Catching Up with George Segal About Mike Nichols and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf Rehearsals

At Thursday's AFI tribute to Mike Nichols, famous faces from the director's 50-year career in film, theater and television filled the red carpet. Before the ceremony, we caught up with George Segal, the actor who shot to prominence with an Oscar nomination in Nichols' first film Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. We asked Segal about his then-green director, memories of Woolf with his Oscar-winning co-star Sandy Dennis, and the specifics on his new TVLand show Retired at 35.

Though Segal worked with Nichols on his first film, he'd met the director before as part of the cast on his Broadway show The Knack in the early '60s. The process of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf took five months -- the first of which was just rehearsal -- and Segal claims nailing the film's erratic dialogue and pacing prepped the cast so much that "we could've performed it as a play."

"And he had a guy who helped him plan the shots and all that, sure," Segal added, alluding to Nichols' inexperience at the time.

While Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor starred as the maniacal lead couple George and Martha, the unwitting couple they invite into their home, Nick (Segal) and Honey (Sandy Dennis) still resonate as the shrillest part of the picture. When reflecting upon working with the late Dennis, Segal says their on-screen mania stayed on-screen.

"We had a relationship of mutual respect, we really liked each other," Segal said. "We kept it all for the camera, for work. And she was great, I mean great. So spontaneous."

In the 44 years since Woolf, Segal's acted in countless films, including Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe and Look Who's Talking, though he may be best remembered as the Blush editor Jack Gallo in the David Spade series Just Shoot Me. Now Segal is slated to return to TV in the TVLand original series Retired at 35.

"It's like a sitcom! A sitcom from back then -- but really funny right now," Segal explained. "I'm the dad of the guy, I'm retired in Florida. And my son is pressured in New York, says screw it, and moves back in. It's about a relationship between a father and son."

We tried pressuring Segal into naming a favorite film scene of all time, but the 76-year-old actor balked by referencing the words of one of his comic icons, Jimmy Stewart.

"Jimmy Stewart used to say that when somebody mentions a picture, there's usually one frame that clicks," he said. "And if you put it back in the frame box, you can see more. So I only have frames in my mind."