often depicted as "the voice of reason" amid the general insanity generated by the people in his world. The in-show character is a mild germophobe and neat freak as well as an avid Superman, New York Mets, and breakfast cereal fan. Jerry's apartment is the center of a world visited by his eccentric friends and a focus of the show. George Costanza (Jason Alexander) – George is Jerry's best friend since high school. He is stingy, conniving, pedantic, and jealous of others' achievements. He is depicted as a loser who is perpetually lacking confidence about his capabilities. He rants and lies easily about his profession, relationships, and almost everything else, which usually creates trouble for him later. He often uses the alias Art Vandelay when lying or concocting a cover story. Despite these shortcomings, George is very reliable to his friends and has success in dating women, and he eventually secures a steady career as assistant to the traveling secretary for the New York Yankees. The character of George was based on Larry David himself. Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) – Elaine is Jerry's ex-girlfriend and later friend. Generally depicted as smarter than her friends, she is friendly, while also being sarcastic, somewhat elitist, and hot-tempered. She is occasionally depicted as vegetarian or pescatarian, without the strength of conviction to keep this up regularly. She sometimes tends to be too honest with people (usually by losing her temper), which often gets her into trouble. She usually gets caught up in her boyfriends' quirks, eccentric employers' unusual behaviors and idiosyncrasies, and the maladjustment of total strangers. She tends to make poor choices in men she dates and is often overly reactive. She works for a time at Pendant Publishing with Mr. Lippman and is later hired as a personal assistant for Mr. Pitt. She eventually works for the J. Peterman catalog as a writer. Elaine is popularly described as an amalgamation of David's and Seinfeld's girlfriends during their early days in New York as struggling comedians. Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) – Kramer is Jerry's slacker neighbor. His trademarks include his humorous upright pompadour hairstyle, vintage clothes, and energetic sliding bursts through Jerry's apartment door. Kramer was heavily based on a neighbor of David's during his amateur comedic years in Manhattan. At times, he appears naïve, uneducated, and impulsive, and at other times, quick-witted, helpful, and empathetic; similarly, he is exaggeratedly successful, socially,