Jason Segel gears up for the battle of the villains in 'Despicable Me'

Jason Segel

In the 3-D animated film "Despicable Me," Jason Segel voices the character of Vector, who is in a fierce battle with a character named Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) to become the greatest villain in the world. The two rivals try to outdo each other to the point that the safety of the world may be at stake.

Segel discussed his experience making the film at a "Despicable Me" press conference in Los Angeles. Segel also talked about what the future may hold for his character in the sitcom "How I Met Your Mother."

Can you tell us what it's like to play such a delicious villain?

I was given a sketch very early, and I have a bit of a background in puppetry. So coming up with a voice to match this sketch I was given was my real inspiration. I had a few months to come up with a voice, and I came up with a few and I went in and they helped me choose. These guys are such geniuses. The one they ended up choosing was perfect.

Jason Segel at work on "Despicable Me"

Obviously, you look nothing like your character, but did you see any mannerisms that they picked up from you?

I'm going to answer that question two-fold. One, I was very excited, the whole thing that drew me to doing an animated film is that you're freed from the physical limitations of your physical body. All of a sudden you get to be something that has nothing to do with the fact that I'm a 6' 4", kind of lumbering dude. And that was really exciting; puppetry is very similar. And then this guy is based almost wholly on insecurity. He just wants to prove to his dad that he's worthy, in this case the most evil person alive.

So I kind of drew from there. It was very freeing. I think for all of the cast, you'll probably notice, that nobody is doing their voice. Steve, myself, Russell [Brand], Julie [Andrews] — no one is talking like they normally talk and it's because all of a sudden you're freed from the physical limitations of how you look, which is amazing.

Vector kind of looks like Bill Gates …

He does a bit like Bill Gates, yeah!

Vector (voiced by Jason Segel) in "Despicable Me"

Did you see what Vector looked like before you formulated the voice? Did the character’s looks change at all in the process?

I got a sketch very early on, and he ended up looking [the same]. I came up with two voices: the one we used and one that was totally counter to the way he looked, which was [he says in a deep, sophisticated voice], "Hello, what do you think you’re doing here?" And we ended up choosing the one that was appropriate. I couldn’t be more proud of the way the producers and directors made this film. It’s beautiful.

Which one of Vector’s gadgets did you love the most and the one you wished could be real?

I wouldn’t mind the shrink ray, because I’d like to make a lot of foods bite-sized so that I could eat them constantly.

How would you compare and contrast voicing an animated character to voicing a puppet?

Well they're very similar experiences. Like I said, the thing that ties them together is the idea that you're not tied to your physical body. So being able to voice a character that looked nothing like me was very exciting. If I did that voice as an actor, you would call BS. You would say, "No, that's not what he sounds like." But all of a sudden I could be 5' 3", wear an orange jumpsuit, and be nerdy. [He says jokingly] You know, in real life I'm, like, super good-looking. And so to all of a sudden play a character that was nerdy was very exciting to me.

Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) and Vector (voiced by Jason Segel) in "Despicable Me"

Where does "Despicable Me" fit in with your sense of humor, as far as the improv style you use, like you did with "Forgetting Sarah Marshall"?

Well, what's cool about doing this animated film - this is the only one I've done, so I have no other frame of reference - is that you go in for three hours every few months. I probably went in six times over two years, something like that. And I think the goal is, from their standpoint, for me to give them as much material as I can possibly come up with, and they choose the funniest and the best and the most on-story. So every time it was just three hours of intense effort, trying to be as funny as I could and be on story and improv and give them as much material as I possibly could.

Does it fit with your sense of humor?

Yeah. I actually am more proud of this movie than anything else I've ever done. There's something very special about the idea of a family being able to go to a movie and everyone enjoying themselves, genuinely. It's something "The Muppets" did beautifully and "The Simpsons" kind of does it, but parents aren't placating their kids when they take them to this movie. They're enjoying it as well. So there's something really great about the idea of a family walking out of a theater and everyone's had a really great experience and is enjoying themselves. I think a family getting along for a few hours is a special thing, funny enough.

