From his memorable movies, his hilarious roles, his ridiculous interviews, his entertaining Twitter presence, to even his extremely impressive passion for pottery, Seth Rogen is a man of many talents. We’ve come to know and love the comedy guy for his acting, writing, and celebrity friendships as well. But what are some facts about Seth that still tend to be brand new information to most?
1. Judd Apatow Gave Him His First Breakout Role When He Was Just 16 Years Old
Photo: Freaks and Geeks / Paramount Worldwide Television Distribution
Seth Rogen has worked with Judd Apatow on tons of projects, including Undeclared, Anchorman, 40 Year Old Virgin, Funny People, and of course, his breakout lead role in Knocked Up. But his whole career began when he was cast on Judd Apatow’s hit TV series, Freaks & Geeks. Rogen was only 16 when he landed his breakout role, and credits Apatow for starting his career on a great note. “I couldn’t say enough great things about him. He’s the reason I’m not a homeless crack-head right now,” he said.
2. James Franco Has Painted A Collection Of NSFW Portraits Of Seth
Photo: David Shankbone / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0
This probably surprises no one, but Seth Rogan has a series of NSFW nude portraits of himself, painted by his BFF James Franco. Franco and Rogen have a very – we’ll call it “special;” – kind of friendship, and they’ve been known to have a bromance of epic proportions. This series is based on a more photorealistic fairly pornographic book of art entitled Seth by Christopher Schulz. (Link NSFW)
3. He Actually Began Writing Superbad When He Was 13 Years Old
Photo: Superbad / Sony Pictures
He and co-writer Evan Goldberg met at a Bar Mitzvah when they were in middle school, and immediately started writing together. Than began writing their high school comedy, Superbad, at age 13, before they were even in high school.
A few years later, American Pie came out, and they feared it would steal their thunder. Luckily, Superbad was more realistic and natural in the ways of high school debauchery.They said American Pie “totally avoid[ed] all honest interaction between characters… which is what we [we’re] going for.”
4. He Was Once On The Cover Of Playboy (And The 9th Man In History To Do So)
Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
Seth Rogen became the ninth man to grace the cover of Playboy magazine in their March 2009 issue.
5. His Parents Are “Very Radical, By American Terms”
He describes his parents as very out there, by American standards.”Well, they’re socialists, maybe not that radical, and they met on a kibbutz in Israel. My mom’s a social worker and my dad works in non-profit organisations. But they seem very radical in American terms, embracing a form of socialism that really doesn’t even exist here. I mean, where I come from, communism is not a terrible word.”
6. He Has Been Married To His Wife For Over A Decade Now
Photo: jdeeringdavis / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
In October of 2011, Seth married his longtime girlfriend, Lauren Miller The two had been dating since 2004, and engaged since late 2010. They were married in Sonoma. CA with tons of friends in attendance.
7. At Age 16, He Was Runner-Up In A National Comedy Contest
Most 16 year olds are nervous and squirrelly, but Seth was already rearing to be a famous comedian. Due to the fact that he’s been taking acting classes since he was 12 years old, and writing since he was 13 years old, landing his first acting role at age 16 feels like the next natural step. He came in second place in the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest, and decided that it was time to head to Los Angeles.
8. He Agrees With The Green Hornet Criticism
Photo: The Green Hornet / Sony Pictures Releasing
Not many people actually liked The Green Hornet, including Seth Rogen. He said:
“(It) was such a f*cking nightmare when we were making it that it would have been a miracle if it turned into something that was in any way even presentable.”Worse yet, he admits that it actually made a fair amount of money. The movie was so soulless to make so he doesn’t plan on making a $200 million-type movie again.
