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OREM — Jason Alexander entertained and taught a crowd Tuesday night during the "Evening with Jason Alexander" at Utah Valley University, which university officials estimated drew more than 1,000 people to the Sorensen Student Center's Grande Ballroom.
Best known for his role as George Costanza in 'Seinfeld,' Alexander presented an acting workshop at UVU to students and faculty on Feb. 27-29.
During the lecture, Alexander told the beginnings of his acting career and his stumble upon fame. The Deseret News reported that when he was 12 years old, his family moved and he was at the community pool, "standing in the shallow end, and this absolutely stunning girl came over and said, 'Do you do theater?' And I went, 'I do now,' and I was pulled into a production of the 'The Sound of Music.' "
I have been so surprised by where my career has taken me. I am not an unhappy celebrity. I guess I'm a reluctant and befuddled celebrity.
–Jason Alexander
After that Alexander threw himself into acting and he took voice and dance lessons as well. He slimmed down, got involved in school and children's/community theater as much as possible; and "fell into" an acting career.
"I can't talk about going from amateur to professional acting," Alexander told the Desert News. "How it happened to me was a miracle."
Alexander talked about how he went from doing random commercials to a small part in the film, 'Pretty Woman' even though the director didn't want to cast him. Then he was selected for the part in 'Seinfeld.' The rest is history.
"I have been so surprised by where my career has taken me," Alexander said. "I am not an unhappy celebrity. I guess I'm a reluctant and befuddled celebrity." He further explained his meaning by saying that he feels so lucky to be able to do what he loves, and to get paid for it.
But he did at times feel that "his profession was an unnecessary one." Alexander said, ". . .there's sometime in everybody's life, when they go, 'I need a doctor!' There's no time in anybody' life when they go, 'I need an actor!' "
However, Alexander expressed that he did know that the show had impacted many people's lives. He talked about several letters he had received over the years of people thanking him for the help they received from his humor to get them through hard times.
Since Seinfeld has stopped airing, Alexander spends a lot of his time touring the country and doing acting workshops at various colleges. He talked about the importance of refining skills for aspiring actors.
He said that an actor's job "is to make an illusion or a lie very good. So we have to do things that make the lie work for us. If the lie works for us in our imagination, it'll take care of you."
