Even though he seemingly disappeared for a few years following the end of How I Met Your Mother and the fading influence of Judd Apatow on mainstream American comedies, Jason Segal has had a major comeback in the past year. It’s a rewarding sight to see for longtime fans of the idiosyncratic Freaks & Geeks star that has been making audiences laugh since 1999.
Perhaps Segel is better known for his work on television, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a lot of great films on his resume as well. These are the ten best movies featuring Jason Segel so far.
10 'SLC Punk!' (1998)
SLC! Punk is a quintessential piece of the 1990s punk cultural movement, but unlike older classics like Sid & Nancy, it’s a more lighthearted examination of two young men who wrestle with conforming to society. The film follows the aspiring punks “Stevo” (Matthew Lillard) and “Heroin Bob” (Michael A. Goorjian) as they attempt to spread the influence of their tribe and battle the “Mods,” “Rednecks,” and “New-Wavers.”
Segel has a very funny supporting role as the aspiring punk Mike, who is more or less invited into Stevo’s gang. Mike may think he’s a punk, but he never dresses for the part properly.
9 'Our Friend' (2019)
Segel always feels like a big kid at heart, and Our Friend is one of the best examples of how this quality can be used in a dramatic sense. The film is based on the incredible true story of the couple Matthew (Casey Affleck) and Nicole Teague (Dakota Johnson), and how their lifelong mutual friend Dane (Segel) supported them through Nicole’s diagnosis with cancer.
Segel does a great job at playing a character who is empathetic to a fault; he’s so obsessed with helping others that he’s in a state of arrested development.
8 'The Muppets' (2011)
A “legacy sequel” to The Muppets franchise could have easily been a disastrous, cloying piece of nostalgia bait, especially now that Jim Henson has passed away. However, Segel helped pen the screenplay to the 2011 film The Muppets and turned it into a loving tribute to the characters and their influence on pop culture.
The Segel-written film (that he also co-stars and sings in) stands proudly within The Muppets franchise as its own unique entry. The Segel-less sequel Muppets Most Wanted clearly lacked the heart that he had brought to the franchise.
7 'Knocked Up' (2007)
Knocked Up is one of Apatow’s better movies, as it lacked the self-indulgence of his later projects, Funny People and This Is 40. The film explores the dynamic between the slacker Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) and the aspiring television anchor Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) after she becomes “knocked up” after a one-night stand.
Segel, Martin Starr, Paul Rudd, Jay Baruchel, and Jonah Hill fill out the ensemble as Ben’s friends; perhaps they are not essential to the plot, but it sure is fun to hear Segel try to give advice on raising a baby.
6 'Windfall' (2022)
Windfall somewhat disappeared from public consciousness rather quickly (as so many Netflix original films do), but the 90-minute Netflix thriller has a lot more ambitious topics on its mind than one may imagine from a streaming exclusive.
Segel stars as a meek bank robber who decides to rob a wealthy CEO (Jesse Plemons) and his girlfriend (Lily Collins) of their fortune by taking them hostage in their mansion. It’s a terrific vehicle for only three actors, as the trio of peculiar misfits have interesting discussions about class, finance, and, eventually, death.
5 'I Love You, Man' (2009)
Segel has never been more “himself” on screen than in I Love You, Man, a genuinely sweet film about found friendships and positive masculinity that also happens to get pretty raunchy and ridiculous. Paul Rudd stars as Peter Klaven, a lifelong womanizer finally settling down to get married when he realizes he doesn’t have a “best man” to attend his planned wedding.
Enter Segel as Sidney, a loudmouthed rock fan who loves shrimp tacos, partying late into the night, and walking his dog (as long as he doesn’t have to clean up after it).
4 'The Discovery' (2017)
One of the most underrated science fiction films of the past decade, The Discovery features one of Segel’s most heartbreaking performances. Further, it proves that his dramatic abilities match his skills in comedy.
Segel stars as the depressed son of a brilliant scientist (Robert Redford) who has discovered definitive research that points to the existence of the afterlife, leading to a worldwide epidemic of deaths by suicide. But what exactly does this version of the afterlife look like, and is it preferable to reality? Segel handles these weighty questions well to prevent the film from getting too heavy-handed.
3 'Jeff, Who Lives At Home' (2011)
The style of Mike and Jay Duplass may not be for everyone, but their 2011 festival darling Jeff, Who Lives At Home (released theatrically in 2012) is one of the better examples of the “mumblecore” subgenre.
Segel plays the titular role of Jeff, a lifelong slacker who leaves his mother’s (Susan Sarandon) basement for the first time in ages to go on an adventure that reconnects him with his brother (Ed Helms) and nearly ends in a fatal bridge accident. The haphazard nature of the story feels much more charming, thanks to Segel’s endearing performance.
2 'The End of the Tour' (2015)
In a just world, Segel’s performance as the brilliant Infinite Jest author David Foster Wallace in The End of the Tour would have earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, but sadly A24 chose to release the film in the summer instead of giving it a proper awards campaign.
The film follows Wallace on the last public tour he took part in before his death by suicide; Wallace is accompanied by the Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg), and the two engage in fascinating discussions about writing, life, and determinism throughout their road trip.
1 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' (2008)
He goes full-frontal. He creates a Dracula musical. He makes audiences laugh as he fumbles around on a surfboard, then breaks their hearts as he shows us how much he actually cares. Segel does everything you could ask for in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a film that perfectly balances comedy and drama and has become a modern classic.
Segel’s integrity and empathy make the film work; he’s able to grace even the raunchiest scene with a sense of vulnerability that male actors are rarely brave enough to show.