Jerry Seinfeld
Seinfeld Series
Jerry Seinfeld Club
George is neurotic, self-loathing, and dominated by his parents, Frank and Estelle. He has been best friends with Jerry Seinfeld since their middle school years.
George exhibits a number of negative character traits, among them stinginess, dishonesty, insecurity, and neurosis. Many of these traits form the basis for his involvement in various plots, schemes, and awkward social encounters. Episode plots frequently feature George manufacturing elaborate deceptions at work or in his relationships in order to gain or maintain some small or imagined advantage. George appears in every single episode except for "The Pen" in the third season.
He appears to have an odd affinity for anything related to restrooms. In one episode, he quits his real estate job solely because he is forbidden from using his boss's private bathroom. In another episode, he claims to have a cursory knowledge of the locations of the best bathrooms in the city. When working for the Yankees, he suggested having the bathroom stall doors stretched all the way to the floor (allowing people's legs not to be seen while in the stalls) and in many episodes he shows a fascination with toilet paper and its history. His obsession with bathrooms and bathroom related material is unexplained in the show.
George is also incredibly impressionable and many of his actions are based on the actions and advice of his friends. In "The Engagement", George asks Susan Ross to marry him and is enthusiastic about changing his life after Jerry claims that he plans to do the same; however, when George finds out that Jerry doesn't plan to change his ways at all, it suddenly hits him on how big a mistake he just made. It is revealed that he only asked Susan to marry him because he thought Jerry was also going to at least be in a meaningful relationship that would result in marriage for the two. In another episode, ("The Conversion") George willingly converts to the Latvian Orthodox religion for his girlfriend after Elaine mentions that it would be romantic, only to learn that she is leaving after he completes the conversion.
His relationships with women are always unsuccessful. His most disastrous relationship, an engagement to Susan Ross, is one of the few that ends "well" for George; he fears marriage and Susan's unexpected death saves him from the commitment. However, even this comes back to "bite him in the butt" — her parents create a foundation in her honor and endow it with the land, mansions, and money that George might have inherited.
Although occasionally referred to as being dumb by his friends (notably Elaine), a contention George does not really argue with, there is every reason to believe George is quite an intelligent man despite his neurotic behavior. He is considered an expert liar, and is often able to talk his way out of extraordinary situations. George's lying ability is often considered a useful skill by his friends. Jerry even notes that, "George could beat a lie detector test." In "The Beard" George also remarks on his own ability to lie, stating, "Jerry, just remember, it's not a lie if you believe it." His skeptical, almost paranoid nature also makes it extremely difficult for someone to put one over on him. In "The Abstinence", it is discovered George has what would appear to be genius-level intelligence but that he can never access it because his mind is always so completely focused on sex. When circumstances allow him to temporarily remove sex from his mind, he is able to reach his true potential. It should also be noted that George possibly has talent for being an editor just like Elaine. This is shown in the episode "The Red Dot," where he actually stays late to continue his job, commenting on how easy it is. This is also one of the only times where Elaine has actually complimented George for a skill other than lying, as she calls him a "dynamo" at the job.
George is based primarily upon co-creator Larry David (see 5th Season DVD Special Feature "Jason + Larry = George"), and named after Jerry Seinfeld's college classmate Michael Costanza (who appeared in the 3rd Season episode "The Parking Space"). Many of George's predicaments were based on past real-life experiences of David. There are many situations which were episodes of Mike and Jerry before Jerry ever made it big. That is why Jerry flew Mike out for an episode, and Mike Costanza wrote a book in 1998, and has a new book planned this years. In "The Revenge", for example, when George quits his job in a fury only to realize his actions were a mistake, he goes back the next day as if nothing happened, mirroring David's actions while working as a writer for Saturday Night Live, when he quit and then returned to his job in the same manner.
Alexander, from his first audition for the part, based the character George on Woody Allen. As the show progressed, Alexander discovered that the character was based on David. As Alexander explains in an interview for the Seinfeld DVD, during an early conversation with David, Alexander questioned a script, saying, "This could never happen to anyone, and even if it did, no human being would react like this." David replied, "What do you mean? This happened to me once, and this is exactly how I reacted!"
George has shown on several occasions that he is extremely afraid of contracting lupus. He shows his distress about it in "The Heart Attack" when the doctor notifies that there is indeed something wrong with him. He shows his distress once again in "The Suicide" when a mystic teller tells George not to take his vacation to the Cayman Islands. Since George had not got an answer as to why, he panicked and thought that he would contract lupus. He usually shouts: "Lupus?! Is it lupus?!"
Jerry Seinfeld described the character of George Costanza. Seinfeld stated "Anger is the key to this whole character, justifiable anger . . . It's justifiable from the point of view He got, a raw deal, handed a bad hand in life, and he's gonna get even."