Seth Rogen

Infobox actor


imagesize = 200px
caption = Rogen on "Good Morning San Diego", 2007
birthdate = birth date and age|mf=yes|1982|4|15
birthplace = Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
occupation = actor, writer, film producer
deathdate =
birthname =
yearsactive = 1999–present
othername =
homepage =

Seth Rogen (born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer and film producer. He began his career doing stand-up comedy for four years during his teens, coming in second place in the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest when he was 16. After moving to Los Angeles, he landed supporting roles in the short-lived television series "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared" (the latter of which also hired him as a staff writer).

After landing a job as a staff writer on the final season of "Da Ali G Show", for which he and the other writers received an Emmy nomination, he was guided by director Judd Apatow toward a film career. He was cast in a major supporting role and credited as a co-producer in Apatow’s directorial debut, "The 40-Year-Old Virgin". After receiving critical praise for that performance, Universal Pictures agreed to cast him as the lead in Apatow’s next directorial feature, "Knocked Up".

Throughout his career, he has appeared in the films "Donnie Darko", "You, Me and Dupree" and "Fanboys", in addition to the Apatow-produced comedies "", "Superbad" (a semi-autobiographical comedy he originally intended to headline years ago, co-written by Rogen and Evan Goldberg), "Step Brothers", and "Pineapple Express". He also co-wrote the screenplay for another comedy that Apatow helped co-produce, Owen Wilson's "Drillbit Taylor". He has also provided voiceovers in "Shrek The Third", "The Spiderwick Chronicles", "Horton Hears a Who!", and "Kung Fu Panda".

Early life

Rogen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son of Sandy, a social worker, and Mark Rogen, who works for non-profit organizations and as an assistant director of a Workmen's Circle. Rogen has described his parents, who met at an Israeli kibbutz, as "radical Jewish socialists".cite news|last=Patterson|first=John|coauthors=|title=Comedy's new centre of gravity|pages=|publisher=Guardian Unlimited|date=2007-09-14|url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2168095,00.html|accessdate=2007-09-14] . He has one older sister, Danya, who is a social worker. Rogen attended a Talmud Torah school and Point Grey Secondary School, incorporating many of his classmates into his writing. He was also known for the stand-up comedy he performed at Camp Miriam, a Habonim Dror camp. [http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=7579 JewishJournal.com ] ] Rogen got his start in show business at age 13 after signing up for a comedy class. With his trademark deadpan humour, he placed second in the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest at 16, then headed south of the border to continue stand-up and acting.

Career

Early career

Rogen's first exposure to the entertainment field began with commercial work in Canada at the age of 13. [ [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1804494942/bio "Seth Rogen Biography"] ; Retrieved October, 27, 2006; [http://movies.yahoo.com Yahoo! Movies] ] After trying his hand as a standup comic, Rogen snapped up his first starring role in the series "Freaks and Geeks" (1999-2000) with only two auditions. He played cynical, acerbic "freak" Ken Miller. Judd Apatow, the show's coproducer, was very impressed with Rogen's improvisational skills. [http://www.bullz-eye.com/entertainment/interviews/judd_apatow.htm "Interview with Judd Apatow"] ; Harris, Will; August 5, 2005; [http://www.bullz-eye.com Bullz-Eye.com - Guys' Portal to the Web] ] After the show was cancelled in the middle of its first season, Rogen was cast in a similar role in Apatow's second, also short-lived series, "Undeclared" (2001-2002), and went on to write several episodes. In 2001, Rogen also had minor roles in "Donnie Darko" (playing Ricky Danforth) and "Dawson's Creek", in an episode he claims he never saw. [http://www.bullz-eye.com/mguide/interviews/2005/seth_rogen.htm "Interview with Seth Rogen"] ; Harris, Will; July 13, 2006; [http://www.bullzeye.com Bullz-Eye.com - Guys' Portal to the Web] ] Following the cancellation of his second series in 2002, Rogen developed a soured attitude toward television, not wanting to act on another show unless Apatow was involved. [http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/content/a5644/ "The Seth Rogen Interview"] ; Ariano, Tara (credited as Wing Chung); 2002; [http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com Television Without Pity] ]

Writing career

Rogen's first major writing job was for Apatow's second short-lived television series, "Undeclared", for which he was hired as a writer before he was offered an acting role. [ [http://comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=16031 "Rogen & Rudd From the Knocked Up Set "] ; Newgen, Heather; August 16, 2006; [http://www.comingsoon.net ComingSoon.net] ] During the show's run, Rogen wrote one episode by himself and co-wrote four others.