Vector (voiced by Jason Segel) in "Despicable Me"

When are we going to get a chance to hear your music again?

[He says jokingly] I'll play it for you later, tonight. [He says seriously] I wrote some of the music for "Get Him to the Greek." I wrote "Bangers and Mash" and "Supertight." You know, that's a real side job for me but I enjoy it. I taught myself to play piano when I was 17 to pick up girls. When you try to pitch a real musician these songs, they write them too musically, and when you try to pitch them to comedians they write them too funny. And I somehow found a middle ground because I'm not that good a musician and I'm not that funny. So it ends up being perfect.

Did it work to pick up girls?

Well, I remember the first thing I did was I found a really not-that-intelligent girl and I told her that I wrote "Your Song" by Elton John. I was like, "I wrote this for you." And then I lost my virginity.

Vector (voiced by Jason Segel) in "Despicable Me"

Do you think that animated movies are like an actor's workshop, in a sense?

It's a very unique experience in that you're not working with any of these actors in any of these scenes. You're alone in a booth. To me it felt like a test, if I could be funny and good and on-story. On-story, to me, is a big part of improv. It's very easy to come out and say funny lines that you've thought of the night before, but to be on-story is the real challenge.

So you're in there for three hours trying to give them material they can actually use. I have a million jokes I could say, but to try to make it on story and valuable to them was something that was a challenge, and I really enjoyed that idea. It's just you alone, which is kind of awesome because a lot of the time, other actors really slow me down, because they're not quite as good as me.

We heard you did a conga line at a "Despicable Me" promotional event with Miranda Cosgrove and Steve Carell. Can you tell us more details?

Yeah, we got to play with the Minions a bit, who I think are the cutest element to the movie. The Minions are Steve Carell's/Gru's assistants, kind of the architects of his plan. We did a little conga line with them. It was a bit awkward, because, to be honest, it's midgets in outfits. And at one point I had to come up with something funny and I said, "Hey, can I throw this ball off of your head and see if it bounces back to me?" And one of the guys in the outfits said, "You've got to remember I'm a real human being." And then I felt really awkward.

Vector (voiced by Jason Segel) in "Despicable Me"

Would you talk about the music in this movie that was done by Pharrell Williams?

The thing about this movie in general is that everything has been done to perfection, to some extent. With the exception of me, they hired the best actors that they could possibly imagine, the best comedians. The music is perfect and the story is so beautifully written.

You watch this and you kind of expect a kids' movie. It's about villains fighting, but there's such an underlying sense of heart to this movie. I cried at the end. I'm not a real cryer, but at the end of the movie, Gru — Steve Carell, who did his part to perfection — reads a story to these kids, and part of the theme is that even the coldest heart can be melted by love. That really got me. The movie is perfect.

How did you get involved in "Despicable Me"?

John Cohen, one of our great producers, he came to my house and he told me the story. And he gave me a sketch of Vector, and I was hooked instantly. Like I said, the story was so beautifully told, there was no doubt that I was going to do the film?

Vector (voiced by Jason Segel) in "Despicable Me"

What from "Despicable Me" has informed your work on "The Muppets," and how's it coming along? How terrifying is it to have to live up to Jim Henson's legacy?

Well that part is very intimidating. What I do think is if I approach it with a real sense of respect… I'm very earnest about the way I approach it. There's no sense of irony with me, going into "The Muppets." I don't think it's funny that I'm doing "The Muppets." I truly love them.

But what I learned from this film is the idea of a family being able to bond over seeing something together, and walking out with everyone in a great mood. It's a very special thing, for a family to walk out of a film satisfied and happy, and then go have lunch or dinner together feeling happy and talking and laughing — it's a very rare thing. Family dynamics aren't easy, so the notion of anything drawing them together, especially a movie like "Despicable Me," I think is a very special thing.

What did you have to do to find your inner dork to play the Vector character? Did you have to remember your teen years?

