Facts About Seth Rogen That Show He’s More Than Just Your Usual Funnyman
As a comedian, actor, filmmaker, and an extremely funny stoner dude, Seth Rogen emerged as one of the most likable personalities in Hollywood. Not only that, but the Canadian is one of the highest paid comedy writers and actors. He's been working hard at being hilarious ever since he was a kid, and it's certainly paid off for him in the long run.
In a few years time, he bounced back from two canceled shows by earning small roles in movies, and then finally landed some lead roles in numerous films. Nowadays, he's everywhere, but before all that, we need to go back and see how he got into comedy, or how he became friends with James Franco and Evan Goldberg. Oh, and he loathes another well-known Canadian that's not Drake.
Oh, Canada
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Seth's parents, Sandy and Mark, welcomed him into the world on April 15, 1982. Sandy was a social worker and his father worked for non-profit organizations along with working as an assistant director of the Workmen's Circle Jewish fraternal organization.
On Ellen, Rogen described his parents, who first met on a kibbutz Beit Alfa in Israel as "radical Jewish socialists". He has an older sister named Dayna and with his father being an American, he had American citizenship by birth, though he feels much more Canadian than American.
Behind The Mic
During his youth, Rogen didn't want to pursue any career other than comedy since he realized that being funny is a job. He started doing stand-up comedy with routines involving jokes about his bar mitzvah, his grandparents, and camp counselors- where he performed stand up at Camp Miriam, a Habonim Dror camp.
Rogen got his start behind the mic at 12 years old when he enrolled in a comedy workshop which was taught by Mark Pooley. During his teenage years, he often performed stand-up routines at places like bar mitzvahs and small parties, gradually shifting to bars as he got older.
When Judd Met Seth
Rogen's deadpan humor caught the attention of Judd Apatow. Despite excelling in school, he dropped out to work with Apatow at 16. Soon after, he landed a role on Apatow's television show Freaks and Geeks, which only lasted a season, but it became a cult hit. Rogen played Ken Miller, a cynical, sarcastic freak.
After Freaks and Geeks was canceled, Apatow was impressed with Rogen's improvisation skills, so he chose him as the lead in another short-lived television show, Undeclared. Rogen was thought to be the lead role, but producers thought he wasn't a lead role material.
Small Roles With An Importance
As soon as Undeclared was pulled off the air, Rogen had a difficult time landing an audition. Writing has always been his strong point, along with his sense of humor, and he would soon be apart of Apatow's "frat pack" which included Paul Rudd and Steve Carrell.
Rogen finally landed roles, like a small one in Donnie Darko, and a brief cameo in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy. A big turning point for him came when he was hired as a staff writer for Da Ali G Show in the shows final season in 2004. One year later, he co-starred with Carrell in Apatow's directorial debut of The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
Seth's Big Break
After some ups and downs and minor roles, Rogen finally had a breakthrough. His shining moment came when he and Apatow came together for Knocked Up. The story is about the repercussions after a drunken one-night stand between Rogen's slacker character and Katherine Heigel's just-promoted journalist out for a night on the town.
Before filming the movie, Apatow approached Rogen about potential roles and Apatow insisted he would be better in real life situations instead of sci-fi, which Rogen wanted originally. For one thing, Rogen called shooting the sex scenes nerve-racking and found comfort with the supporting cast since.
Fast Times For Superbad
The coming-of-age teen comedy film was the hilarious tale of two teenagers about to graduate high school and the boys do everything they can to make a lasting memory of their senior year. The mastermind of the movie was Rogen and his good pal Evan Goldberg who began developing the movie when they were 13 years old.
Superbad has a few similarities to the 80's classic Fast Times At Ridgemont High as both revolved around the lives of high schoolers and what kids did at the time. Rogen was slated to play Seth, but due to his age, he portrayed the irresponsible Officer Michaels.
A Friendship Like No Other
For over a decade, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have been the masterminds behind some of the hilarious movies out there. Superbad was the stepping stone for future movies, but the Canadians have known each other as far back as when they were kids, writing the screenplay at just 13 years old.
Both Seth and Evan attended Point Grey Secondary school in Vancouver. Since then, they've made countless of films together and it's pretty obvious what kind of films they like to do. To think, this could be one of the best comedy-duos ever, based on their writing and producing skills.
Love For Seth
Rogen first laid eyes on actress Lauren Miller in 2004 when they met during his time on Da Ali G Show. They began dating soon afterward and the couple became engaged six years later in 2010. Almost a year after their engagement, Miller and Rogen swapped their vows on October 2, 2011.
Many guests were in attendance for the wedding. It included family and well-known friends from the likes of Leslie Mann, Judd Apatow, Adam Sandler, and Jonah Hill. Their marriage is still going strong, but one can't help but feel happy for the kid who started out as a "freak" on TV.
Reunited With A Freak
Rogen has been an active supporter of marijuana and didn't surprise anyone when he teamed up with James Franco. Pineapple Express focuses on Rogen's stoner character and Franco's drug dealing when they're forced to flee from a corrupt cop after witnessing them commit a murder.
The movie was a success and according to an interview with MTV, Judd Apatow stated that there was a strong possibility of a sequel. A trailer for the "sequel" was dropped on April 1, 2013, but that was just an April Fool's Prank. It was actually them promoting the movie This Is The End.
