Jason Segel on new movie, Muppets and success

(CBS News) Jason Segel first caught the attention of television audiences in Judd Apatow's cult series, "Freaks and Geeks." And it was Apatow that gave Segel some sage career advice that helped to catapult him to the Hollywood A-list.

"[Apatow] said listen, you're kind of a weird dude," Segel said. "So, the only way you're going to make it is if you start writing your own material. It was the best advice I could have gotten."

Segel took that advice and ran with it. He has since written the screenplays for "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," "The Muppets," and "The Five-Year Engagement."

Of course, Segel hasn't abandoned acting. He continues his role as Marshall Eriksen on the hit CBS sitcom, "How I Met Your Mother" (currently in its seventh season).

His latest star turn is as Jeff in "Jeff, Who Lives at Home." It's the story of one man searching for the meaning of life while running to the store to buy wood glue. Using the universe as his guide, Jeff looks for signs to help determine his path.

"Unfortunately, he's used it as an excuse to just wait," Segel said of the role. "I had that period, from 21 to 25. It wasn't until I decided to start writing that I took the bull by the horns and my life changed."

Segel stars with Ed Helms and Susan Sarandon as a 30-year old slacker who lives in his mother's basement. The film takes place in the span of a single day in the life of a family.

"This is a day of reckoning between two brothers of whether or not they want to be in each other's lives," Segel said. "It's also the day in a mundane family's life where it goes down."

"Jeff, Who Lives at Home" opens on March 16, 2012.

To see the full interview with Jason Segel, click on the video in the player above.