‘Freaks and Geeks’ Writer Wanted to Have An Affair With Jason Segel - Despite Having a Boyfriend
Freaks and Geeks writer Patty Lin considered having an affair with cast member Jason Segel despite their nine-year age gap - and the fact she had a boyfriend at the time. https://t.co/3uqLfPkDpb
- Us Weekly (@usweekly) August 29, 2023
Lin wrote in her memoir, 'End Credits: How I Broke Up With Hollywood'
'Freaks and Geeks' writer Patty Lin considered having an affair with cast member Jason Segel despite their nine-year age gap - and the fact she had a boyfriend at the time.
"While I adored most of the actors [on Freaks and Geeks], I became especially close with Jason Segel. He played Nick, the drummer freak who is Lindsay’s love interest. Only 19 at the time, he wasn’t the type that made girls swoon, but he was cute. He had warm brown eyes, a goofy smile and a tall, lanky frame - like, basketball player tall. In fact, he used to play basketball, just like his character.”
"It was impossible not to like Jason. He had a positive attitude and did his job without any complaints. Not only was he an intuitive actor but a budding writer and musician as well. He was also a pothead. That was something we had in common. While shooting [the episode I wrote called] ‘Girlfriends and Boyfriends’ we sussed out our mutual interest and became stoner buddies.”
Lin recalled a particular night after shooting where the twosome ate dinner, bonding over deep thoughts.
"That was when I started having feelings for Jason, despite our nine-year age gap and the fact that I already had a boyfriend. We talked about acting and writing, our career goals, his fear of fame, our love of privacy and the need for solitude. It was the kind of conversation that makes you fall in love with someone."
Segel stopped at a hotel so Lin could use the bathroom, and the conversation took a suggestive turn.
“I had a wild impulse to ask Jason to spend the night with me at the hotel where I had taken a leak. I stamped out the urge to kiss him and gave him a hug instead.”
Lin noted feeling intoxicated by Segel’s attention even though she knew it was wrong. She continued to long for something to happen between them - until it became clear he was interested in someone else.
"Then I noticed Jason flirting with Linda Cardellini, the actress who played Lindsay.”
They ended up going out for dinner to celebrate Lin’s birthday, she recalled making a silent wish as she blew out her candles that Segel would kiss her at the end of the night. However, all she got when he dropped her off was a brotherly hug.
Lin confessed her wish to Segel the following day, but the actor ultimately turned her down due to not wanting to ruin her boyfriend’s life.
"I was crushed like a lovesick teenager. Maybe Jason was being honest, and if so, his moral code was impressive for a guy his age. But I had a feeling that whatever had been brewing between us was barely a blip compared to what was going on with Linda. And I was right: before long, they were a couple, their union deemed by everyone as cute and inevitable. Linda was beautiful and talented, not to mention a cool person. I never stood a chance.”
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