Jason Segel Goes Full-Frontal

In spite of his big screen success, Jason Segel hasn't quit his day job going for laughs on the CBS hit How I Met Your Mother.

Now, after scoring a surprise hit with Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Segel is co-starring with Paul Rudd in I Love You, Man. As Rudd embarks on a series of "man-dates" to find the perfect guy to be the best man at his wedding, he forms an unlikely bond with Segel.

Segel also admits how his infamous full-frontal scene in Forgetting Sarah Marshall has affected his dating life.

Q: Have you ever been on a man-date?

A: Paul and I have shared a bottle of wine. Actually we went to the theater together and saw the opening of Will Ferrell's show on Broadway. We arrived together, we went to a party together and then we left separately which is how most of my dates end. But I have to say -- even though I'm heterosexual through and through, I find Paul to be a dreamy guy.

Q: How hard is it for guys to reveal their true feelings to another guy?

A: When men are with other men, there's this facade you put up. You don't want to lose your guyness. However, at nighttime, when you're alone with a woman, you kind of let down your guard. You might cry in front of your woman and so she has seen you at your most vulnerable. I know what you're wondering. Yes, I have cried in front of a woman, but I never cried in front of Paul.

Q: What's it like to go for laughs with him?

A: I call it playing verbal ping-pong. You just have to be totally ready because Paul is the quickest guy around. If there's the slightest lapse in a scene, he'll jump in with a great joke like the perfect one-liner.

Q: You get to have a scene with the legendary Lou Ferrigno. Were you impressed?

A: I grew up a huge Hulk fan. I was really nervous to meet him because as a kid, I just loved the show. Lou is iconic but he was just the nicest guy. Of course, he's huge, like 6' 7" and really muscular with enormous hands. We have a scene where we get into a fight and he said something like, 'I'm going to put you in a choke hold which can close off the main artery in your neck and knock you out.'

Q: Did he knock you out?

A: No. But wrestling around with him was incredibly intimidating. Someone happened to catch the scene on a camera phone and they posted it on YouTube with the caption, 'Jason Segel fights Lou Ferrigno. Is this real?' I was like, 'What idiot could imagine a scenario in life where I would actually fight Lou Ferrigno?'

Q: Forgetting Sarah Marshall has made you a star. What made you decide to take a chance on writing and directing your own comedy?

A: I was getting restless doing How I Met Your Mother. After a couple of years on a series you know how to do the jokes. When I filmed Knocked Up, it was totally different because every day I was terrified to be acting with some of the funniest people I've ever met in my life and I kind of missed that. So I found myself going home at night feeling a little bit restless, like I hadn't done enough during the day. Booze can only take that away so long before you realize, 'I need to do something else or I'm going to die.' So I started writing Forgetting Sarah Marshall and it made me feel much better.

Q: Have you had a chance to reflect on your famous full frontal scene?

A: There's a difference between male and female nudity. Men like all sorts of different types of women. They like big breasts and small breasts and skinny women, fat women. But, there aren't too many women out there who just love a guy with a small you know what. Actually, doing that scene has given me a great opening line when I go out on a date. I'm like, 'Well, you've already seen me naked.'

Q: How are you dealing with your success?

A: I'm living a pretty carefree lifestyle. I detached from reality, I'd say, maybe five years ago. And so I'm just enjoying my time. I don't get turned off by very much. I still love working on television. I almost think that it's great that Freaks and Geeks ended when it did. If I'd had too much success at that young an age, I might have turned into a jerk. I'm glad I had five or six years of failure to appreciate what's happening because I feel like a sense of gratitude. Now, I'm trying an experiment with a new personal style where self-aggrandizement is the new self-deprecation. I'm just going to wildly over praise myself and assume people know I'm joking. How am I doing?
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