Show Rundown: Wednesday June 3, 2015

JASON ALEXANDER IS LARRY DAVID!

TV legend, Tony Award winning Broadway star and Howard Stern Show superfan Jason Alexander stopped by this morning.

It’s been a while since Jason sat down with Howard, so there were more than a few great stories.

Jason talked about auditioning for Seinfeld – beating out future luminaries like Chris Rock and Steve Buscemi, to play George Costanza, a character based on show creator Larry David. Only, nobody told Jason that George was based on Larry, so he was doing a Woody Allen impression for his audition and the first few episodes.

Speaking of impressions, Jason got into Boston University (Howard’s Alma mater) by doing a William Shatner impression as his drama audition. Jason is a Star Trek fanatic and boldly made the claim that he could quote every line of dialogue from the original series. Star Trek even made Jason fall i n love with his wife.

After settling into the role of George Costanza, Jason was given a love interest to play off on the show. The only issue was that he found it impossible to play off the actress playing George’s fiancé Susan. The other cast members soon had the same problem and Larry David killed Susan off in one helluva creative way.

Naturally, when Larry’s run in his smash hit Broadway show ‘Fish in the Dark’ was coming to an end, some genius thought of replacing him with Jason Alexander. Who better than a Broadway-veteran actor who had experience playing a character based on Larry David?

Howard and Robin and Gary and most of the rest of the Stern Show staff say ‘Fish in the Dark’ and we all loved it, so be sure to check it out (if you can get a ticket).

JADA PINKETT SMITH

As if Jason wasn’t enough, Jada Pinkett Smith also stopped by the Stern Show this morning for a candid interview with Howard that saw her opening up about everything from her role as Fish Mooney on “Gotham”to her relationship with Will Smith. Check out some highlights below and be sure to see her in “Magic Mike XXL” this summer!

Growing Up In Baltimore

Howard was fascinated by Jada’s mother, who was a head nurse by profession, but also a heroin addict. “She was pretty gangsta like that,” Jada joked, but the reality of it wasn’t funny at all when she was young. “It was more scary than confusing because you’re pretty much on your own,” she remembered.

Yet, it didn’t stop Jada from developing into a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood — and that all started at the Baltimore School for the Arts, where she met Tupac Shakur. “He was a revolutionary without a revolution,” she told Howard. Though there have been rumors of a romance between the two back in the day, Jada told Howard they just weren’t physically attracted to each other — it was a different kind of bond they shared. She even forced him to kiss her once, which she described as “the must disgusting kiss” for both of them.

Being Married To Will Smith

A lot has been said in the media about Will and Jada’s marriage, so Howard got to the bottom of it, addressing comments she made to Oprah years ago that as long as Will could look at himself in the mirror, Jada was fine with whatever it was that he did.

“Here’s the deal with that, Howard,” she began. “You’ve got to trust who you’re with. And at the end of the day, I’m not here to be anybody’s watcher. I’m not his watcher. He’s a grown man. Here’s what I trust — I trust that the man that Will is, is the man of integrity. So, he’s got all the freedom in the world. As long as Will can look himself in the mirror and be okay, I’m good.”

Robin wondered if Will told Jada about his crushes, and she said he absolutely does. “You have to!” she exclaimed. “Because I’m going to know anyway. “

Howard said that it must suck when the tabloids write about him with different women. “I’m not the kind of woman that believes a man is not going to be attracted to other women,” Jada countered. “I’m just not that girl. It’s just not realistic. And just because your man is attracted to another woman, does not mean he doesn’t love you. That’s not what it means. And it doesn’t mean he’s going to act on it. If your man can’t really see another woman’s beauty, how the hell is he going to see yours?”

As for Jada — if she wasn’t with Will she said she would have multiple “companions.” And not of the Hollywood variety.

Listen above for the full exchange.

“The Matrix”

Jada also revealed that Will was offered the part of Neo in “The Matrix.” Though she thought the concept was amazing, he just really didn’t see it and turned the part down.

Still, she decided to audition for the part of Trinity, and while it did not go too well due to a lack of chemistry with Keanu Reeves, her vibe stayed with the Wachowskis and they ended up casting her as Niobe in the second installment.

“Gotham”

These days Pinkett Smith is being lauded for her performance as Fish Mooney on “Gotham,” a show that Howard absolutely loves. Yet, her future on the show is in limbo as Jada only signed on for one year.

Robin asked point-blank: “Are you leaving the show?” But Jada was a little coy about it. “I really felt like Fish was in service for that year and to give Penguin something to do.”

Howard thinks that it was left open-ended enough to where she could come back if she wanted to, but all Jada would offer is, “We’ll see what happens.”

“Magic Mike XXL”

Interesting enough, Jada told Howard that her role in the sequel to “Magic Mike,” due out in July, was originally meant for a man. Channing Tatum called her and told her that she just popped into his head and they went from there.

Though she was tight-lipped about the details, she described her role as a club owner who had a past with Tatum’s character. If nothing else, she’ll certainly look good in the movie’s attire … or lack thereof.

One thing that surprised her walking onto the set was being attracted to an entire roomful of men (as opposed to when it’s normally just one guy). Check out her out on the big screen this summer to experience the sizzling chemistry yourself.