Brutally honest. Socially awkward. A germaphobe. Fiercely private. A curmudgeon. These are the traits of Larry David on his beloved HBO show Curb Your Enthusiasm, which returns for another season this month. Of course, Larry is playing a heightened version of himself on Curb, as are the other celebrities he manages to get for the show. But there are also countless stories of Larry's real-life antics that fall in line with the character on the show. After all, his experiences have directly inspired plotlines on Curb, as well as Seinfeld, which he co-created with Jerry Seinfeld. The NBC sitcom's George Costanza was even based on Larry. So, just how similar is Larry to his alter-ego?
While Larry's real-life friends and colleagues have opinions on this, the fans offer an interesting take on what LD is actually like in person. Even though some fans aren't to be trusted with their opinion on celebrities due to their own poor behavior, others actually offer a unique insight into the truth of the person. Here's what Larry's fans have said about him...
What Larry Thinks He's Like With Fans
As discussed in a cast panel at the Paley Center of Media, fans of Curb don't tend to be your typical fans. They don't scream at the stars of Curb like fans of Justin Bieber would, nor do they stalk them. Most of the time they say hi to the stars and leave them alone... just the way they like it. Although Susie Essman's fans want her to curse them out from time to time. Then there are the fans who claim they have a great idea for the show, which is something the cast absolutely loathes to hear. According to Jeff Garlin, none of the ideas are ever any good. But aside from that, most of the Curb fans are pretty intelligent which is why Larry believes they are actually disappointed by him when they meet...
"People who are fans, once they meet me, they are so disappointed so quickly. It's unbelievable," Larry David told Seth Meyers on his talk show. "In two minutes, you can see their face. the disappointment is etched on their face. It's like, 'This is the guy I wanted to meet? There's nothing to him. There's nothing.'"
Larry says this because he believes he's actually not the curmudgeon that he plays on television. He claims he's a happy man with a fairly normal life... aside from the fact that he's unrealistically wealthy. He hangs out with his friends, his daughters (including Pete Davidson's ex, Cazzie), his new wife, and he plays golf. He's somewhat reclusive, but not unfriendly to fans. But some fans believe Larry actually isn't so dissimilar from his Curb persona and that's precisely why they enjoy interacting with him.
What Larry Is Like From The Fans' Perspective
There's no shortage of fans who claim that Larry has many of the traits of his Curb Your Enthusiasm character. Even his co-star, JB Smoove, has said that. But these traits aren't wildly inappropriate or judgemental ones. According to fans, Larry is, however, a bit of a curmudgeon who is quite uncomfortable around strangers. Although, these strangers tend to be the type of people who desperately want to be friends with Larry... and that... he clearly dislikes...
James Hritz on Quora told other fans that a friend of his and his wife met Larry at a private political fundraiser in 2008. In his story, James said that his friends tried to make eye contact with Larry who was sitting alone and clearly didn't want to talk to anybody. While they wanted to chat with Larry, the Curb Your Enthusiasm star didn't want to be bothered. He even ended up moving a throw pillow from under his arm to the empty space on the couch creating "a wall of separation" between him and those who wanted to chat with him. Even though they should've been disappointed, they actually thought it was hilarious and true to form.
A similar instance happened four years ago when a fan on Reddit showed a selfie he was able to take with Larry David at an event. The young man was foolish enough to put his arm around Larry for the photo. As Larry's die-hard fans know... the dude does not want to be touched by strangers. While Larry only appeared moderately uncomfortable in the photo, the poster claimed that Larry swiftly left the event after this happened. It was a total LD move.
Larry has been photographed having slightly more positive fan encounters. Although, he is still somewhat standoffish and awkward in the best way. While he will sign autographs on occasion, as well as make very brief conversations with fans, he just detests selfies. In one video, a fan can be seen almost forcing Larry to take a selfie with him and Larry just steps away. The Seinfeld co-creator is also no fan of pushy paparazzi or journalists who believe that just because he's famous he owes them his time. On a number of instances, he's straight-up called them out to his face.
To sum up, it seems as though Larry is completely himself all the time. He doesn't put on shows or faces. He just is who he is. That means sometimes he doesn't want to talk. But that also means he's capable of strolling over and politely signing some autographs for people who aren't rude. While he may not offer the same kind of fan-encounters like someone such as Bill Murray does, Larry seems to effortlessly entertain fans just by being himself. No matter how Larry feels about his fan encounters, it's clear that they love them.
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