Seinfeld star Jason Alexander made an indelible impression as George Costanza throughout the sitcom's nine-season run. However, he revealed that there was competition from other names for the role, including some of comedy's heaviest hitters, like Danny DeVito and Chris Rock.
During an interview on the Inside of You podcast, Alexander said, "All the casting on Seinfeld was being done in L.A. They had seen a gazillion people, I guess, for George, some very famous who I think had been offered the role and either turned it down, or they got next." He said prospects included "Chris Rock, Danny DeVito ... the guy, one of the guys they really liked for it, and I think he said no, was Paul Shaffer." At the time, Shaffer was the musical director and bandleader for Late Night with David Letterman. Another rival was standup comic and actor Larry Miller, who co-starred with Alexander in the 1990 romantic comedy Pretty Woman.
The production eventually widened its casting search to New York, where Alexander lived at the time. Of the audition script, he said, "To me, it read like the dialogue in a Woody Allen show, and I went, 'All right, let's go with that.'" He bought some eyewear to his audition, performed George Costanza as a very New York character with a Woody Allen voice, and forgot about it.
However, a few days later, show co-creator Larry David, who went on to create HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, invited Alexander to audition for NBC and Jerry Seinfeld himself in Los Angeles. "And I flew out, and they said, 'Don't change a thing except ... don't do the Woody Allen voice. Do New York, do the glasses, do all that, but just don't do the Woody Allen voice," Alexander said. He won the role over Miller, who also appeared at his audition.
Seinfeld launched in 1989, and Alexander went on to earn seven Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy. That year, DeVito directed and co-starred in War of the Roses, and went on to an extensive career as an actor and director in TV and film, including starring in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Shaffer continued with Late Night with David Letterman on NBC until the end of its run in 1993 and carried over to Late Show with David Letterman on CBS from 1993 to 2015. Rock and Miller then mostly worked as successful standup comics, and since then have both developed long lists of credits in television and film.
All nine seasons of Seinfeld are currently available to stream on Netflix.
Source: YouTube