Do you mind if we call you Larry?
I prefer Larry, or Your Grace. Either one.

Your Grace, do you think Larry is a good role model?
I actually vacillate on this issue. We need social boundaries in order for us to get along – we can’t be that honest. I think half of what I say and do could be incorporated into life and be helpful, but probably not the other half.

Can you share some examples?
For example, in one scene where I thank a husband who took me out for dinner, and the wife says, ‘Aren’t you going to thank me, Larry?’ And I say, ‘Well, you didn’t pay for it, you don’t work.’ [Laughs] Am I obligated to thank that woman?

Simon Cowell is also known for his bluntness. We imagine he’d agree with Larry a lot.
Yeah, I have a feeling he’s eye to eye with me on a lot of subjects.

Does that comparison to Cowell sting a little bit?
No, I like Simon Cowell. But I could never really do that in my own life or on the show, because I don’t like to hurt people’s feelings. That may sound odd coming from me, but it’s true.

So will you be brushing up on your ethics before succumbing to the panellists’ scrutiny?
No! I have zero interest in that.

We all have our own code, don’t we? I have my code, and to some degree, this is pretty much what the show is about, right? Well, here’s an ethical quandary from me: Did you hear about ‘Bigotgate’ during the British election, when then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown was caught calling a female voter a bigot after getting into his car?
Yes.

Because that seemed like a very Larry David moment.
I don’t understand what he did wrong! He said the woman was a bigot, it’s not like he said something bigoted. To me, he came off well in that exchange.

He got slammed for it.
Of course he did. Because you saw him in a candid moment, and he used the word ‘bigot’. It would have been different if he had said something as an example of his own bigotry. But that’s not what happened.

What would you have said if you were him?
I would have said, ‘What did I do? She was bigoted, and I said so.’

So it seems that you think Brits, at least, should adhere to the Larry David ethical code.
I think it’s imperative.
A new series of Curb Your Enthusiasm is currently showing on OSN Comedy.