In Reunited, Awards Insider hosts a conversation between two Emmy contenders who have collaborated on a previous project.Who would have thought that
In Reunited, Awards Insider hosts a conversation between two Emmy contenders who have collaborated on a previous project.
Who would have thought that a raunchy comedy featuring a naked breakup scene and a Dracula musical would change everything for its two lead actors?
The 2008 comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, about a freshly dumped guy who takes a solo vacation to Hawaii and discovers his ex is at the same resort with her recent fling, did just that for Jason Segel and Kristen Bell.
At the time, Bell had been playing a teen detective on the TV series Veronica Mars, but wasn’t known as a comedic heavyweight. After playing Sarah Marshall, she went on to star in films like Couples Retreat and Bad Moms, as well as the beloved Emmy-nominated series The Good Place.
Segel had built up a notable acting career, having starred on the TV series Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared, and How I Met Your Mother—but Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which he wrote and Nicholas Stoller directed, launched his career as a writer. He and Stoller later collaborated on the scripts for The Muppets, The Five-Year Engagement, and Sex Tape, with Segel also starring in all of them.
“We’re coming up on 20 years,” says Segel, looking back on Sarah Marshall. “It feels like a lifetime ago. We were all probably different people.”
But when Segel and Bell get together over Zoom for this Reunited conversation, they quickly discover that a lot of things haven’t changed. Segel, now the lead actor and cocreator of the Apple TV+ series Shrinking, is still pushing the envelope while giving everyone in his cast moments to shine. He’s already earned an Emmy nomination for playing Jimmy, a therapist who is grappling with his own grief; in season two, he blossoms in his performance as an awkward man with substantial feelings.
Bell currently stars on the hit Netflix series Nobody Wants This, playing an agnostic podcaster who falls for a Jewish rabbi (Adam Brody). The role showcases her agile comedic abilities and undeniable charisma, making you root for her character even as she’s sifting through the chaos of her dating and family life. After a breakout first season that earned Bell nominations at the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and Critics Choice Awards, the rom-com has been renewed for a second season that will debut on October 23.
Here, Bell and Segel look back on the wild days of filming Forgetting Sarah Marshall in Hawaii, explain why a script is “like a treasure map,” and share what type of out-of-the-box role they’re each still hoping to take on in the future.
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