Seinfeld: Scientology made me funny

Comic took 'a couple of courses'

Jerry Seinfeld says Scientology helped turn him into a better stand-up.

He said he is high school car mechanics teacher introduced him to the system about 30 years ago, and it helped him in his early days on stage.

In an interview with America’s Parade magazine and it helped him in his early years of stand-up, he said: ‘Believe it or not, it’s extremely intellectual and clinical in its approach to problem-solving, which really appealed to me.’

Although Scientology, made up by sci-fi author L Ron Hubbard in the Fifties, has a reputation as a ruthless organisation that’s difficult to leave, Seinfeld said he only took ‘a couple’ of courses and did not follow it up.

He said: ‘I learned some things about communication that really got my act going. I wasn’t a natural performer at all, so I learned.

‘It really helped me on stage to understand how you have to invade the space of the audience a little bit.’

Published: 20 Oct 2007

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