Jason Segel

Jason Segel

Segel at the premiere of Sex Tape in September 2014
Born Jason Jordan Segel
(1980-01-18) January 18, 1980
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation Actor, comedian, screenwriter, and author
Years active 1998–present

Jason Jordan Segel (/ˈsiːɡəl/; born January 18, 1980) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and author best known for his role as Marshall Eriksen in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, as well as for his work with producer Judd Apatow on the television series Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared.

Segel has also starred in several films, including Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), I Love You, Man (2009), Despicable Me (2010), Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2011), The Muppets (2011), The Five-Year Engagement (2012), and Sex Tape (2014). His performance as the late author David Foster Wallace in the 2015 film The End of the Tour was met with critical acclaim, earning him a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead.

Early life

Segel was born January 18, 1980, in Los Angeles, California, to Jillian (Jordan) and Alvin Segel, a lawyer.[1][2][3][4] He grew up in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood.[5] His father is Jewish and his mother is Christian.[6] He has stated that he was raised Jewish,[7] as well as "a little bit of everything".[8] Segel went to Hebrew school and had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony, and also attended St. Matthew's Parish School, a private Episcopal school.[9][10][11] He has an older brother, Adam,[1][12] and a younger sister, Alison.[13]

Following elementary school and middle school, Segel completed his high school studies at Harvard-Westlake School, where his 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) frame helped him as an active member of the 1996 and 1997 CIF state champion boys' basketball team.[14][15] He was a backup to the team's star center, Jason Collins, who went on to play in the NBA.[14]

Career

Segel at the World of Color premiere in June 2010

Segel's first major role was as stoner "freak" Nick Andopolis on the critically acclaimed but short-lived 1999 NBC comedy-drama series Freaks and Geeks. The series revolved around a group of suburban Detroit high school students circa 1980. Segel personally composed a song for his character, Nick, to sing to the lead female character, Lindsay (Linda Cardellini).[16]

Segel had recurring roles on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Neil Jansen and on Undeclared as Eric. He played Marshall Eriksen on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother; he had previously stated he would move on to other projects in 2013 when his contract expired,[17] but was successfully convinced to finish the series after its ninth season in 2014.[18] Feature film appearances include Slackers, SLC Punk!, The Good Humor Man, and Dead Man on Campus. In 2007, he appeared in Knocked Up, directed by Freaks and Geeks producer Judd Apatow. Segel starred in the lead role of 2008's Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a film he wrote and Apatow produced with Shauna Robertson for Universal Pictures. He also starred in I Love You, Man, which was released on March 20, 2009[19] by DreamWorks.

In Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Segel's character writes a "Dracula" musical performed by puppets. He also appeared in a full frontal nude scene in the film.[20] In an interview,[21] he stated that the Dracula musical with puppets, as well as being broken up with while naked, were real experiences he wrote into the movie. Those cloth creatures were custom-made by the Jim Henson Company, and the experience emboldened Segel to pitch his concept for a Muppets movie.[22] Segel performed a song from the film, "Dracula's Lament", on the 1000th episode of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Segel with Rashida Jones and Paul Rudd at the I Love You, Man premiere, March 2009

For the 2010 comedy Get Him to the Greek, Segel co-wrote most of the soundtrack's music which was performed by the fictional band Infant Sorrow. He also appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and sang an original song entitled "Wonky Eyed Girl".[23]

In 2010, he voiced Gru's arch-rival Vector in the Universal's CGI animated film, Despicable Me and appeared as "Horatio" in a fantasy comedy film Gulliver's Travels directed by Rob Letterman and very loosely based on Part One of the 18th-century novel of the same name by Jonathan Swift. Segel appeared in Bad Teacher, starring Cameron Diaz, which opened in June 2011. He played gym teacher and thwarted suitor Russell Gettis.[24] Along with Nicholas Stoller, Segel approached Disney in 2007 to write the latest Muppets film. Disney was unsure on how to take the request, as Segel had just done frontal nudity in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but after realizing that he was an avid fan, the project was approved. Segel stated that he wanted to do the film because the last film in the series to be released in theaters was Muppets from Space in 1999, and he felt that the younger generation was missing out on enjoying one of his childhood favorites.[25] Segel decided not star in the sequel to The Muppets, Muppets Most Wanted.[26] He filmed The Five-Year Engagement, with Emily Blunt, in spring 2011, in Michigan, and the film was released on April 27, 2012. Segel will also be in the cast of a film based on the 2012 Quebec maple syrup heist, which will be directed by Seth Gordon.[27]

In 2013, Segel revealed he was working on a series of young adult novels, based on a story he conceived when he was 21.[28] In the fall of 2014, the first novel in the series, Nightmares, co-written with Kirsten Miller, was released, with the followup coming out the following year.[29][30]

In 2015, Segel received rave reviews for his portrayal of the late author David Foster Wallace in the independent biographical drama film The End of the Tour. For his performance, he earned a Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Male Lead.

