JASON SEGEL, star of Freaks And Geeks and Knocked Up, tells GENEVIEVE PARLEY about lending his voice to the character of Vector in DESPICABLE ME.

GENEVIEVE PARLEY: When did you first hear about Despicable Me?

JASON SEGEL: The producer, John Cohen, called and said he wanted to talk to me about something. I had no idea what it was about, but then he came to my house, described the movie, showed me some sketches of my character and asked me to voice him. I instantly said: “Yes!”

GP: He has quite an amusing look.

JS: In his tracksuit Vector looks like I do when I get back home from work, and many times even what I looked like when I went to the studio to voice him! It was already there in the first drawings I saw of him and part of what appealed to me about the character. I don’t know why, but a guy in a tracksuit is just funny. And I have played that guy before, like for instance in Knocked Up. It’s weird because, unless you are in great shape, I think it gives a false sense of self-confidence that is hilarious. If you are a guy like Vector, who is kind of a wimp, or like me, who is not in good shape, then wearing a tracksuit is just really funny.

GP: What did you enjoy about playing him?

JS: I enjoyed improvising and saying my lines all the different ways I could think of. And I think maybe that’s why they chose Steve Carell, Russell Brand, myself and the rest of the cast.

GP: So, this is the first time you have worked in animation then?

JS: Yes, and it’s actually easier than I expected because basically what you do is go in for a few hours, several times over the course of a couple of years, and read your lines.

GP: How would you describe the process?

JS: It’s kind of like doing stand-up comedy, as you are alone and your job is to entertain. My gauge was trying to make everyone in the studio laugh. It was a lot of fun!

GP: Did your experience in puppetry help you?

JS: It did, especially to come up with the voice. When you are acting within your own body you are sort of confined by how you look; but in puppetry you don’t have to worry about that, as puppets can look a million different ways and you can come up with a million different voices. It’s similar with animation, because it gives you the opportunity to be someone that you could never be if it were you who’s on film.

GP: And you all came up with different voices for your characters.

JS: Yes, we all changed our voices. Everyone stepped outside themselves in a way and serviced this great story. I think we were excited about the notion of getting to a place completely separate from ourselves. That’s part of what drew me to the movie.

GP: How would you describe the look of the movie?

JS: It’s gorgeous, and there is something so European about it. I don’t know how else to describe it, because it is so stylistic. It’s different to anything else I’ve seen before.

DESPICABLE ME is in cinemas from Thursday Sep 9, rated [PG]. See www.despicable.me for more information.

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