Jason Segel: I was terrified of serious role

Jason Segel was terrified of portraying David Wallace Foster.

The 35-year-old actor takes a serious turn in The End of the Tour, which follows American writer David's 1996 interview with Rolling Stone journalist David Lipsky, played by Jesse Eisenberg.

It marks a departure from humorous roles for Jason and since David took his own life in 2008, there was even more pressure on Jason to give a respectful performance.

“I knew I was going to try it, immediately. When you start repeating yourself, it gets boring for everybody," he told the New York Times. "[I've been shrinking down] both metaphorically and physically. I was terrified, of course.

“I had to immediately eliminate any voices that were telling me that, ‘You’re incapable, you’re the wrong guy.' Which is fairly easy to do if you don’t use the Internet.”

Jason studied his character's work, including David's famous novel Infinite Jest, thoroughly in order to portray the late author accurately. The book is set in a North American dystopia and revolves around a junior tennis academy near a rehab centre. It opened Jason's eyes and helped him get a feel for the literary icon even more.

“It felt like an S.O.S., saying, ‘Does anyone else feel this way'’ That there’s something about the American promise that x, y and z are going to satisfy this itch that you’re not enough, that a whole generation found to be a false promise," Jason said of the book. "No achievement or pleasure or entertainment or consuming is going to be the thing that makes you feel like everything’s OK. And it really hit home with me. Because you really are still you when you go back home at night. No matter what award you’ve gotten or how much money is in your back account, you feel the same going to sleep."