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I feel like there's water coming out of holes in my face.
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>> Yeah, that's what [clears throat] happens.
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We're We're squeezed like a sponge. >> Sure. >> A little bit.
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>> But all that said, there's no place I'd rather be.
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[music] Hey, what's going on everybody for First We Feast.
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I'm Sean Evans and you're watching Hot Ones.
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It's the show with hot questions and even hotter wings.
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And today we're joined by Jason Seagull. >> Hey man.
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[music] >> He's an actor, writer, and producer you know from films like I love you man.
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forgetting Sarah Marshall, the Muppets, and many more.
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He had a nearly decade long run on the mega hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and you can also catch him on the acclaimed series Shrinking, which returns for its much anticipated third season, January 28th on Apple TV Plus.
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Jason Seagull, welcome to the show. >> Thanks, Sean.
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I'm really excited to be here.
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>> What's going through your head as you prepare to take on the Gauntlet?
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Are you someone who enjoys spicy food?
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>> Yeah, I am, but I feel like that's not a fair question.
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Like, this is not designed to [music] be eaten casually, right? It's designed to me up.
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Uh, but I am I'm ready for it. But I'm excited.
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I feel nervous in my body, but calm in my uh heart and mind.
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[music] [music] [music] We just jump right in. to start with the wing.
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I see [laughter] >> that's how it goes. >> Great.
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I've seen the show when people go, [music] "Oh, great. No problem."
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[laughter] But I'm no fool.
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>> Have you absorbed any profound words of wisdom playing a therapist on television?
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like is there a therapeutic tool that you've discovered by reading a script that's actually been helpful in your day-to-day life?
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>> Yeah, I think that the approach that um the therapists that shrinking is based on have is that people actually want to be told what to do.
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And so unlike some other therapies, they're like, listen, we will get to the bottom of this.
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Like we'll get to the why over months and months, but people want to know what to do on Tuesday. >> You know what I mean?
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Like when they have to have the conversation.
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and these therapists will just tell you what [music] to say.
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So, it's a little bit controversial, but I think it's actually wish fulfillment.
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I think that's what you want.
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Like, what do I say to my boss on Tuesday? Great.
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I'm trying to uh take legit bites.
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>> The people will love that. >> Yeah, I think so.
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>> Forever a showman, Jason.
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>> Well, that one's nice. That's really nice.
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>> So, when Paul Rudd was on the show, he talked about how the movies that he finds funniest [music] are often categorized as dramas, while some of the most dramatic moments in film have happened [music] in comedies. >> Yeah.
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>> Does that at all ring true to you?
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And what immediately comes to mind when you think about the phrase dramatic comedy?
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>> I've always felt like that was the most honest version of any of these subjects.
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Heavy on heavy isn't really how it goes in real life.
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And also, I think as a viewer, you kind of get turned off like, "Okay, I get it."
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Like I I I [music] understand cancer is hard, you know, but like what is it like to get through it?
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>> Like Sarah Marshall, that guy's having a really hard time, [laughter] you know, he's like crying at everything and just really devastated about, you know, a breakup.
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Uh I think it's fun to see somebody feeling things a little too much on screen.
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Um and it it like lowers the defenses so then you can sucker punch with some [music] real dramatic stuff.
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So, up next is a white hot mustard sauce. >> You said it, dog.
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>> I mean, I [music] know it's coming. >> Mhm. >> I'm a fool.
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[laughter] >> But I I feel like we're I feel like we're in kind of a [snorts] we're living in a safe space right now. >> Yeah.
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You know, uh, the difference between sauce one, sauce two, sauce three, we're on the margins, you know, incremental. >> That's right.
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>> It it will not remain that way.
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>> I'm a chicken wing talk show host of the highest dignity [laughter] and I try to be transparent. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I know. I appreciate that. I know everyone does. [laughter] >> I try. >> Yeah.
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[snorts] >> What was it like working as an usher at the Santa Monica Playhouse as an 11-year-old?
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Like, did that experience do anything to shape your aspirations of one day becoming an actor? I was a weird kid.
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And so they sent me to the Santa Monica Playhouse, which at that age, it's not really for kids who like love acting.
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It's for kids who don't have friends, you know?
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So, you're in this room of like equally awkward people.
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But what I found there was that when I was acting, [music] I felt very comfortable and I felt like I understood the assignment in that space.
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I was like, "Oh, I know how to do this."
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That was my my first kind of flirting with [music] um this might be something that I am like uniquely good at and I didn't have other things like that at the time. So far [music] so great.
