Street: Are you involved in any real-life bromances? Jason Segel: Well, my best friend since I was 12 years old lived with me until six months ago. He was basically my heterosexual life partner. But he just went off to med school. I tried to act cool about it, and then I woke up that first night literally crying hysterically.
Street: What are the pros and cons of working with a lot of the same people? JS: We know each others’ moves really well, which makes it easy to improv. In Knocked Up, at one point, Jay [Baruchel] said, “I’ll help you rear your child.” Jonah [Hill] and I looked at each other, because we both knew what the next joke was. Jonah motioned to me to say it, because we both knew that that should be my character's line.
Street: How much did you improvise on I Love You, Man? JS: There were a few scenes that were almost entirely improvised, like our first man-date. [Director] John [Hamburg] said, “Your job this afternoon is just to enjoy each others’ company.” So for 4 hours they brought us tacos and beer, and our job was to make each other laugh. That was a really fun afternoon. I love that “fake beer.”
Street: Was it fun working with Lou Ferrigno? JS: It was pretty fuckin’ awesome. Actually, some guy filmed that scene with a camera phone, and he put it on YouTube with the tag “Jason Segel fights Lou Ferrigno. Is this real?” Like there’s a scenario where Jason Segel actually fights Lou Ferrigno, and Paul Rudd just happens to be there.
Street: Some feminist politics courses have taught Forgetting Sarah Marshall because it features male objectification. Was that your intent when you decided to go full frontal? JS: I was actually thinking about it in the scene when I tell Sarah, “I wish you’d tried harder.” I was proud that it didn't end there. She says, “No, fuck you. I tried so hard.” It was a hard scene to write, because I had to think about why women had broken up with me. I was really trying to understand a woman’s perspective. The full frontal had a different goal. If you see a guy’s dick in the opening scene, you’re forced to throw out your expectations. For the final naked shot, I realized that you’ve probably just about forgotten that you’ve seen my dick. I figured, let’s just knock ‘em one more time.
Street: One last thing: do you have to bring home a nice Jewish girl, or would your mother be okay with a shiksa goddess? JS: I’m equal opportunity. And single.
