Jerry Seinfeld Thinks He’s Slightly Autistic

On Thursday night, Brian Williams ran an interview with Jerry Seinfeld on Nightly News. The comedian talked about his web series, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, but maybe more important, he talked about how, at age 60, he now believes he’s slightly autistic. “I think on a very drawn-out scale, I’m on the spectrum,” he tells Williams. “Why?” asks Williams. “Basic social engagement is really a struggle. I’m very literal,” says Seinfeld. “When people talk to me and they use expressions, sometimes I don’t know what they’re saying.” Rather than see it as an obstacle, it’s likely what allowed him to hone the observational comedy he became known for: “I don’t see it as dysfunctional; I see it as an alternate mindset.”