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>> Some smokiness action on this one. >> Yeah.
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>> Little sweetness from the peach. >> It's terrific.
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kind of a little afterburn, you know, to let you know where you are. >> Yeah, that's right.
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That says, "Hey, we're getting there."
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[laughter] >> A sign of what's to come. >> Yeah. Yeah. Great.
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[snorts] >> Was there any advice that Jud Appatile gave you as a teenager that maybe at the time you didn't really understand, but you look back now and think of as profound?
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Two moments I remember as being kind of like anchor moments.
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One was I had to play a song on Freaks and Geeks on the guitar.
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I had to write it and sing it.
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The script came in on like a Monday and I had to do it on a Friday.
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I got the script and I said, "Jud, I don't know how to play guitar and without missing a beat, he said, "You'll figure it out.
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You're living your dream. You figure it out."
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And ever since then, I really do think you'll figure it out.
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The other thing he said, which is the best advice I ever got, and I've talked about it before, but he took me aside and he said, "Uh, Jace, if you can improv the way you're improving here, you can write.
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You just need to learn how to do it.
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You're a really weird dude and the only way the only way you're gonna make it is if you write your own material.
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I think I'm honestly I'm still around because of that. >> All right.
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Would you believe me if I told you we are at the halfway mark? >> Totally.
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[laughter] >> The story checks out. >> I can tell.
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>> So this next one is called uh tropical amaro here in the five spot.
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A fool who was too eager would start chowing them down and then be met with the consequences.
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>> Is it true that your mother sent out a mass email warning family members about [laughter] >> about your nude scene and forgetting Sarah Marshall, which included the line, "It is not gratuitous and is essential to the plot." >> Yeah.
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And so I thought it would be a really really great like one of the great practical jokes not to tell my parents that I did full frontal nudity and forgetting Sarah Marshall and then take them to the premiere.
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This was like a really thrilling idea for me.
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And so [snorts] we go to the premiere and I have my dad on one side, my mom on the other cuz I always sit in between them and [music] like within it's like 5 minutes into the movie my dick comes out, you know, [laughter] and I'm like, "Oh, here it comes."
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>> You don't have to wait long. Yeah. Yeah.
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And I turned to my mom expecting her to be laughing hysterically.
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And her face is beat red and there's a tear coming down her face.
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And I said, "Are you okay?"
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And she said, "Why didn't you tell me?"
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And I said, "I thought it would be a funny joke."
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She said, "It's not a funny joke."
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And she got up and left the theater.
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And then she came back in and she like put herself together.
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And then that night she sent out an email to the entire family that said, uh, I would like to inform you that Jason has chosen to do full frontal nudity in his newest film.
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However, I'd like to assure you that it is not gratuitous and essential to the plot.
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[laughter] >> Factor fiction.
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After a test screening of The Muppets, you received a feedback card written by a seven-year-old who said the one thing that he didn't like about the movie was your character's face. >> That's right. [laughter] That is fact. What do you learn from? >> I have it. I have it framed.
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It's like, what did you like? Muppets are cute.
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What's your favorite part? Muppets sing. What did you not like? Gary's face.
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[laughter] Isn't that awesome?
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Now, I've watched a bunch as compared to other eaters, guests.
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How am I doing in relation to the wings? Like, >> steady hand. >> Steady.
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>> But up next is one that rather rudely announces itself as homegrown hell in the six spot. The sauce leopard. >> Mhm.
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[laughter] >> Sean, [clears throat and gasps] [music] I think trying to have any strategy of trying to swallow [music] it fast or anything like that, it's useless.
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>> It's like a boxing match.
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You can walk in with strategy, but once the punches start flying, all there is is survival.
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>> [laughter] >> story checks out. >> That's right, man.
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>> If you were to put together a Peter Sellers double feature to show off his risk-taking [music] as an actor, which two films would you screen?
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>> I mean, I think if you do, look, Being There is for sure in there.
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Being there broke my brain open.
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>> I was like, "Oh, you're allowed to do anything.
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Don't let anybody tell you you're just this or just that."
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And also, that movie is a drama.
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I guess there's also incredibly funny moments and incredibly funny line readings and I'm like you do not have to be limited by anything.
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Um I think you either put like for the juxtaposition maybe Pink Panther talk about [music] dancing out there.
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There's like a little bit of bravery that is required to take it for a spin.
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>> My nose is running a little bit >> but that's normal.
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I assume >> mine too you know through this whole thing same wavelength. >> Amazing man.
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Up next is a sauce called Nirvana. Funky's hot sauce.
