Jason Segel breaks silence on working with his 'idol' Michael J. Fox in 'Shrinking'

Jason Segel recently got candid and revealed who he has been idolizing throughout his career.

While chatting with Screen Rant, the 46-year-old American actor and screenwriter opened up about working with his “idol,” Michael J. Fox, in the third season of Shrinking, which was released on January 28, 2026.

Fox is making a guest appearance as Gerry in the comedy-drama television series, while Segel, who created the series along with Bill Lawrence and Bret Goldstein, is playing Jimmy Laird.

The Forgetting Sarah Marshall star told the outlet that the 64-year-old Canadian-American actor and activist’s acting and his work ethics are his biggest inspirations.

Articulating his thoughts on sharing the screen with Fox in Shrinking season 3, whom he has been admiring since the early days of his career, Segel said, “When we heard that Michael J. Fox was going to appear on this show, I think we all felt really honored. He’s an idol of mine.”

"There was a period when me and my crew — it's 20 years ago now for me — but when I was doing a TV show and trying to make movies at the same time, and it’s scary and exhausting, and we would literally say to each other, ‘Hey, Michael J. Fox did it.' We would say it all the time," he recalled.

After years of loving the Teen Wolf star, Segel “got to tell him” on the set of Shrinking how important he was for him on the set of Shrinking.

"I got to say like, ‘Hey, I want you to know, in a period when I was trying to figure out what I could do with this job, you were like our true north.’ It was really cool to get to say that to him,” The Discovery star shared.