Seinfeld character guide
Who is George Costanza in Seinfeld?
Jerry's lifelong best friend, a neurotic, cheap, endlessly scheming New Yorker whose lies, job disasters, and doomed romances make him one of the most famous losers in sitcom history.
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- Show
- Seinfeld
- Played by
- Jason Alexander
- First episode
- “The Seinfeld Chronicles”Season 1, Episode 1, aired July 5, 1989
- Role
- Main cast
- Network
- NBC
- Occupation
- Assistant to the traveling secretary, NY Yankees
- Show run
- 1989 to 1998
- Also known as
- George Louis Costanza, Art Vandelay
George Costanza is Jerry Seinfeld's oldest friend, a balding, anxious schemer who is always one bad idea away from disaster. Played by Jason Alexander, he is petty, dishonest, and hilariously self-aware about all of it.
On Seinfeld, George Costanza's story runs through Jerry Seinfeld (Best Friend), Elaine Benes (Friend), Cosmo Kramer (Friend), Frank Costanza (Father), and Estelle Costanza (Mother).
Who is George Costanza?
George has known Jerry since their school days, and he spends most of the series drifting between jobs, apartments, and girlfriends. He starts out in real estate, lives for a while with his parents in Queens, and eventually lands the job that defines him: working in the front office of the New York Yankees.
He is the friend who always has a plan, and the plan almost always backfires. George invents fake careers, fake companies, and fake reasons to get out of commitments, and he will put more effort into avoiding work than most people put into doing it. The show treats him as the group's comic engine, the guy whose problems are both the smallest and the loudest.
Personality and comedy
George is insecure, cheap, and quick to panic, and he is completely honest with his friends about how dishonest he is with everyone else. His favorite alias, Art Vandelay, the imaginary importer and exporter, became one of the show's longest running jokes. He schemes to look busy at work, to win arguments, and to escape relationships the moment they get serious.
Co-creator Larry David based the character largely on himself, and Jason Alexander first played him as a Woody Allen type, then shifted toward an imitation of David once he realized who George really was. The result is a man whose meltdowns feel oddly relatable: George wants the same things everyone wants, he just goes about getting them in the worst possible way.
Key storylines
In the season five finale, George decides to do the exact opposite of every instinct he has. It works: he gets a girlfriend and talks his way into a job with the Yankees, where he works under George Steinbrenner for several seasons and gets into constant trouble. After he is let go, he treats his severance as a long vacation, the Summer of George, which ends with him barely able to walk.
His biggest arc is his engagement to Susan Ross, an NBC executive he proposes to at the start of season seven and then spends months trying to escape. The engagement ends darkly when Susan dies from licking the cheap, toxic glue on the wedding invitations George picked out, and George's reaction is closer to relief than grief. In the finale, he is convicted along with Jerry, Elaine, and Kramer and sent to jail.
Behind the scenes and legacy
Jason Alexander earned seven straight Emmy nominations for supporting actor in a comedy from 1992 through 1998 without winning, plus four Golden Globe nominations, and he won the Screen Actors Guild Award for male actor in a comedy series in 1995. His surname came from Mike Costanza, a college classmate of Jerry Seinfeld, and the middle name Louis is a nod to Lou Costello, whose Abbott and Costello Show helped inspire Seinfeld.
George regularly appears on lists of the greatest TV characters: TV Guide ranked him tenth on its 1999 list of the 50 greatest TV characters of all time. Decades later, "the Summer of George" and Art Vandelay are still shorthand among fans for a certain kind of glorious, self-inflicted failure.
Key George Costanza episodes
- “The Revenge”Season 2, Episode 7George quits his real estate job in a huff, then tries to show up the next day as if nothing happened.
- “The Marine Biologist”Season 5, Episode 14George's lie about being a marine biologist catches up with him on a beach where a whale needs saving.
- “The Opposite”Season 5, Episode 22Doing the opposite of every instinct gets George a girlfriend and a job with the New York Yankees.
- “The Engagement”Season 7, Episode 1George impulsively proposes to Susan Ross and instantly starts to regret it.
- “The Invitations”Season 7, Episode 24Susan dies from the toxic glue on the wedding invitations George picked, ending the engagement for good.
- “The Summer of George”Season 8, Episode 22George plans a summer of leisure on his severance pay, and it ends with him in physical therapy.
Season and episode numbers follow the original broadcast order.
George Costanza: frequently asked questions
Who plays George Costanza?
Jason Alexander plays George in all nine seasons of Seinfeld, from the 1989 pilot to the 1998 finale.
