'Seinfeld' Fame Sent Him to Therapy: Jason Alexander's Candid Confession

Fame did not make life simple — in fact, coping with it took therapy. Jason Alexander, a star of the hugely popular American sitcom 'Seinfeld,' has said candidly on a podcast that he was in therapy while the show was still airing.

Appearing as a guest on Daniel Lubetzky's 'Build or Break' podcast, Alexander discussed the iconic sitcom that helped shape his career. He told Lubetzky that therapy was the only way he was able to cope with how much the show changed his life.

When the host asked in surprise, 'You literally went to therapy?' Alexander's reply was emphatic: 'You bet. I was in therapy while it was happening.'

Explaining why, he said the transition that 'Seinfeld' brought would be hard for anyone. In his words, going from being successful at your job to international celebrity is a leap for which anyone — no matter how well they were raised — is going to need some therapy.

Yet as a young man, Alexander's dream had been entirely different. His fantasy of a successful life as an actor, growing up in New Jersey, was getting across the river and working on the Broadway stages. That, for him, was the pinnacle.

He said he did not think about television and did not think about film; he dreamt about a life in the theatre. He was given that starting at age 21, and by the time he was 30, he had won a Tony Award.

Then came 'Pretty Woman,' some of the other films, and 'Seinfeld' in his path. In Alexander's words, he now lives a life as an actor that he never dreamt of — never thinking he would have this kind of money, the ability to keep his family the way he keeps them, these opportunities, or the chance to work with the people he has met.

When 'Seinfeld' ended, his first thought was not to try to replace that level of success. Rather, he was in awe that he had been able to get there in the first place. Life, he said, gave him more than he ever dreamed of, and he did not expect that success to last.

He added that one reason the cast were so adamant at the end about making money on 'Seinfeld' was the reality of the era he grew up in: if you had a hit series on television, you often never worked again — that was it.

'Seinfeld' was created by comedian Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David. Premiering in 1989, the series followed a fictionalized version of Seinfeld navigating everyday life, relationships and friendships in New York City.

The main cast included Alexander as George Costanza, Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine Benes and Michael Richards as Cosmo Kramer.

Often described as a 'show about nothing,' the series focused on ordinary situations that spiralled into comedic chaos. It ran for nine seasons and 180 episodes before ending in 1998, and is widely regarded as one of television's most influential and successful sitcoms.

Decades later, Alexander's candid admission about the weight of that fame is a reminder of how real the mental pressure behind screen success can be for the stars who carry it.