Personal life

Segel is an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church.[31] He performed a wedding ceremony on The Tonight Show on July 6, 2010, for a couple that solicited his services by placing wanted pictures of him around his home town and the bar he frequently visits.[32] Segel is a recovering alcoholic, and has been sober since 2013.[33]

Filmography

Segel with Joss Whedon and Neil Patrick Harris in September 2011

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1998 Can't Hardly Wait Watermelon Guy
1998 Dead Man on Campus Kyle
1998 SLC Punk! Mike
2002 Slackers Sam Schechter
2003 11:14 Leon (Paramedic #1)
2003 Certainly Not a Fairytale Leo
2004 LolliLove Jason
2005 Good Humor Man, TheThe Good Humor Man Smelly Bob
2006 Bye Bye Benjamin Theodore Everest
2006 Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny Frat Boy Scenes deleted
2007 Knocked Up Jason
2008 Forgetting Sarah Marshall Peter Bretter Also writer
2009 I Love You, Man Sydney Fife
2010 Despicable Me Vector Voice
2010 Get Him to the Greek Writer and producer
2010 Gulliver's Travels Horatio
2011 Bad Teacher Russell Gettis
2011 Friends with Benefits Brice Uncredited[34]
2011 Muppets, TheThe Muppets Gary Also writer and executive producer[5]
2011 Jeff, Who Lives at Home Jeff
2012 This Is 40 Jason
2012 The Five-Year Engagement Tom Solomon Also writer and executive producer
2013 This Is the End Jason Segel Uncredited
2014 Sex Tape Jay Also writer and executive producer
2015 The End of the Tour David Foster Wallace
2017 The Discovery In post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1999–2000 Freaks and Geeks Nick Andopolis 18 episodes
2001 North Hollywood Unaired pilot
2001–2002 Undeclared Eric 7 episodes
2004 Harry Green and Eugene Eugene Green Unaired pilot[35]
2004–2005 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Neil Jansen 3 episodes
2005 Alias Sam Hauser Episode: "The Road Home"
2005–2014 How I Met Your Mother Marshall Eriksen 208 episodes
2009 Family Guy Marshall Eriksen Voice
Episode: "Peter's Progress"
2011 Take Two with Phineas and Ferb Himself
2011 Saturday Night Live Host Episode: "Jason Segel/Florence and the Machine"

Awards and nominations

Year Title Award Result
2000 Freaks and Geeks Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series: Young Ensemble Nominated
2008 Forgetting Sarah Marshall MTV Movie Award for Best WTF Moment Nominated
2008 Forgetting Sarah Marshall Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Breakout Male Nominated
2011 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Lifetime Achievement Award Won
2011 Muppets, TheThe Muppets Critics Choice Award for Best Song shared with Amy Adams and Bret McKenzie Won
2011 The Muppets Georgia Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
2015 The End of the Tour Seattle Film Festival Award for Best Actor 3rd Place
2015 The End of the Tour Indiana Film Journalist Association Award for Best Actor Runner-up
2015 The End of the Tour Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead Nominated
2015 The End of the Tour San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Nominated
2015 The End of the Tour Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Nominated

