NBC: Are you in love with the idea of “bromance”
Jason Segal: Yes, I really enjoy that whole element. Our group is criticized occasionally because there’s a lot of dudes (me, Seth Rogan, Jonah Hill), so we spend a lot of time together and have seen each other in a lot of different scenarios. I think we are very comfortable with the male closeness. I mean, I met Seth when I was 18.
NBC: You play a very different character in this movie as opposed to your other comedies. Where did you draw from to play your part in “I Love You, Man?"
JS: I really fancy myself a character actor and so one of the things that has been important to me is to try and vary the parts that I’m playing. That’s why we when we got to choose our characters for “Knocked Up," I tried to play the sleaziest character as I possibly could. I just done two years on a TV show where I was playing a dopey whipped husband. I decided for this movie, I would just try to play an American Russell Brand. I was really taken by his real life persona when we did “Sarah Marshall.”
NBC: What was it like baring the full monty for your movie “Forgetting Sarah Marshall?"
JS: I got drunk (laughs), and sometimes my publicist tells me I’m not supposed to say that. I drank a bunch of whiskey and I just walked out naked. It was really awkward because there were like 150 people there.
NBC: Did the script for “I Love You, Man” leave a lot of room for improvisation?
JS: John Hamburg (director) was very open to it, but his style is a little different from Judd Apatow produced films where the intent is to improvise, you know, and you go in and shoot the script a couple times, aware that it’s a blueprint. John honed the script and we rehearsed the scenes with him with as much improv as we wanted. The best of that end up in the script.
NBC: Your chemistry with Paul Rudd is really what truly drives this film. How did you establish such an authentic relationship for the movie?
JS: Well we've have done three movies together now. I met him first on “40-Year Old Virgin.” But it on “Sarah Marshall” we shot the movie at the hotel we were staying. It was an insulated environment, so we all got to know each other well and Paul and I really hit it off. When this movie came along, John presented us with the script and it just seemed right. We learned we have complimentary styles, they’re not the same style, but they bounce off each other just right.
NBC: Can you give any updates on the upcoming Muppets movie your working on?
JS: What I am trying to do with the Muppets is restore the early 80’s spirit. They were my first exposure to comedy and I have a very visceral connection. Our story takes place now. The Muppets are no longer working together and find out they need to re-unite and put on a show to help one another. It’s probably closest in tone to "Muppets Take Manhattan."
"I Love You, Man" opens in theaters nationwide today.
