American actor Jason Segel was born in Pacific Palisades, California on January 18, 1980. He aspired to be an actor as a young boy, and acted in several local theater productions. He made his first screen appearance in 1998, playing minor roles in films such as Can’t Hardly Wait, Dead Man on Campus, SLC Punk! and New Jersey Turnpikes. He got his first break, however, when he was cast as “freak” Nick Andopolis on the short-lived cult success Freaks and Geeks, written by Judd Apatow. Andopolis is the friendly, mild-mannered freak, whose marijuana used got him kicked out of the basketball team, and has harbored a strong interest in music.
When the program folded up in 2000, Segel made appearances in several television shows. He had a recurring role as Eric in Undeclared, and as Neil Jansen in CSI. He also had a guest appearance on Alias. In 2005, Segel took on the role of Marshall Eriksen in the television comedy How I Met Your Mother. His character, the friend of lead Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor), is a law student who is good at games, has an interest in cryptozoology, and is very fond of food. He is also the love interest of Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), who he ends up marrying three times throughout the series.
Segel is known for his appearances in some of Judd Apatow’s films. These are Knocked Up, where he plays Jason, one of Ben’s (Seth Rogen) roommates, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, where he plays the lead Peter Bretter, who tires everything he can to get over his ex-girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Kristin Bell). He also co-wrote the film. He later signed on to appear in the comedy I Love You, Man, opposite Paul Rudd and Jaime Pressly, where he plays the best man to the wedding of the lead characters.
Segel has since been nominated for a Teen Choice Award for Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and a Young Artist Award with the cast of Freaks and Geeks. Another project he has been working on is co-directing and co-writing the next Muppets film, together with Nicholas Stoller.