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Jason Segel". TV Guide. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  2. ↑ Mills, Nancy (July 8, 2010). "'Despicable Me' star Jason Segel really gets into his roles". USA Today. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Now Trending: Jason Segel reveals he made his mother cry with full-frontal nudity scene". The Globe and Mail.
  4. ↑ "Jason Segel - Latest news, videos, and information". today.com.
  5. 1 2 Iley, Chrissy (February 4, 2012). "So Jason Segel, are you a man or a Muppet?". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Turning nasty was no stretch for Sarah Marshall's Jason Segel". The Sydney Morning Herald. September 2, 2010. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  7. ↑ Bloom, Nate (March 31, 2009). "Interfaith Celebrities: Jason Segel on the Benefits of Not Fitting In". InterfaithFamily.com. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Jason Segel on the universe—and 'The Five Year Engagement' | The Ticket". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. April 24, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  9. ↑ Elkin, Michael (March 19, 2009). "Who Loves Ya, Man?". Jewish Exponent. Retrieved March 19, 2009.
  10. ↑ "Segel’s starry-eyed man-child amuses and moves us | The Ticket". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. March 15, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  11. ↑ Jewish Telegraph Agency: "Actor Jason Segel opens up about childhood as Jewish outsider" By Andrew Tobin July 30, 2015 | ...attending Christian school during the day and Hebrew school at night. “At Christian school you’re the Jewish kid, and at Hebrew school you’re the Christian kid. I think that’s the nature of groups,” he said. “And so everyone wants to compartmentalize people. And I think I decided at that point, like OK, its me versus the world, kind of.”
  12. ↑ "Jason Segel Explains the Mysteries of Guydom". Fresh Air (NPR, March 2009) via WBUR-FM. October 16, 2009. Archived from the original on June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  13. ↑ Abele, Robert (April 13, 2008). "This breakup really broke up Jason Segel". Los Angeles Times.
  14. 1 2 Sondheimer, Eric (October 30, 1996). "Fastbreak to Silver Screen". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Jason Segel Biography". Buddy TV. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  16. ↑ "gbdesigns.com". "The William S. Paley Television Festival: A Dedication to Freaks and Geeks". Retrieved January 12, 2007.
  17. ↑ "Jason Segel to quit 'How I Met Your Mother'". timeslive.co.za. August 1, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  18. ↑ Finke, Nikki (December 21, 2012). "EXCLUSIVE: ‘How I Met Your Mother’ To Return For Season 9; Cast Deals Closed Today After Jason Segel Turnaround; Show Was Given Up For Dead Until 11th Hour". Deadline.com. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  19. ↑ Vilkomerson, Sara (March 10, 2009). A Romantic Comedy About Two Straight Men: John Hamburg's I Love You, Man May be the First Dude Flick With a Heart (HTML). The New York Observer, LLC. Retrieved on March 11, 2009
  20. ↑ "Jason Segel Goes Full-Frontal In "Forgetting Sarah Marshall"". The Huffington Post. April 25, 2008. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  21. ↑ Opie and Anthony, 104.1 WBCN in Boston
  22. ↑ Fleming, Michael (March 12, 2008). "Segel and Stoller take on Muppets". Variety. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  23. ↑ Craig Ferguson has Jason Segel serenade his "Wonky Eyed Girl". youtube.com.
  24. ↑ Dargis, Manohla, "When the Teacher Gets High Marks in the Raunchy and the Profane", The New York Times, June 24, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  25. ↑ Jay Leno. "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno - Jason Segel, Part 2 (11/8/11) - Video". NBC.com. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  26. ↑ Angela Dawson/Front Row Features. "'Home' boy: Jason Segel 'was just born hilarious'". Knoxville.com. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  27. ↑ "Sony Picks Up Maple Syrup Heist Project, Jason Segel Attached to Star". The Hollywood Reporter. September 24, 2013.
  28. ↑ "Jason Segel writing young adult book series". 3 News NZ. April 8, 2013.
  29. ↑ Jason Segel Sells Three-Book Children's Series hollywoodreport.com, 23 April 2013
  30. ↑ Children's Audiobooks - Jason Segel Reads ‘Nightmares!’, The New York Times, 21 November 2014
  31. ↑ "Ordained Minister Jason Segel Marries Couple on 'Tonight Show' (VIDEO)". Aoltv.com. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  32. ↑ Karpel, Ari (December 10, 2010). "Kevin Smith, Kathy Griffin and Jason Segel Officiate at Weddings". The New York Times.
  33. ↑ Marc Maron (27 July 2015). "WTF podcast" (Podcast). Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  34. ↑ Bierly, Mandi (July 25, 2011). "'Friends With Benefits' vs. 'No Strings Attached': Let's compare!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  35. ↑ "dangerousuniverse.com". "2004–2005 Television Pilots (Incomplete at Best)". Retrieved January 12, 2007.

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