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Then the possessive like Funky's the guy.
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I'm not trying to be tough. >> Mhm. >> But we're okay.
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>> Respect cuz I'm a little smoky in the chest [laughter] right now if I'm being totally honest.
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>> Cuz you confessed to me it's a new year.
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This is your first run at this gauntlet.
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I've been on vacation, you know, a lot of practice and and I can feel it.
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You know, I got to work my way back into game shape over here. >> That's all right. You're doing great.
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[laughter] >> Thanks, Jason. >> Yeah.
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>> I understand that you would eat three Hot Pockets every 3 hours. >> Yeah.
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>> To prepare for your role in the end of the tour.
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What is pound-for-pound the greatest hot pocket flavor in your opinion?
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>> Uh, the original pepperoni pizza.
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It's what I grew up on, but this was not a healthy thing I did.
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I had to gain like 50 lbs for it because I had gotten too skinny for something else right before. I feel it now.
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>> Yeah, I had gotten a little too skinny uh before.
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So, I had like a month to gain 50 lbs.
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So, I ate three Hot Pockets every 3 hours. And it was super fun.
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It was a great time in my life, but I wouldn't do it again.
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>> What makes the BLT the all-time greatest sandwich?
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>> Cuz you can eat it any time of day.
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>> That's >> It's versatile.
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>> It is an absolutely perfect sandwich.
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From How I Met Your Mother's Best Burger in New York to the raw potato and shrinking to playing a chef in the 5-year engagement, do you have an all-time favorite Jason Seagull food scene from your career? >> Ooh. A scene involving food. [clears throat] >> Yes.
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There is a a scene in I Love You, Man where we go around the table and all give toasts.
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There were a bunch of comic geniuses at that table and everybody was just slaughtering that >> zinging.
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>> Everybody was zinging.
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I often um make sure that I am enjoying the company that I'm in. You know what I mean?
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Like, holy moly, this person is amazing.
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>> And where better to do it than over a meal?
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>> I feel that way right now, Sean.
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[laughter] Yeah, this is the one.
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I'm starting to sweat a little bit, but I'm keeping my cool >> always. Yeah.
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Might take a second to get >> No, you're not like that, are you? [laughter] A little bit.
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It's catching you >> every time.
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Every time this sauce, I'll join you.
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>> Double bite in the bomb. >> Listen, man.
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Oh, so you you go one for one with whoever's here.
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>> I always Yeah, >> you have the wheel.
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Right now I'm a passenger. >> Okay, good to know. >> Yeah.
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So, [snorts] yeah, [laughter] >> I should ask you some >> Yeah, maybe.
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Yeah, take [laughter] some pressure off over here.
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So before writing and starring in the Muppet movie, I know that you were a longtime fan, even crediting Kermit the Frog as one of your most important and significant acting influences. >> Absolutely.
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>> Who do you think is the most underrated deep cut muppet character?
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Like, does Laling get the credit he deserves?
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>> Look, I'm a big [laughter] >> I'm a big Janice fan.
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I think Piggy gets a lot of credit on the lady puppet front, but Janice is pretty exceptional as well.
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>> I also have the Jason Seagull muppet from the Muppets, >> which is pretty cool because they also gave me a thing to control it by remote control.
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So, back in the day, I would tell people, "Hey, like come on over to the house.
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I'll leave the front door open. I'll be there."
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And the puppet would be sitting on the couch and they'd come in and they'd look around and I could see them.
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And then all of a sudden the puppet would be like, "Hello."
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You know, [laughter] I've been [snorts] waiting for you.
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>> When you're working on a movie with blue chip IP, like the Muppets, do you ever have to lose a scene or a plot point because it's nixed by the lawyers?
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Like, do you have a scene that you most regret losing to the red lines of a contract?
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>> I I do, but it wasn't to a contract, it was to an ethos.
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You know, you have this bad guy, Tex Richmond, who's going to destroy their studio.
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And so, the Muppets all have to get back together to defeat this common enemy.
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I had a scene at the end of the movie where all of a sudden, Tex Richmond unzips himself and it's Kermit.
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And Kermit had orchestrated this whole plot to get his friends back together. He missed his friends.
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[music] And it actually was like really cool and I think very beautiful.
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But then they said, "Listen, we can't do this." And I said, "Why?"
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They said, "Cuz Kermit never lies."
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Kermit never tells a lie.
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It's a rule that's never broken.
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And so, uh, you know, what can you say to that?
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>> I feel like there's water coming out of holes in my face.
