Judd Apatow's 'apprenticeship' helped shape Jason Segel's career

Jason Segel recently revealed that he received life-changing career advice from Judd Apatow before the cast and crew of Freaks and Geeks were disbanded.

In a recent interview with Today host Willie Geist, Segel, 44, recalled how Apatow, 56, took him and a few others aside to offer a sort of apprenticeship.

"Listen, if you can improv the way you’re improv-ing on this show, you can write," the Bad Teacher actor remembered Apatow saying. "You need to learn how to do it, so I’m going to teach you how."

Segel described the experience as "a bit of an apprenticeship period, where we literally learned how to write a script." He recalled the acclaimed screenwriter and director’s advice when it came time to part ways.

"Listen, Jace, you're a weird dude. The only way you're going to make it is if you write your own material," the How I Met Your Mother star took this to heart, eventually penning Forgetting Sarah Marshall about a year later.

Freaks and Geeks was a quintessential late-'90s diving into the high school angst and ennui.

Created by future Bridesmaids director Paul Feig and produced by Apatow, the series aired for only 18 episodes on NBC from 1999 to 2000.

Although it was cancelled before its first season finished airing, the teen dramedy has since proven to be a remarkable springboard for talent.