Often, important roles in cult titles are risky, with the danger of being fully absorbed, creatively and even in terms of public image. Not the case with Jason Segelwhose first major work is in the role of the young man Nick Andopolis Of Freaks and Geeksand then came to the fore thanks to the interpretation of the New York lawyer Marshall Eriksen on the NBC sitcom How I Met Your Mother. The American actor didn’t stop at his well-known television roles and, over the years, continued to work in various fields. In the guise of producer, writer, screenwriter and comedian, often in jobs where he also always stood in front of the camera. In addition to the successes of the already mentioned Freaks and Geeks e How I Met Your MotherJason Segel has been involved in more than one capacity in different products such as The Five Years Engagement, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Muppet, Bad Teacher e despicable Me. In particular, in this period, Apple TV+ is releasing unedited episodes of its new original TV series on a weekly basis Shrinking. Created by Jason Segel himself along with Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence, the dramedy sees Segel also interpret Jimmy Lairdthe tormented and clumsy protagonist therapist.
As a more or less conscious producer, actor, comedian, writer and screenwriter, we have interacted on multiple occasions with the talent and brainchild of Jason Segel. Mostly known for his role as Marshall Eriksen, it’s time to get to know the more hidden details of the star’s life.
1) Childhood
Jason Segel was born on January 18, 1980 a The Angels, in California. Son of Jilian and Alvin Segel, he grew up in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood along with his older brother Adam and younger sister Alison. Since he was a kid, Jason has grown up in a diverse environment, with a little bit of everything. In view of the Jewish education received on the paternal side and the Scottish, Irish and English origins of the mother. A plurality of stimuli and different realities, fundamental for his formation.
2) Basketball
Jason Segel is tall 193cm, a dowry that has certainly been decisive for the sporting activities in which he has distinguished himself since his adolescence, above all at the Harvard-Westlake School. In particular, he has actively joined the high school basketball team with which he also won the California men’s championship CIF (Californian Interscholastic Federation) between 1996 and 1997. The team also included Jason Collins, who later became a professional player in the NBA, for whom Segel served as a replacement. He even won a dunk contest during his school years, an event that earned him the nickname of “Dr. Dunk“.
3) Freaks and Geeks and the relationship with Linda Cardellini
The first important role is the one in the role of the young man freak Nick Andopolis nel teen drama Freaks and Geeks in 1999, then canceled after one season but today considered one of the best comedies in the history of NBC. With the role of a young teenager addicted to marijuana use, Segel, at the age of nineteen years, is among the main characters of a group of students at McKinley High School in the early eighties. During the production of the TV series he knows Linda Cardelliniinterpreter of the protagonist Lindsay Weir, with whom he has a relationship that lasts for five years from the end of Freaks and Geeks. Notably, in celebration of the show, Jason Segel wrote a song original that his character would have dedicated to that of Linda Cardellini.
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4) That time he celebrated a wedding on live TV
Few people know that Jason Segel has also obtained the title of ordained minister at the ULC (Universal Life Churchlisten), a non-denominational religious organization. Thanks to this she was able to celebrate the union in marriage by Abbe Thorner and Jason Wood during the July 6, 2010 episode of The Tonight Show. The future spouses had specifically requested the service, following the officiant’s forfeit two weeks before the big day. The two had tried to solicit him, ironically, through the posting of wanted images of the actor around his hometown and at the bars that Segel usually frequents on Sunset Boulevard. Abbe and Jason are even reminders to Craigslist in order to reach the actor. With Jay Leno as a witness, Jason Segel therefore accepted the proposal with honor and irony, officiating the ceremony live on national television.
5) The ending of How I Met Your Mother
The ending of How I Met Your Mother is among the most divisive in sitcom history. While the public is still intent on debating whether the conclusion is right or not, and on the many controversies that have been unleashed around it, Jason Segel never even saw the last installment flat aired in March 2014. Certainly aware of what goes on in the latest episode of How I Met Your Motherthe actor of Shrinking he’s decided the sitcom isn’t truly over until he’s seen its final installment. The end of such a long-lived and heartfelt show caused more than one emotion, and certainly more than one emotion for Segel, which is why he tried to reiterate in some way, as much as possible, the pain and the end itself. Among those who have most said they are available for a reunion, Jason is particularly attached to the project, so much so that he is not easily willing to put an end to it.
6) Work as a screenwriter
While most likely known for his acting work in front of the camera, not everyone knows that Jason Segel has also contributed to writing of some well-known films, often also interpreted by him. Among the main screenwriting works include Don’t Download Me (2008), Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), Traveling with a Rock Star (2010), The Muppet (2011), The Five Years Engagement (2012), Sex Tape – Ended up on the Net (2014), the pilot episode of Dispatches from Elsewhere (2020), of which he is also a producer, and the very recent Shrinking. Some more successful, some less successful, there are many titles that count Segel’s contribution, and often we didn’t even notice it.
7) Young adult author
Jason Segel doesn’t just write screenplays for audiovisuals. The passion for writing is divided into several fields, so much so that in 2013 the actor announced the processing of a series of young adult novels, based on a story he developed earlier in his early twenties. The first series consisting of three children’s stories was released in 2014. Nightmares! became a fast best-seller, co-written with Kristen Miller, with which Jason Segel continued to work in the world of literature. In fact, in 2017 the two also released the first of the novels in the series Otherworldwhich they followed OtherEarth (2018) e OtherLife (2019).
