The Late Kobe Bryant was one of the most influential players in NBA history. Also, anyone who had the opportunity to meet Kobe was left with a memory he/she will never forget. That’s what made Kobe Bryant one of the best people on and off the court. If you could make a film with all the greatest Kobe Bryant stories, it could turn into a movie franchise.
One of them that came to everyone’s attention was from Jason Segel from How I Met Your Mother.
Here is how Kobe Bryant secured Jason Segel a role
Jason Segel gained his success through his role of Marshal in the super hit TV show How I Met Your Mother. The show ran for 9 years which made his character a staple in the American TV sitcom scene. He’s also played major roles in movies like ‘Sex Tape’, ‘Bad Teacher’ and ‘The Muppets’.
However, his current job is his role in the very new and hyped Magic Johnson and Lakers-based TV show ‘Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty’. He’s playing legendary Laker coach ‘Paul Westhead’. Westhead was the head coach of LA for 3 years and won one NBA title with them.
Jason Segel, in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, revealed that he was a huge Laker fan. However, he grew up watching the Lakers in the Kobe-Shaq era. That meant that he was also a Kobe Bryant superfan. Segel further revealed that he got the opportunity to meet Kobe once.
Jason Segel had just done his role in ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’. And Segel was looking for a new role. However, his biggest challenge was that the head of the studio did not want to hire him. The agency set up Jason Segel and the head of the studio to sit beside each other during a Lakers game. The head of the studio did not want to be there and the whole situation was getting awkward.
All of sudden Kobe saw Segel from the corner of his eye. Kobe left the layup line and ran over to Jason Segal to hug him.
“You’re a funny motherf***er.” The high words of praise that came from Kobe got Segal the role the very next day.
Kobe Bryant genuinely got an actor a role purely from one sentence. That’s the level of power a claim backed by Kobe Bryant had. Jason Segel still remembers Kobe and this memory vividly.