Most people know him as the character he made famous on “Seinfeld,” George Costanza, but actor Jason Alexander has been a stage presence since he was in his teens. A talented song-and-dance man, he is comfortable with all aspects of live performance. Since his “Seinfeld” days, he has appeared on various television shows and will be guest-starring as an unethical CEO who made millions while his company went down the drain on TNT’s “Franklin & Bash” Wednesday at 9 p.m. EDT. Q: So many people still think of you as George Costanza. When did you realize that you had imbued that character with such staying power?
A: Oh, boy, I don’t know. Because of the path the show took, you know it was anything but an instant success. It was actually pretty slow in coming, and it seemed to have a kind of cultish following at first. Then it grew and grew into other demographics and other countries. Actually a couple of years ago, and it had been off the air for a number of years, as I started doing more traveling, going around the world and bumping into people in places where I never would have assumed they would know anything about the show or anything about me, and they were all excited about the show and me. I started to go, “Well, I guess we had some impact, some staying power.” (Laughs) Why my character in particular seems to resonate with people so much, I wish I knew. Other than the fact I guess it’s comforting to know there’s somebody in the world more screwed up than you. (Laughs)
Q: You play an unethical CEO on “Franklin & Bash,” and you’ve also played a convincingly creepy serial killer on “Criminal Minds.” Everyone says it’s more fun to play bad. Do you find that to be true?
A: (Laughs) Thank you. Yes and no. Usually characters that are doing something nefarious have some extra layers to them. The general rule is bad people don’t necessarily think they are bad. So you have to find the character’s rationalization, and you have to do things that clearly in the script are meant to be devious or hurtful, and yet you have to believe you are right or justified. So they’re a little more challenging.
Q: As an actor, you design the way a role comes to life, but has any character you played ever started taking over your real life, creeping into conversations or thought patterns?
A: (Laughs) No, no, they don’t, actually. There have been some pieces I’ve been involved with where there is some really interesting thinking going on, and you start to consider some of the philosophies that are being explored in the piece. I’ve never had a thing where a character’s sensibilities or a character’s behavior … (Laughs) I don’t bring it home. There is a very clear line for me between reality and fantasy, and they have never gotten blurry.
