How I Met Your Mother has cemented itself among the beloved sitcoms of the 21st century thanks to its unique concept and storytelling format. Even the characters, including Jason Segel’s portrayal of Marshall Eriksen, are a major reason for the show’s success.
Synonymous with the show, the actor captured audiences’ hearts globally but behind the on-screen laughter, he spilled the beans on his off-camera feelings, which fans may find surprising.
Jason Segel Candidly Shared What He Felt During the Final Years of How I Met Your Mother
Jason Segel is one of the beloved actors from the acclaimed show, who played Marshall Eriksen, a lovable and quirky lawyer, a friend to Ted Mosby and Lily Aldrin’s husband. His character brought warmth and humor to the show, which in turn gave him fame.
Given that he starred in one of the most famous sitcoms at the time, he was vowed for many projects, but the actor’s experience on the show was far different from what one would imagine.
Reflecting on his time in the show, How I Met Your Mother, he shared that he found it “hard” to work in the final three years, knowing that he needed to get out of it.
He told the Independent,
They were a hard three years. I was really, really in need of doing an artistic check-in, and it was no one’s responsibility but my own.
He was earning good and had great offers in hand starring the likes of Cameron Diaz and Emily Blunt, but the actor felt bored. He knew what he felt about his work was not a good feeling as he continued,
The show was fantastic. Making romantic comedies was fantastic. But I was really starting to feel bored of my own work. And that’s not a good way to feel.
His candid admission was different from what viewers would expect. It’s a hard fact that his portrayal on the show earned him not just fame, but also a significant fortune.
He was reportedly earning a salary of $225,000 per episode as per Celebrity Net Worth. This substantial income along with his other projects, has contributed to his impressive net worth of around $50 million.
Despite his financial rewards, his time on the show was quite challenging, with the actor revealing that he was unhappy during the last years.
Jason Segel Was ‘Unhappy’ While Starring in How I Met Your Mother
Despite profitting commercially, the talented actor was unhappy during the last few years of the HIMYM, which stemmed from a lack of creative freedom.
During his tenure at the popular show, he was simultaneously juggling with other film projects, leaving him with no control over his career. Making an appearance on THR‘s annual Comedy Actor Emmy Roundtable, he revealed,
There was a period in my life and career around the last couple of years of How I Met Your Mother where things were firing in both movies and TV, and everyone was telling me how well it was going. And I was really unhappy.
Segel continued that he wanted to assert some control over his choices but several factors prevented him from doing so.
I think the thing that I was confronted with is that it’s really great to make the decision of ‘f**k it, I do what I want,’ but unfortunately there’s a system of permission in place where people will go, ‘We don’t give a sh*t [what you want to do].’ Like, ‘Good for you, man.’
In the roundtable, the Alias star also revealed that he didn’t know what to do after the conclusion of the CBS sitcom. Despite deeming it a great risk, he eventually overcame the same in the end. He went on to star in different projects, proving his testament as a talented professional.
How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014) is available for streaming on Hulu.
