Jason Alexander was ‘punched many times’ and ‘spat on’ by strangers after starring in Pretty Woman

Actor reveals extent of abuse he received following release of romantic comedy

Jason Alexander has said he was “punched” by strangers due to his role in Pretty Woman.

The actor, 61, appeared in the 1990 romantic comedy as Philip Stuckey, a misogynistic lawyer who attempts to rape Julia Roberts’ lead character.

Alexander, best known for playing George Costanza in US sitcom Seinfeld, said that his character was so awful that he was “hated” by the public for a while after.

“I was known around the world as the a**hole who tried to rape Julia Roberts so women hated me,” he told Robin Bronk on the At Home With The Creative Coalition podcast.

“I would walk down the street and women would say mean things to me.”

Alexander said he was “punched many times” and even “got spit on by one woman”.

He described the year following the hit comedy's release as “rough”. It grossed a huge $463.4m (£358m) at the global box office.

Interestingly, Alexander almost never succeeded in securing the role as director Garry Marshall thought he was “too baby-faced and little”.

“There were other people he tried to get and I don't know why but they couldn't make a deal,” he said. “I got the part because they couldn't make a deal with the actor they wanted and they were desperate.”

Pretty Woman, which also stars Richard Gere, recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.