- Jay Baruchel, Undeclared, TV, 2001-2003. The Fox suits refused Judd Apatow’s choice for Steve, the college freshman. Segal was compensated with the lesser spotted Eric.
- Michael Cera, Superbad, 2006. While shooting an episode of Undeclared, Canadianactor-writerSeth Rogen showed his Superbad script to producer-director Judd Apatow and arrangeda reading with the TV cast. The future Juno starwas Evan – but not in the actual movie, an autobiographical, “four-letter raunch-a-rama with a heart, and an inordinate interest in other key organs,” said Chicago critic Roger Ebert.
- Martin Starr, The Incredible Hulk, 2007. The new green guy was Edward Norton. And for a kind of lucky charm, he wanted one of the guys from his producer wife Shauna Robertson’s Knocked Up comedy to fill the cameo spot of Computer Nerd. Segal, Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen passed. Starr starred. Kinda.
- Justin Long, Alpha and Omega, 2009. Change of voices for the young lovers, a pair of wolves called Humphrey and Kate (after Bogart and Hepburn in The African Queen, though this was more Blue Lagoon). Keri Russell was Kate, instead of Hayden Panettiere. Unfortunately, USA Today critic Scott Bowles called it “one of those rarities in the modern era of Hollywood animation – bad.”
- Stephen Colbert, Mr Peabody & Sherman, 2013. Segel, Colbert, CBS Late Show host Jack Coleman and Damian Lewis were seen – and heard – by DreamWorks for Paul Peterson in the tale of Mr P, the most amazing dog in history: inventor, scientist, Noble laureate, gourmet chef, business tycoon, double Olympic gold medalist. With its own time machine. Plus an adopted human son!
- James Marsden, Sonic the Hedgehog, 2019. For the new movie version of the video game, 15 actors jostled for Tom Wachowski, the Montana cop helping the speedy blue blur alien from another planet in his fight against Jim Carrey’s Dr Robotnik. They were: Segal, Jack Black, Ansel Elgort, Chris Evans, Bill Hader (also up for voicing Sonic), Ed Helms, Jake Johnson, Michael B. Jordan, Adam Pally (also seen for Sonic, he wound up as Wade, Tom’s deputy), Chris Pratt, Paul Rudd, Justin Timberlake, Milo Ventimiglia, Owen Wilson and Marsden, who was ready for “as many as they want to make. it was so much fun to see Jim enjoying himself again.”
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 6