Is George Costanza based on Larry David?
Yes. Seinfeld co-creator Larry David based George largely on himself, and Jason Alexander adjusted his performance to borrow David's mannerisms.
What is George Costanza's job?
His best-known job is assistant to the traveling secretary of the New York Yankees, which he lands in "The Opposite" in season five. He also works in real estate, at Play Now, and at Kruger Industrial Smoothing, and he often pretends to work for the fictional Vandelay Industries.
What happens to Susan, George's fiancee?
Susan Ross dies in "The Invitations," the season seven finale, after licking the toxic glue on the cheap wedding invitations George chose. George is more relieved than heartbroken.
Who is Art Vandelay?
Art Vandelay is George's favorite fake identity, an importer and exporter he invents whenever he needs a cover story. Vandelay Industries became a running joke throughout the series.
Test yourself: George Costanza quiz
5 questions about George Costanza. Think of your answer, then open the reveal to check it.
- Question 1
What is Kramer's first name?
- Kenny
- Cosmo
- Stanley
- Martin
Show the answer
Answer: B. Cosmo
Kramer's mother, Babs, lets the name slip in front of George in "The Switch," and Kramer soon decides to embrace being called Cosmo.
- Question 2
Which line does the Soup Nazi bark at customers who break his ordering rules?
- "Hello, Newman."
- "Giddy up!"
- "No soup for you!"
- "Get out!"
Show the answer
Answer: C. "No soup for you!"
The catchphrase comes from "The Soup Nazi," where George is sent away soupless for griping about the missing bread and Elaine gets banned for a full year.
- Question 3
What is the name of the coffee shop where Jerry and his friends usually eat?
- Reggie's
- Pete's Luncheonette
- Mendy's
- Monk's Cafe
Show the answer
Answer: D. Monk's Cafe
Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David named it after a poster of jazz pianist Thelonious Monk that hung in their writing office.
- Question 4
Which actor plays George Costanza?
- Michael Richards
- Jason Alexander
- Wayne Knight
- Patrick Warburton
Show the answer
Answer: B. Jason Alexander
Jason Alexander plays George in every season, and co-creator Larry David based much of the character on himself.
- Question 5
In "The Chinese Restaurant," what are Jerry, George, and Elaine waiting for the whole episode?
- A table
- Their takeout order
- A taxi
- The check
Show the answer
Answer: A. A table
The trio is promised a short wait for a table before a movie, and the entire episode plays out in the restaurant lobby as the minutes drag on.
Sources and corrections
Reference pages used for this guide, including character, cast, and episode details.
Could George Costanza be today's mystery character? Name them in eight guesses.
Play today's SitcomdlePeople in George Costanza's life
- Jerry SeinfeldBest FriendPlayed by Jerry SeinfeldThe fictional version of comedian Jerry Seinfeld, a neat, observational stand-up living on the Upper West Side who serves as the calm…
- Elaine BenesFriendPlayed by Julia Louis-DreyfusJerry's ex-girlfriend turned best friend, a sharp, confident, and famously blunt New Yorker who works her way through publishing jobs, bad bosses…
- Cosmo KramerFriendPlayed by Michael RichardsJerry's wild-haired neighbor across the hall, who bursts through the door without knocking, eats Jerry's food…
- Frank CostanzaFatherPlayed by John Randolph and Jerry StillerGeorge's explosive, eccentric father, a short-fused former Army cook who invented the holiday Festivus and shouts "Serenity now!" to keep his blood…
- Estelle CostanzaMotherPlayed by Estelle HarrisGeorge's shrill, melodramatic mother, who squabbles nonstop with her husband Frank, nags George about everything…
More Seinfeld characters
- NewmanSide characterPlayed by Wayne KnightJerry's smug, scheming nemesis down the hall, a mail carrier and Kramer's partner in crime whose every arrival is greeted with a frosty "Hello…
- The Soup NaziSide characterPlayed by Larry ThomasYev Kassem, the brilliant and tyrannical soup chef whose strict ordering rules and instant bans gave Seinfeld one of its most famous lines…
- David PuddySide characterPlayed by Patrick WarburtonElaine's deadpan, on-and-off boyfriend, a square-jawed mechanic turned car salesman who paints his face for the New Jersey Devils and answers almost…
- J. PetermanSide characterPlayed by John O'HurleyElaine's grandly eccentric boss at the J. Peterman clothing catalog, a world-traveling adventurer who narrates his own life like an old radio drama.
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