It's Really A Filthy Movie
Rogen and Elizabeth Banks portrayed the title roles in Zack and Miri Make A Porno. Two roommates who live in Pennslyvania are strapped for cash, so they decide to make an adult film to make ends meet. The movie was directed by Kevin Smith, who was Silent Bob from the Jay & Silent Bob duo.
Since the movie focuses on making an adult film, Rogen said in an interview with MTV that they had difficulty trying to secure an R rating. To him, it was crazy that a movie like Hostel is fine since people are gauging their eyes out but can't show two people making love.
Flop At The Box Office
After years of development hell, Rogen and Goldberg teamed up once again for The Green Hornet in 2011. As an executive producer for the film, Rogen cast himself as the main character and re-imagined the title role too. He even felt overwhelmed by the handling the film's $120 million budget.
Despite the film being a critical shame, Rogen went on a very strict diet for the role of Britt Reid. It made $33 million in its opening weekend as it grossed more than $200 million. Later that same year, Rogen and Goldberg founded Point Grey Pictures, named after Point Grey Secondary where they both attended school.
Challenging Kim Jong-Un
The Interview saw Rogen and co-star James Franco in the headlines. Their two characters are recruited by the CIA after they land an interview with Kim Jong-un as the CIA wanted the pair to assassinate the North Korean leader. The film's plot was intended for laughs, but one person wasn't laughing.
In July 2014, North Korean officials warned of retaliation if the film was to be released. As the release date neared, the North Koreans hacked Sony and the company shelved the movie after it was leaked. Sony announced days later that the film was going to be released but only to select theaters on Christmas Day.
Raising Awareness For Alzheimer's
Rogen has been involved in the awareness of Alzheimer's disease. It greatly affected his mother-in-law for several years and he tried to be emotionally supportive as much as he could for his wife's mother. Rogen would go as far as testifying on behalf of his charity before the United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee.
Hilarity for Charity was founded by Rogen in 2014. The charity inspires change while raising awareness behind the deadly disease. In 2016, Rogen and his wife were honored with the unite2gether award from unite4humanity for promoting awareness and raising money for Alzheimer's.
Why So Serious?
Rogen is a funny dude, but that doesn't stop him from trying something different. He starred in Funny People alongside Adam Sandler. Rogen portrayed a young aspiring comic while Sandler was the mentor whose character was battling cancer. Then came 50/50.
With co-stars Joesph Gordon-Levitt and Anna Kendrick, Rogen played the best friend of Levitt's character who was diagnosed with a tumor in his spine. Both movies had good-hearted moments, but 50/50 prevailed over Funny People at the box office.
The Reunion Movie
In their directorial debut, Rogen and Goldberg directed This Is The End. The story revolves around real-life actors portraying fictional versions of themselves after an apocalypse. The disaster comedy included some of Rogen's pals; James Franco, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, and Harry Potter actress Emma Watson.
Outside of the main characters in the movie, many other well-known names appeared in the movie too. Kevin Hart, Rhianna, Jason Segal, Martin Starr, and Michael Cera, who was reunited with his Superbad co-stars in a way that was probably the most hilarious thing in the movie.
Seth's Accolades
Rogen has been nominated for 36 awards and he won 10 of them. He won his first award in 2007 for Stoner of the Year at the High Times Stony Award Show, and yes, that's a legitimate award show.
In all seriousness, Rogen won the Canadian Comedy Award in 2006, his first true award, for Best Writing for Superbad. He's been nominated for numerous MTV and Teen Choice Awards, and even received an Emmy nod for Outstanding Writing on Da Ali G Show.
An Obsession Of The Simpsons
Most kids grew up obsessing over The Simpsons, but Seth and Evan got to actually write an episode. In 2009, The episode "Homer the Whopper" was the first episode of the 21st season which was intended to show how Hollywood treats superhero films. Rogen even provided his voice for the role of Lyle McCarthy.
Rogen became just the second guest star to write and appear in an episode- the first to do it was Ricky Gervais. Despite mixed reviews of the episode, Rogen redeems himself when he appeared on the show again in 2014- but only playing himself.
Hakuna Matata
The Lion King was an epic and it did really well consider the plot is similar to William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. The movie was great, and Elton John did an awesome job of writing music for the film too. Nevertheless, the film is going to be a live-action film and Rogen will be in it.
Rogen will lend his voice to the role of Pumbaa whereas Billy Eichner will play his sidekick, Timon. The Lion King will be released on the 25th anniversary of the original release of the animated film. Better yet, Beyonce and Donald Glover will voice Simba and Nala.
No Love For Another Canadian
All jokes aside, Rogen is not a fan of Justin Bieber, and he made a Tweet saying the musician is a piece of "you-know-what". But, there's a good reason why the funnyman isn't so fond of his fellow Canadian, and it all started backstage at a German radio talk show.
Bieber wanted to meet Rogen but as soon as they met, Bieber acted is if Rogen wanted to meet him. Rogen described it as a bizarre moment and Bieber's behavior was something you'd expect to see. Hopefully, they can put their differences aside.
A Movie About The Worst Movie Ever
Tommy Wiseau's The Room was one of the worst movies ever. However, The Disaster Artists is based on a book of the same name which chronicles Wiseau's movie and his bond with actor Greg Sestero. James Franco directed it, and Rogen produced while also had a role in the movie too.
The movie about the worst movie ever made turned out to be great. Critics praised Franco's performance of Wiseau which won him Best Actor-Musical or Comedy at the 75th Golden Globe Awards. The film also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 90th Academy Awards.
