Jason Segel is a critically-acclaimed actor, comedian, singer-songwriter, producer, author, and screenwriter. There is literally nothing this man couldn’t do.
I first found Jason in How I Met Your Mother, my absolute favorite sitcom. He plays the character Marshall Erikson, and while in the beginning, Marshall seems like just your run-of-the-mill funny friend character, Jason brings a certain depth to Marshall’s character, steering the attention of the show away from the main character, Ted Mosby, into his character’s life. His character in How I Met Your Mother is the standout character for me, in terms of character development and the situations he deals with. I personally relate to Marshall’s character in how he emotionally deals with situations, and I really appreciate how Jason takes the character and runs with it. This is probably his most acclaimed role.
One of his first well-known roles, and one of my favorites, was in Freaks and Geeks, where he plays Nick. Nick is the nice friend who puts on a tough guy front around his guy friends, while he is truly a softie and cares so much for his friends. He is so protective of the main character, Lindsay, from rude comments by his friends and peers.
My all-time favorite Jason Segel performance is in the critically-acclaimed The Muppets (2011) as Gary. What an iconic character and character development. I could talk about this role all day, but I want to point to the most pivotal point in the film: “Man or Muppet”. This song brings tears to my eyes because it is just so moving. He realizes that he is a man, who needs to own who he is, and that he must become more independent from his muppet friend, Walter. Truly, one of the best cinematic moments in history. The song literally got an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Just so good.
Recently, Segel was in a film called Our Friend where he plays a character that looks after his other friends through their hardships. A character who gives and gives and gives, and is referred to as “our friend” from others, while he is the giver and hardly ever the receiver of care. A deep and beautiful true story.
I just feel like we need to take time to give credit to Jason Segel for the work he does because I feel like no one is talking about him. Go listen to “Man or Muppet”. If you haven’t heard it already, it will change your life.