9. He Both Wrote And Made An Appearance On An Episode Of The Simpsons
Photo: The Simpsons / 20th Television
Seth Rogen became the second guest star ever to write an episode of The Simpsons. He and lifetime collaborator, Evan Goldberg, penned the episode “Homer the Whopper”. Seth also lent his voice to the role of Lyle McCarthy. He also voiced himself in the episode “Steal this Episode”
10. He’s Blown Away By The Freaks & Geeks Cult Following
Photo: Freaks and Geeks / Paramount Worldwide Television Distribution
During a Reddit AMA, Seth Rogen discussed the resurgence of his 1999 TV show, Freaks & Geeks. He said: “It’s f*cking crazy. When it got cancelled, there weren’t really shows on DVD, and Netflix didn’t exist, so there was no precedent for shows that got cancelled to come back to life. We thought it was done. And now, more people probably watch it than when it was on in the first place, which is awesome and unexpected. I’m blown away by it.”
11. His Third Role Ever Was In Donnie Darko
Photo: Donnie Darko / Newmarket Films
Rogen usually appears in comedic films, so when he has a cameo in any drama films, things tend to get interesting. His third role ever was a character in the cult classic film Donnie Darko, starring Jake Gyllenhaal.
12. He Became A High School Dropout In Order To Pursue Freaks & Geeks
Photo: Freaks and Geeks / Paramount Worldwide Television Distribution
Although dropping out of high school is never really the recommended course of action, that’s how Rogen was able to star in Freaks & Geeks when he was still just a kid. He landed the audition in Los Angeles, and let his home in Vancouver to star on the show. He’s one of many celebrity high school dropouts that left school to pursue acting. Rogen said, “If you have a career in mind that isn’t academically oriented, then high school is probably not going to lead you to what you want to be.”
13. He Enjoyed His Time As A Staff Writer For Da Ali G Show
Photo: Da Ali G Show / HBO
He talked about working on Sacha Baron Cohen’s infamous Da Ali G Show during a Reddit AMA:”It was great. It was mine and Evan’s first actual job together. We would think of people he could interview, and then write the questions that he would ask the people, while trying to predict what the people we are interviewing might say.”
14. He Auditioned For ‘Dwight Shrute’ On The Office
Photo: The Office / NBCUniversal Television Distribution
Actors are often attached to projects that just don’t work out for some reason, or audition for a role that they simply aren’t right for in the end. But some of these near-misses are very interesting. Not only did Seth Rogan audition for the role of Dwight on The Office, he also went out for one of the two leads in Dude Where’s My Car? There was also an unknown role on Band of Brothers he went out for, as well as the role of Patrick from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Imagine how different any of those projects would have been with Rogen in them?
15. So Far, He Has Hosted Saturday Night Live Three Times
Rogen has hosted Saturday Night Live three times over the past few years, beginning in 2007, when he hosts with musical guest, Spoon. In 2009, the musical guest that accompanied him was Phoenix, and in 2014, he shared the stage with Ed Sheehan. He also appeared in an episode hosted by Alec Baldwin in 2011, and an episode hosted by James Franco in 2014.
16. Judd Apatow Originally Wanted Him To Be The Lead In Undeclared
Photo: Undeclared / Paramount
At this point, Seth had already played a role in Judd Apatow’s Freaks and Geeks. So when it was time to cast for his next show, Undeclared, Judd knew he wanted Rogen for the lead. Unfortunately, the studio didn’t think he was “leading man material,” and Seth was cast instead as the stoner best friend. The show was soon cancelled, and Seth went on to be one of the biggest comedy actors in the world.
17. Being Best Friends Since Age 13, Rogen Has A Close Partnership With Evan Goldberg
Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
Rogen & Goldberg work on nearly everything together. They’ve been best friends since they were 13 years old, and Rogen described their process during a Reddit AMA:
“We both do everything together. We sit in front of one computer at one desk and we make huge lists of ideas that slowly evolve into the movie. We outline the emotional stories and the structure for a long time and then we write the dialogue. All sitting six inches from each other. the whole time.”
He went on to say: “Ever since we started when we were 13, we’ve done everything together (except for acting). Even when we were in separate cities, we would write over the phone. If we don’t agree on something, it’s like any team or partnership, we just debate it until we reach an amicable middle ground. Also we have a lot of great people that we work with – Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shapir, Alex Mcatee, and our producing partner James Weaver, and we bounce stuff off them all the time.”