Jason Segel of How I Met Your Mother fame opened up about the unhappiness he experienced around the last couple of years of the acclaimed show. The CBS sitcom ran from 2005 to 2014 and brought to the audiences characters and story arcs we have all come to love. The cast members were praised and admired for bringing such a fascinating premise to life. Beyond the critical reception, the core actors also raked in impressive salaries.
Despite being admired and profiting commercially, why was the talent known for his portrayal of the utterly beloved Marshall Eriksen facing professional disappointment? It was discovered that the actor’s dissatisfaction stemmed from a lack of creative freedom. While starring in the popular sitcom, Segel simultaneously juggled other film projects. In the process of doing so, the Forgetting Sarah Marshall star felt he could barely exercise control over his career.
Jason Segel On The System That Obstructed His Creative Control
Making an appearance on THR‘s annual Comedy Actor Emmy Roundtable, Segel revealed how “unhappy” he felt around the later seasons of the comedy-drama series. The interviewer asked all the actors to share the moment they had reached the “I’ll do what I want” stage in their careers. In answer, the 43-year-old star disclosed that, while he wanted to assert such control, multiple factors prevented him from doing so. It often led to a gamble with time and effort. Following was his statement:
“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. And so I then had to grapple with why. What’s off about this equation?”
Jason Segel further stated:
“I think the thing that I was confronted with is that it’s really great to make the decision of ‘f*ck 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].'”
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Therefore, it wasn’t the money or the lack of chances that brought dissatisfaction in Segel’s career. In fact, as per Screen Rant, the talent received $225,000 per episode for his How I Met Your Mother stint. At the same time, he appeared in several comedy films, which must have brought in additional riches and praise. What frustrated him instead was the absence of creative freedom.
Jason Segel Fought For His Ideas To Be Considered
Segel discussed the challenge of balancing the desire for his ideas to be heard with the need to know when to let go. Usually, persisting with his plans met resistance. Despite the permissions structure that hampered his creative power, the actor put up the work and time necessary to bring his suggestions to life. It only got complicated when, after all of that, he was still rejected. Following is what he commented on the matter:
“All my ideas are [often met with] people being like, ‘No, that’s stupid.’ So, it’s about summoning the will to say, ‘OK, sh*t, I have an idea and I believe in it and it won’t leave me alone and now I’m going to do the three or four years of fighting through all the permissions and pushing the boulder up the hill.’ And then sometimes you get the boulder right to the top of the hill and they still say no, and three years are gone. It’s tricky.”
Jason Segel admitted that half of the risk is understanding what is worth fighting for. He also felt that striving for certain ideas might lead to projects you later regret:
“Part of the equation is getting to the point where you ask yourself, ‘What is worth trading my time for? What am I going to give over nine months or three years for?’ Because I look back at the ones I didn’t like and I’m like, ‘That was not worth age 28.'”
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In the roundtable, the HIMYM star also revealed taking up the James Ponsoldt-helmed drama The End of the Tour at a juncture in his professional life where he didn’t know what to do after the conclusion of the CBS sitcom. He deemed it a grand risk. However, we can affirm that the actor emerged victorious in the end. Segel’s performance in the film was lauded and dubbed “a career-defining” achievement.
Despite the obstacles and concerns that kept him miserable, the beloved sitcom star prevailed against all odds.
How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014) is available for streaming on Hulu.
Source: THR and Screen Rant