I’ve been 6’4" since I was 12. I was 6’4", 100 pounds. I looked like Jack Skellington. Kids used to stand around me in a circle. And one by one, they’d jump on my back and chant, "Ride the oaf! Ride the oaf!" It’s true. You either become funny — which is hopefully what I did — or you become a villain, which is where I got the idea for Vector. It’s a guy who is horribly picked on, and this is where he’s ended up.

Neil Patrick Harris, Colbie Smulders, Josh Radnor, Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan in "How I Met Your Mother"

When you go back to work on "How I Met Your Mother," what's in store for Marshall and Lily?

I don't know the storylines. Allegedly, from what I've heard, I'm going to get even funnier. Which seems impossible. But that's the plan. I think there might be a kid in our future, if I had to guess, but I’m truly guessing. I always pictured myself and Marshall a bit like the Abominable Snowman from the Bugs Bunny cartoons: 'I'll hug him and squeeze him and kiss him all over.' I picture me holding a baby upside down by the leg, shaking it. "You OK?"

Are the "How I Met Your Mother" producers amused by your idea for a post-apocalyptic finale?

I just think, if the narration takes place in the future, there should be a reveal where they open the window, and it's horrible out there. I just think that's a hilarious idea. But no, they're not amused by anything I do. A lot of these ideas come from the fact that I'm a bizarre human being.

Gru and Vector have parents who are hard to please. What do you think about those parental issues?

I think they [Gru and Vector] could be siblings. You only see Gru’s mom and you only see Vector’s dad. "Despicable Me 2: This Time It’s Personal."

Vector (voiced by Jason Segel) in "Despicable Me"

Do you have any favorite charities?

The charity I’m most associated with is the Make-a-Wish Foundation, which I think is a beautiful association

In "Despicable Me," you and Steve Carell play nemeses. In real life, who is your celebrity nemesis?

[He says jokingly] I think it's probably Ryan Reynolds, in that we have very similar comedic tastes and all that, and our bodies are so [similar] that it's basically a rivalry over who can be in better shape. At this point, I think I'm winning.

What's your best advice for writing comedy?

To write a drama. I'm not joking. That was the first advice I got from Judd Apatow, and I think it's why his movies are so brilliant. He told me when I was writing "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," "'I want the first draft you give me to be a drama. We'll make it funny. It's going to be funny because we're funny, and we're going to add jokes, and the people you cast will be funny. The reason people will see it — and see it again and again or connect to it — is because there's an underlying drama." So that's the best advice I can give when you're trying to write a comedy: first write a drama, and then make it funny.

Jason Segel at the Los Angeles premiere of "Despicable Me"

So how do you write a drama?

You go from real experience. Almost everything I've written is somehow tied to something I've gone through. You try to hit a universal theme. "Sarah Marshall" is about how complicated break-ups are, which everyone has gone through. The next thing I'm writing is about engagement and love, and everyone has gone through that. Hitting a universal theme, this movie does it perfectly. The idea of somehow opening yourself up to something in your life is universal, and that's what everyone relates to.

Growing up, did you have a favorite animated film?

That's a good question. I was really drawn to the early Disney villains, and funny enough, this movie is about villainy. They managed to be really terrifying without scaring kids. If you think about Ursula from "The Little Mermaid," that's a terrifying character! The "Cinderella" witch — they're all witches, for the most part in the Disney [universe]. But they're really, truly terrifying, these terrible and intense for the heroes, but somehow your eye was always drawn to them.

Does your height ever hinder you in getting roles?

Not now. It hindered me when I was a kid. I remember when I was 18, I was allegedly really close to playing Dustin Hoffman's son. I knew I wasn't going to get that part. I'm like eight inches taller than Dustin Hoffman! I might be a foot taller than Dustin Hoffman. It just wasn't going to happen. So it hindered me then, when I was playing a boy. Now that I'm playing a man, it's a bit easier. Girls have heels. Dustin Hoffman in heels isn't a good look.