Following his appearance on Howard Stern, Seinfeld actor Jason Alexander has apologized to Heidi Swedberg, who played George Costanza’s fiancée Susan, for saying she was “fucking impossible” to work with.
On Wednesday, Alexander told Stern that, while Swedberg was “a terrific girl,” he found her acting and comedic styling so at odds with his own that he complained about it to Seinfeld co-creator Larry David and the core cast for weeks.
“…Finally they do an episode where Elaine and Jerry have a lot of material with her. And they do the week and we get to the restaurant afterward and they go, ‘You know what? It’s fucking impossible,’” Alexander explained. “It’s impossible. And Julia [Louis-Dreyfus] actually said, ‘I know. Don’t you want to just kill her?’ And Larry went BA-BANG, ‘Now we gotta kill her!’”
Thursday, Alexander took to Twitter to issue an apology for his remarks:
Ok folks, I feel officially awful. Yesterday on @Sternshow, I retold a story I had told years ago about my personal difficulties and insecurities in playing George against the Susan that Heidi Swedberg created. The impetus for telling this story was that Howard said, “Julia Louis Dreyfuss told me you all wanted to kill her”. So I told the story to try and clarify that no one wanted to kill Heidi.
And again I say, I and the cast really liked and like Heidi. She is a kind, lovely person who undoubtedly worked really hard to create Susan and that character was clearly what Larry and Jerry wanted her to be for George. I just felt I was on uncertain ground in how to play off that character and I was always concerned that it wasn’t working. And that’s what I would voice concern about. But because the scenes were playing the way they were, the relationship with George and Susan sustained a whole season. People clearly liked the interplay even though I believed I was “off”.
Larry and Jerry were not sure how that relationship would end. They didn’t really want George married but all the alternatives seemed predictable. They were always looking for an inventive end to the engagement. So when the comment was made about “killing”, no one was talking about the actress – they were talking about the character. And that made a creative lightbulb go off apparently.
But in telling this story, it sounds like we are putting a heavy burden on Heidi. I, personally, am not. Heidi would always ask if there was anything in the scenes she could do or if I had any thoughts. She was generous and gracious and I am so mad at myself for retelling this story in any way that would diminish her. If I had had more maturity or more security in my own work, I surely would have taken her query and possibly tried to adjust the scenes with her. She surely offered. But, I didn’t have that maturity or security. And, Larry and Jerry would probably have killed me as it was all playing exactly as they wanted. Clearly Susan and George were coming off just the way they wanted.
So, to all the press that is now running wild with this 15 year old story, please don’t pervert it. No one told Heidi to do anything different – and she surely would have, if asked. And no one that I am aware of, including myself, didn’t like her. And now with distance, I can look at those episodes and see that there was a fun relationship there between George and Susan. It works perfectly. I simply couldn’t see it or find it at the time.
To Heidi, I personally apologize. You are a sweetheart. I actually launched into this on Stern to defend you. But this is why I’m not a lawyer. Now everybody, calm down and just enjoy the reruns and think, “why did he think this wasn’t working? This is great.”
JA
(Emphasis ours.)
[NYDN]
Also in apologies, Nickelodeon star (if you say so) Drake Bell has apologized for making a dumb comment about Caitlyn Jenner.
“I sincerely apologize for my thoughtless insensitive remarks. I in no way meant to hurt or demean those going through a similar journey,” he wrote on Twitter. “Although my comments were made in innocence, I deeply regret the negative effect they’ve had on so many.” [Entertainment Weekly]
In the midst of her very public struggles with substance abuse and the law, Kim Richards will not be returning to the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. A source tells US Weekly that “the RHOBH producers really have no interest in bringing her back to the show. Kim needs to get help and it needs to happen outside of the show.”
A second source reiterates that Kim will not be back:“There’s no interest in putting her back on television unless she’s addressed her issues. The show didn’t trigger her addiction—and her recovery also needs to happen outside of it.” [US Weekly]
- Angelina Jolie’s kids think she’s uncool. [POPSUGAR]
- Even Blake Lively is disappointed in Preserve. [Dlisted]
- Harry Styles really doesn’t want to say whether or not he’ll be sticking with One Direction past their next album. [Billboard]
- Meanwhile, the girl Zayn Malik allegedly hooked up with in Thailand gave an interview. [Billboard]
- Caitlyn Jenner is cool with her kids calling her “dad.” [NYDN]
- Adele will not be singing the next Bond theme. [Just Jared]
- Noted Scientologist Kirsty Alley is “scrambling” to keep her Xenu docs from being exposed in a court case. [Radar]
- Kim and Kanye aren’t having twins. [Billboard]
- Here’s Miley Cyrus’ Hannah Montana audition tape. [E! Online]
- Orange Is the New Black’s Taylor Schilling and Laura Prepon’s tits are on the cover of Rolling Stone. [NYDN]
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