Jason Segel

Jason Segel

Active - 1998 - 2022  |   Born - Jan 18, 1980 in Los Angeles, California, United States  |   Genres - Comedy, Drama, Family & Personal Relationships

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Biography by AllMovie

Born January 18th, 1980, the first decade or so of Jason Segel's career as a Hollywood actor, he spent his time earning cult-favorite status -- beginning with the jet-black comedy Dead Man on Campus (1998), then the NBC comedy drama Freaks and Geeks (1999). Segel subsuquently achieved broader recognition for his long-running performance as Marshall on the beloved sitcom How I Met Your Mother. He also played Jason in the big-screen feature Knocked Up (2007), Judd Apatow's uproarious follow-up to The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

Fresh off his success in Knocked Up, Segel parlayed his newfound wide-scale popularity into the ultimate chance to showcase his skills, writing and starring in the side splitting romantic comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), alongside Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, and Russell Brand.

The massively succesful film also featured a supporting performance by funnyman Paul Rudd, who reteamed with Segal for 2009's buddy comedy I Love You, Man. Having found a niche with audiences, the actor next picked up another tonally similar comedy, appearing with Cameron Diaz in the sharp witted, hard-R rated Bad Teacher in 2011. Later that same year, Segal showcased his talents on both sides of the camera yet again, writing the script for a reboot of Jim Henson's beloved Muppets, and starring in the film alongside the furry stars as well. As Segal geared up for 2012, he signed on to star alongside Emily Blunt in the romantic comedy A Five Year Engagement.

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Factsheet

  • Attended high school with Jake Gyllenhaal.
  • Played high-school basketball with future Stanford and NBA players (and twins) Jarron and Jason Collins on a team that won a Division III state championship in 1996. 
  • First break in show business was a small role in the film Can't Hardly Wait (1998).
  • Was spotted by a casting scout from Paramount while performing in Edward Albee's play The Zoo Story at the age of 16, which led to being cast in the 1999-2000 cult TV show Freaks and Geeks.
  • Was nominated in 2000, along with the rest of the Freaks and Geeks cast, for a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series---Young Ensemble.
  • In July 2010, became an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church to marry Abbe Thorner and Jason Wood on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. The couple had approached Segel to preside after the person who was to officiate their wedding had to drop out.