Photo: Glen Wilson

Jason Segel, the star of the new I Love You, Man with Paul Rudd, is a guy who enjoys puppets, his Vespa and chain smoking. Erik Hedegaard gets to the heart of this odd actor-writer in the current issue of Rolling Stone, grabbing stories from his youth (he was tormented at school and had debilitating night terrors for years) and his career (Russell Brand: “I’ve seen his genitals, I’ve seen him act … he’s a very intoxicating man”).

Segel, like Seth Rogen, James Franco and Linda Cardellini (the source of Segal’s famous naked breakup story from Forgetting Sarah Marshall), got his start on Freaks and Geeks, the short-lived but beloved 1999-2000 series Judd Apatow executive produced for NBC until it was unceremoniously yanked from the air 12 episodes into its 18-show run. The cult series followed a troupe of well-intentioned but angsty nerds and burnouts at Michigan’s fictional McKinley High School during its 1980-81 academic year and featured fantastic rock references like Nick Andopolis’ (Segel’s character) massive drum set — inspired by Rush’s Neil Peart’s legendary rig — and Daniel Desario (Franco)’s unsuccessful foray into the punk-rock scene.

After the show ended, nearly every actor wound up sucked into Apatow’s Universe — the bizarro-comedy vacuum that transformed Segel into a viable movie star and Rogen into a sex symbol of sorts, and brought us everything from Anchorman and Pineapple Express to Superbad and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. So who are the stars in Apatow’s Universe, and where are they now? Check out our guided tour:

• Freaks, Geeks and Paul Rudd: The Stars in Judd Apatow’s Universe