and before his portrayal of Costanza took off, he won a Tony Award for best actor in a musical.

But it wouldn’t be until the late 2000s when Australia gave this non-stand up comedic actor an opportunity he couldn’t refuse.

Actors Michael Richards, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus & Jerry Seinfeld, cast of TV show

Alexander’s Aussie exclusive talent

“I was bringing my family to Australia and I had lot of fans in Australia – I knew that from my fan mail – and I teach acting. I thought maybe I could do a master class or something at one of the universities?

“And the answer came back: ‘No,’” Alexanxder told news.com.au.

But Melbourne’s Crown Casino had a different offer. Would he host a stand-up show featuring Australian comics?

Alexander said he was told he “just needed to do 20 minutes of stand-up”.

“I said, that’s lovely, but I don’t have 20 minutes of stand-up. I don’t have one minute of stand-up. I’m not a stand-up.

“They said, ‘We will pay him X amount of dollars’. I said: ‘I will be there and I will have 20 minutes of stand-up’”.

That show was Jason Alexander’s Comedy Standup which saw him share the bill with the likes of Mick Molloy, and Julia Morris.

“What was glorious was all the material we came up with was stuff about Australia, all the things that can kill you, the differences in the language and we had such a good time and I loved the comics,” he said.

“So Australia is the only country in the world where I might be a stand-up comic”.

Only big bucks could persuade Jason Alexander (left) to try stand up comedy besides the likes of, Mick Molloy and for the Jason Alexander Comedy Spectacular in the late 2000s in Melbourne.

‘Take the piss’

There’s no doubt Seinfeld was a global hit, but Australians have a special love for the show, and continue to do so.

Alexander has a theory as to why it hit different here.

“The joke of Seinfeld is it’s the four of us – we’re the buffoons, we’re the butt of our jokes, and we’re the ones that are hoisted on our petard for our own behaviour.

“I think the Australians saw in us a little bit of how they relate to each other. Australians have a great self-deprecating sense of humour. They take the piss out of each other. People whose tendency is to kid each other have an easier time enjoying the Seinfeld turf,” he said.

Jason Alexander delved into the world of conspiracy theories and the false claims that these contrails are actually “chemtrails”.

Conspiracy theory concerns

Aside from unexpected Australian forays into comedy, since Seinfeld wrapped up Alexander has appeared in multiple TV shows as well as returning to the Broadway stage.

Last year, he also launched a podcast called Really, No Really? with his friend and radio host Peter Tilden, that aimed to find answers to baffling questions and conundrums.

“Peter and I might have heard something in the news and go, l how can that be? That’s not a thing,” he explained.

A recent episode broached conspiracy theories and the debunked concept of “chemtrails”.

Aeroplanes omit contrails, visible lines of condensation which form behind engines. But, with no evidence, some have decided these are instead trails of chemicals being nefariously released on unsuspecting populations.

In a baffling move, the US state of Tennessee this year enacted a law banning airborne chemicals which many saw as an anti-chemtrail law, even though they don’t exist.

It exasperates Alexander.

“This kind of chatter has existed for as long as I’ve been alive and then some.

“But suddenly, it’s profitable. It feeds internet sites and ads on sites then have a bigger audience, and it feeds the 24 hour news cycle.

“Even though they’re ridiculous, people who believe it are given oxygen. I worry about it, because I don’t know how that genie goes back in the bottle.

“I don’t know how we stop and say, ‘A fact has to be a fact; it has to be quantifiable; it has to be certifiable; you have to be able to stand up and say, ‘I said this, I’m the one responsible, If it’s not true, it’s on me’.

“And until we are able to do that, I think it’s here to stay”.

Jason Alexander is under the impression this is NOT the way to eat Vegemite.

Truly disgusting Vegemite habit

But it appears Alexander may have been misled himself about something which is the very essence of Australia. It’s a pastime for celebrities who visit Australia to try and find a way to enjoy the deliciously divisive Vegemite

Alexander thinks he’s cracked it. He has not.

“There is a learning curve. You have to learn how to do it,” he said, seemingly on the right track.

“You don’t eat it plain. You don’t smear it on toast and go, I’m good”.

Say what, now?

“You have to add things to it, by adding some lovely strawberry preserve with a little Vegemite. It’s a lovely thing,” Alexander claimed.

This flavour abomination is something else we can blame the national carrier for … If inadvertently.

“The first time they offered me Vegemite was on Qantas and there was strawberry jam next to it,” he revealed.

“So I went, this is not good, but if this is what I need to do in order to be of the people I can get it done.”

Alexander has now realised the error of his Aussie culinary ways – but there could be a business opportunity in it, he reckons.

“Australia should have a Jason Alexander Vegemite strawberry jam”.

The reporter travelled with the assistance of Uber.

Originally published as Seinfeld star’s uniquely Australian talent