Over the summer, Jason Segel made the leap from brilliant supporting actor in woefully underrated TV shows to major movie star, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to leave the small screen for good. Despite finding film success with Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Segel is back at How I Met Your Mother and loving every minute of it.
BuddyTV spoke to Segel during our How I Met Your Mother set visit about Marshall’s new direction this season, Segel’s film career, the final two slaps, and eating a whole lot of mayonnaise. Continue reading for more details and to watch our exclusive video interview with Jason Segel.
Last week viewers saw Marshall accept a job at Goliath National Bank. Segel says that the move will once again try to suck out Marshall’s soul as his previous big corporate job did, but he’ll be able to find ways to deal with it. There’s also hope that Marshall and Lily’s slanted apartment will finally be fixed and this season they could finally move in.
The Slap Bet has taken on a life of its own, and Segel loves it and looks forward to the final two slaps, though he’s cautious because he doesn’t want the last slaps to come too early, otherwise the running joke will be done. Segel has confidence that the writers will space them out appropriately, but that they’ll also be able to ensure that fans won’t be left with an unresolved slap bet at the end of the series.
Between working with Judd Apatow on Freaks and Geeks and now with How I Met Your Mother, Segel is simply happy to be working, especially having two great TV show families. After the success of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Segel is currently writing another script for Apatow and also working on the new Muppet movie, which made his face light up just a bit.
When How I Met Your Mother comes to an end, Segel promises that he’ll be taking the piano in Ted’s apartment with him. Segel loves to play it when the camera is off, so it was a thrill for him to play and sing “You Just Got Slapped” last season.
Segel’s most embarrassing moment on the set was during the first season, when he flippantly suggested that he could eat eight gallons of mayonnaise being used for a Thanksgiving scene at Marshall’s family’s house. People on the set began putting money down, and Segel accepted the bet to finish the eight gallons in one hour. “It was officially the dumbest thing that I’ve ever done in my life,” Segel said. “It’s moments like that when you realize, ‘I should’ve gone to college.’” Though Segel doesn’t admit how much he actually ate before stopping, he says he came “uncomfortably close” to finishing and that he still has night sweats over how much mayo he ate that day.
How I Met Your Mother airs its third episode of season 4 tonight at 8:30pm on CBS.
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-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
