Larry David And George Costanza's Biggest Difference, According To Jerry Seinfeld

It's well documented that the sitcom classic "Seinfeld" was drawn from the lives of its creators, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David. The pair had been working in the American stand-up comedy scene for over a decade and, as very funny men living primarily in the weirdo-stuffed world of New York City, had accumulated more than enough wild stories to fill hours upon hours of stand-up sets. They could've dined out on this material for decades! But there's way, way more money in creating a hit network sitcom, so the duo wisely took their idea to NBC. The network, well, didn't exactly get "Seinfeld" at first, but when the ratings skyrocketed in season 4, its executives learned to overlook their confusion over the show's idiosyncratic formula.

As "Seinfeld" became a pop cultural institution, fans clamored to learn more about the people behind the series. Did Jerry really run through girlfriends like that in real life? Was Michael Richards' Cosmo Kramer an accurate reflection of the real-life eccentric Kenny Kramer? Who was the inspiration for Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Elaine Benes? And, perhaps most importantly, was George Costanza truly reflective of Larry David?

During the heyday of "Seinfeld," this was a difficult question to answer. Though David had performed on sketch shows like "Fridays" and "Saturday Night Live" (and made blink-and-you'll-miss-him appearances in two Woody Allen movies), only stand-up obsessives had an inkling as to what the comedy genius was like. Now that David is an on-screen television star himself thanks to 12 brilliant seasons of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," we might feel like we have a pretty good bead on him. Seinfeld, however, says this isn't the case at all.

Back in 2014, Seinfeld subjected himself to the "Ask Me Anything" gauntlet at Reddit. Though he was there to promote a new season of his interview show "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," he wound up fielding loads of questions about the show that made him a television legend (though his cameo in Danny DeVito's 1984 made-for-Showtime movie "The Ratings Game" mysteriously didn't come up).

Unsurprisingly, someone asked Seinfeld about the difference between series co-creator Larry David and George Costanza. According to Seinfeld:

"Larry David is not really that much like George in real life. George is a little bit angry. And does not care if he has to break the rules to get what he wants. And Larry David is not like that at all. Larry David is a very considerate and respectful kind of person. George is not."

George does get angry, no doubt. And petty. Incredibly, hilariously petty. He's also a coward (as evidenced by the time he bowled over an old woman in a walker to escape a small kitchen fire) and a terrible boyfriend (R.I.P. Susan Ross). The Larry David of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" can be pretty awful, too, but he's probably a significantly better person than George. Or not.

What's not up for debate is that George and "Curb" Larry David are two amazing comedic creations. Decades after they premiered, they're only getting funnier with age.