“He's Trying to Be Polite”. Alyson Hannigan Hated Filming Kissing Scenes with Jason Segel in How I Met Your Mother
Alyson Hannigan had quite a problem with Jason Segel on the set of HIMYM, which they tried to solve together.
Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segel in How I Met Your Mother played an audience-loved couple – Lily and Marshall. And while their mutual affection and chemistry were undeniable, it turns out that not all scenes of this marriage were pleasant for the actors, that are also friends, to play.
Hannigan confessed during an interview with DigitalSpy that she had a problem with their kissing scenes. Segel was a smoker, while she hated cigarette smoke, which made kissing the actor troublesome for her.
I cannot stand cigarette smoke. It's like kissing an ashtray and he's trying to be polite by having gum or mints, but it doesn't help.
Segel's efforts didn't end with gum or mints, the actor wanted to quit and even asked his partner from the TV show to help him achieve this goal. Hannigan revealed that, although it was difficult, he was successful for a while, however, in the end Marshall's actor returned to smoking and there was nothing they could do about it.
When we started the pilot [for the show] he was like, “Get me to stop smoking, I'll be your best friend”. So we did this bet where he would owe me $10 every time he smoked. After the first day, he owed me $200. So he said, “I'm just quitting”, and he quit cold turkey for about a year. It was fantastic but then... he got stressed out and he started smoking again.
Despite the problems stemming from Segel's addiction, the actors worked well on screen as a couple. And even when the cameras weren't rolling, they showed that they make a close-knit duo when Hannigan tried to help her TV husband with his problem, which they couldn't solve in the long run. However, one has to appreciate that Segel tried everything to make his on-screen wife comfortable.
