An excerpt from the NY Times piece: Jason Segel Makes a Career U-Turn as David Foster Wallace in ‘The End of the Tour’:

“To play Wallace, he [Jason Segel] said he worked to strip away any vanity or hint of pretense or self-satisfaction, and strived, moment by moment, to be as honest and empathetic as he could be. ‘Infinite Jest,’ he said, ended up being the biggest influence on how he played the role.

‘It felt like an S.O.S., saying, ‘Does anyone else feel this way?’ ‘ Mr. Segel said, ‘That there’s something about the American promise that x, y and z are going to satisfy this itch that you’re not enough, that a whole generation found to be a false promise. No achievement or pleasure or entertainment or consuming is going to be the thing that makes you feel like everything’s O.K. And it really hit home with me. Because you really are still you when you go back home at night. No matter what award you’ve gotten or how much money is in your bank account, you feel the same going to sleep.’ “