Alec Berg (born ) is an American television writer, producer, and director.
Early life and education Berg was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to a biophysicist father and professor mother. He is of Swedish descent. He grew up idolizing the comedy of Bill Cosby and Steve Martin. He attended high school in Pasadena, California, before graduating from Harvard University, where he wrote for The Harvard Lampoon.
Career Berg wrote for the final four seasons of the sitcom Seinfeld, as well as being the co-creator (with Bill Hader) and executive producer of Barry. He also co-wrote the screenplays for the films The Cat in the Hat, EuroTrip, and The Dictator. Berg is also an executive producer (and sometime director) of Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm as well as an executive producer of Silicon Valley. In 2016, Berg signed an overall deal with HBO.
Berg's name was used for a character in the Seinfeld episode "The Face Painter," where it is pronounced "Alec Buuurg" in a low dramatic voice. This practice was begun by Larry David when addressing the real life Berg, and it spread throughout the Seinfeld offices. Berg said he was surprised to see his name in the script, and is occasionally addressed in that manner after "The Face Painter" is shown on television. Berg was also the inspiration for a character in the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode "The Divorce," featuring a lawyer of the same name whom Larry assumes to be Jewish but is a Catholic of Swedish descent.
Filmography Berg's television and film credits include:
Writing Year Title Notes 1991 MTV, Give Me Back My Life: A Harvard Lampoon Parody TV movie 1992 Great Scott! Episode "Date Bait" 1994 Herman's Head Episode "Absence Makes the Head Grow Fonder" 1995–2000 The Moxy & Flea Show 1996 68th Academy Awards Wrote special material 1994–1998 Seinfeld 13 episodes 2002 The Barenaked Ladies Show TV movie 2003 The Cat in the Hat Screenplay 2004 EuroTrip 2004 Shark Tale Additional dialogue 1994, 1998–2009 Late Night with Conan O'Brien 13 episodes 2011 Curb Your Enthusiasm 10 episodes 2012 The Dictator 2013 Clear History 2014–2019 Silicon Valley 7 episodes 2018–2023 Barry 32 episodes
Directing Year Title Notes 2004 EuroTrip Co-director (uncredited) 2007–2011 Curb Your Enthusiasm 6 episodes 2013 New Girl 2 episodes 2014–2019 Silicon Valley 11 episodes 2018–2023 Barry 7 episodes
Producing Year Title Notes 1993–1994 Herman's Head 22 episodes; served as story editor 1996–1998 Seinfeld 44 episodes 2004 EuroTrip 2005, 2007–2011 Curb Your Enthusiasm 32 episodes 2012 The Dictator 2013 Clear History 2014–2019 Silicon Valley 53 episodes 2018–2023 Barry 32 episodes
Acting Year Title Role Notes 1999 Best Laid Plans Phone Guy No. 1 2019 Silicon Valley Documentarian Episode “Exit Event”
Awards and nominations Year Category Project Result Ref. Primetime Emmy Awards1997 Outstanding Comedy Series Seinfeld (season 8) 1998 Seinfeld (season 9) 2008 Curb Your Enthusiasm (season 6) 2010 Curb Your Enthusiasm (season 7) 2012 Curb Your Enthusiasm (season 8) 2014 Silicon Valley (season 1) Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Silicon Valley (episode: "Optimal Tip-to-Tip Efficiency") 2015 Outstanding Comedy Series Silicon Valley (season 2) Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Silicon Valley (episode: "Two Days of the Condor") 2016 Outstanding Comedy Series Silicon Valley (season 3) Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Silicon Valley (episode: "The Uptick") Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series Silicon Valley (episode: "Daily Active Users") 2017 Outstanding Comedy Series Silicon Valley (season 4) Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Silicon Valley (episode: "Success Failure") 2018 Outstanding Comedy Series Silicon Valley (season 5) Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Silicon Valley (episode: "Fifty-One Percent") Outstanding Comedy Series Barry (Season 1) Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Barry (episode: "Chapter One: Make Your Mark") 2019 Outstanding Comedy Series Barry (Season 2) Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Barry (episode: "ronny/lily") Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series Barry (episode: "The Audition") 2022 Outstanding Comedy Series Barry (Season 3) Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Barry (episode: "starting now") 2023 Outstanding Comedy Series Barry (Season 4)
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