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>> Yeah, that's what happens.
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We're We're squeezed like a sponge. >> Sure. >> A little bit.
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>> But all that said, there's no place I'd rather be.
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>> Jason, [snorts] let's see if you still feel that way after sauce number nine.
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Up next, a smoked Serrano, the Squash Reaper. >> Reaper X.
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>> That's like a terrible basketball nickname.
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[laughter] >> What a poetic segment, by the way.
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>> Big three by the Squash Reaper.
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>> You get kind of like so blasted by the bone, >> right, that it kind of clears it all the way. Right.
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There's a cumulative effect that we've had of these wings. Total scorched earth.
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Just a flamethrower with the bomb.
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But it does kind of [music] make everything a little bit easier afterwards. >> I find at least. >> Yeah. What you got for me?
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>> Well, [laughter] you know, on the topic of basketball nicknames, I know that you went by Dr. Dunk. I did. Well, at Harvard. >> I didn't go by Dr. Dunk.
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Like, I didn't like say, "Hello. Hello. [laughter] My name's Dr. Dunk." >> As Dr. dunk.
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You won the East Coast Slam Dunk Contest in 1997.
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Do you remember the marquee dunk that helped you win? >> Yes.
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I pulled a jersey over my head and I had one of my teammates spin me around three times.
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You could obviously see through the jersey, but I was like [laughter] acted really discombobulated like what? Oh no.
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And then dunked >> in the place as though I managed to figure out where the hoop was, you know. But uh yeah.
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And then then the the next day it said like uh Dr.
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Dunk is born or something like that [laughter] in the LA call Dr. Dunk for a couple years. They're really weird.
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>> But this is not a skill that I'm good at at life either. Opening these things. Let's get it.
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How much are you putting on? Like we're doing it.
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>> That's Yeah, that's textbook right there.
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Is this the worst one, by the way? >> We'll see.
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>> As you'll find, it'll build over here over like the next 15 to 30 seconds. Okay, sir. >> Let's finish it up. >> Let's do it. >> We did great.
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>> And with that, we've reached the summit of Spice Mountain.
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And you know, if there's a through line in this interview, it's that as your Hollywood career continues, you're always evolving.
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You know, from [music] theatrical comedies to intimate indies to prestige television to multicam sitcoms and even a Muppets movie. >> Yeah.
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>> To close things out, I'm curious.
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Which of those projects or environments made you most nervous as an actor?
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And which one felt most immediately like home?
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>> Oh, what a great question.
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You know where I felt really at home?
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Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
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>> Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
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I really had the naivity of youth. And >> that's the best. >> It really is.
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I was like a kid when I wrote it.
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I was like 24, 25 when I wrote it.
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>> So people often ask like what would you go back and tell your younger self?
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I actually play the opposite game and I try to remember like younger [music] Jason who wasn't afraid of anything like remind me to be that dude.
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Like let your freak flag fly.
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Felt very [music] at home there.
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[snorts] Uh, I was actually I was nervous coming here.
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I don't know if this counts as me as an >> It counts. Yeah. Yeah.
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>> This is probably the most nervous I've been in a while because I didn't know what my body was going to do.
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But it turns out I'm great at this.
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[laughter] >> Let your freak flag [laughter] fly.
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And look at you, Jason Seagull, taking on the wings of death. Living to tell the tale.
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Now there's nothing left to do but roll out the red carpet for you.
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This camera, this camera, or this camera.
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Let the people know what you have going on in your life. Cool.
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My name is Jason Seagull and [music] I've just completed The Hot Ones Gauntlet and uh my TV show Shrinking uh premieres uh now nowish on Apple TV with a bunch of amazing actors and uh I'm getting married this year which is the most important thing I've ever done. Okay, THANKS.
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[applause] [applause] We did it. [music] That was great. I had a great time.
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>> That's what I like to do here. >> Thanks so much. >> You did great. >> Thank you. >> Bodied that. >> So did you.
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[laughter] >> I was just trying to keep pace to be honest with you.
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>> I mean it's it's hot for sure. >> Yeah.
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>> Hey, what's going on, Hot Ones fans?
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This is Sean Evans, and I want to introduce you to the new kids on the block.
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Say hello to the season 29 [music] Hot Ones hot sauce lineup.
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And if you want a chance to taste the show, it's easy.
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Just [music] visit hotwinds. com. hotwes. com. That's hots.
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com to get your hands on the season 29 Hot [music] Ones hot sauce lineup. Keep milk on the ready. Ice cream not included.
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But most importantly, I believe in you.