JASON ALEXANDER knows how to tell a great joke. He also knows that unlike on a hit sitcom, real life doesnât always come with a laugh track. But what if it could?
In his new UberEats campaign, the Tony, Emmy, and Golden Globe Award-winning actor imagines ordering canned laughter straight to his home. The result? Not every moment needs a round of pre-recorded laughter.
Especially, if youâre at a funeral.
âAll of the UberEats spots have been kind of smart,â Alexander says, on set in Northeast Los Angeles on a particularly balmy late August day. âThey came up with the canned laughter idea, and I thought that’s brilliant. What a brilliant thing to do.â
A longtime Los Angeleno, the actor says he discovered the delivery service during the pandemic. âWhatâs remarkable about them is, pick a restaurant, and thereâs no such thing as we canât do that,â he explains. âThis company makes connectivity between any restaurant and your home viable. And thatâs kind of extraordinary.â
Alexander arrives on set with the early stages of a beard, one that heâs growing out for Fiddler on the Roof, which heâll star in later this year at the La Mirada Theatre. The musical comes after a series of work on stage, from the world premiere of Judgement Day at the Yard Theatre in Chicago, to his Broadway directing debut of The Cottage, starring Will and Graceâs Eric McCormack.
Heâs an artist who clearly loves to work, and that includes days like today. âYou know, commercials are great training,â he says, listing the number of people who have to be happy with his performance, from the brand, to the agency, to the director. âItâs not too dissimilar from doing a sitcom, where youâve got your writer, your network, and the people who advertise. You have to find a way to make it work for everybody. That is really kind of uniquely challenging.â
It’s Alexanderâs ability to turn an experience like filming an UberEats commercial into an anecdote on filming sitcoms that makes him a great teacher. He loves teaching young actors, aware that the Hollywood theyâre facing today is in a distinctly challenging era.
âThere is just such a glut of places that people can go to get stories,â he says, referencing the rise of digital streaming platforms as well as our increasingly addictive social media apps. âAnd thereâs just so much of it, that it’s hard to make anything sparkle.â
While Seinfeld may have survived because of the showâs ability to grow a weekly audience, the prevalence of streaming algorithms, combined with the looming threat of AI, leaves many young actors unsure of how they might ever build a lifelong career like Alexanderâs.
âThereâs a lot of talk in the news about AI being inevitable. Itâs not inevitable,â the actor says, calling on his own union to be more steadfast in how they regulate AI across the industry. [Editorâs Note: A month after our interview, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two bills that regulate the use of performances generated by AI. Both were lobbied for by the Screen Actors Guild.]
â10 years from now, I worry that three guys with an iPad are going to be doing all of these jobs,â he points now to the crew heâs spent the last few days with on his commercial. âAnd while as a producer, I understand why that sounds attractive, whoâs going to pay for the product if nobody has a job?â
Alexanderâs advice to young actors is the same advice heâs always given, but with one slight amendment. He wants actors to be passionate about the work they want to make, look for ways to make it themselves, and, perhaps most importantly, remain steadfast that technology doesnât get in their way.
âThere are 1000 actors for every job, including every one that Iâve done. If youâre just an artist waiting to get picked, it may never happen,â he says, emphasising how important it is to show the world what you can do.
Instead of waiting, Alexander urges actors to create the roles theyâre inspired by, whether that means filming a low budget short, or putting on a play. âWeâre storytellers. So what stories do you want to tell?â As we speak, his oldest son is away in Scotland, performing in a show at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Itâs Alexanderâs passion for his community of actors that leads him back to teaching. He loves it, not only for the chance to pass down some of the more technical skills heâs picked up over the years, but for the confidence he hopes to instil in his students.
âFor generations that are going to deal with a world that I cannot imagine, what can I offer them?â He asks. He answers his question himself. âI just want to be the biggest cheerleader I can be.â
Fortunately at this point in the interview, Alexander is no longer living in the world of his UberEats commercial. His earnesty about the future of his craft is not met with a laugh track, but instead, a single round of applause from the film crew gathered around him.
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