Rogen's experience with "Undeclared" paid off when he and his writing partner, Evan Goldberg, joined the writing staff of "Da Ali G Show" for its second season. In 2005, the "Ali G Show" writing staff, including Rogen and Goldberg, received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in the Writing For A Variety, Music Or Comedy Program category. As it turned out, Rogen had signed on to the show for what became its final season; "Da Ali G Show" ended due to the creative decision that its mode of "surprise" comedy would become unsustainable if the show continued much longer. Rogen's association with the show's star, Sacha Baron Cohen, who had belonged to the same Jewish youth group, was not over, however; in a recent interview with "Tokion" (#55), Rogen claimed to have made uncredited contributions to Cohen's film version of "".cite journal |last= | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The Dynamite Issue! | journal = Tokion Magazine | volume = | issue = 55
pages = | date = | url = http://www.tokion.com/html/frontlog/?cat=3
doi = | id = | accessdate = 2007-08-18 ]

In 2008 Rogen won the Best Writing (Film) Canadian Comedy Award for "Superbad". He had written the script for this 2007 comedy years earlier, as a starring vehicle for himself. The "Superbad" team then looked for "an 18-year-old version" of Rogen and chose frequent Rogen collaborator Jonah Hill (who is slightly less than two years younger). [ [http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=news&id=7359 "SET VISIT: KNOCKED UP"] ; Dellamorte, Andre; August 10, 2006; [http://www.chud.com Cinematic Happenings Under Development] ] Rogen also wrote the screenplay for the Owen Wilson vehicle, "Drillbit Taylor", which is based on a 70-page scriptment written by John Hughes. [ [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/film/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002690738 "Par twists into 'Drillbit' with Wilson"] ; Siegel, Tatiana; June 20, 2006; [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com The Hollywood Reporter] ]

Recent projects

Rogen returned to the big screen in 2005 with a major supporting role in Apatow's directorial debut "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" alongside Steve Carell. The film was a massive success, grossing $109,449,237 domestically ($177,358,395 worldwide). [ [http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=40yearoldvirgin.htm "Box Office Mojo - The 40-Year-Old Virgin"] Retrieved October 27, 2006; [http://www.boxofficemojo.com BoxOfficeMojo.com] ] Apatow then cast Rogen as the lead in the 2007 film "Knocked Up". [ [http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2005-09-02-rogen-movie_x.htm?csp=34 "'Virgin' director to team with Seth Rogen"] The Associated Press (NY); September 2, 2005; [http://www.usatoday.com USAToday.com] ] Upon completing "The 40-Year-Old Virgin", Apatow had approached Rogen about potential starring roles, but the actor suggested many high concept science fiction ideas. After Apatow insisted that Rogen would work better in real life situations, the two agreed on the accidental pregnancy concept that became "Knocked Up" [http://www.mtv.com/shared/movies/flickd/k/knocked_up_set_visit_060928/ "A (Kind of) New Star is Born"] ; Carrol, Larry; September 28, 2006; [http://www.mtv.com/shared/movies/flickd/ MTV Movies - Flick'd] ] , for which Rogen was nominated for Best Actor at the 2008 Canadian Comedy Awards, losing to Michael Cera for his role in "Superbad" which was written by Rogen. Cera had also been nominaed for his role in "Juno".

In "USA Today"'s recent profile of the so-called "frat pack" group of contemporary actors, they mention those actors' rising salaries makes it financially wiser to cast newcomers like Rogen as supporting characters, citing his roles in "Virgin" and "Dupree" as successful examples. [ [http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2006-07-12-frat-pack-main_x.htm "'Frat Pack' splits"] ; Wloszczyna, Susan; December 6, 2005; [http://www.usatoday.com USA Today.com] ] When asked in an interview if he is in the group, Rogen has stated that he is not sure. [ [http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1537770/08022006/story.jhtml "Movie File: Nicolas Cage, 50 Cent, 'Harry Potter,' Elisha Cuthbert & More"] ; Carroll, Larry; August 8, 2006; [http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/ MTV.com - Movies - News] ]

Rogen and Apatow were behind the 2007 teen comedy "Superbad" at Sony Pictures. Rogen and Goldberg wrote the film, with Apatow as one of the producers. While Rogen did pen Owen Wilson's "Drillbit Taylor", he did not appear in it since the script mostly involved high school students. "Freaks and Geeks" co-star James Franco reunited with Rogen for the Rogen/Goldberg-written comedy, "Pineapple Express". [ [http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060923-111422-3997r Franco to reunite with 'Freaks' pals] ; United Press International; September 23, 2006; [http://www.upi.com/ United Press International] ] Rogen hosted "Saturday Night Live" on October 6, 2007. [ [http://billhaderonline.com/main/2007/08/06/seth-rogen-to-host-snl/ Bill Hader Online » Blog Archive » Seth Rogen to host SNL ] ]

Rogen's next release is Kevin Smith's "Zack and Miri Make a Porno", in which he costars with Elizabeth Banks [ [http://www.usatoday.com/life/2007-11-15-coming-attractions_N.htm Kevin Smith & Co. make 'Porno'] ] . He recently wrapped production on the Jody Hill-directed mall cop comedy "Observe and Report". [ [http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=42660 Seth Rogen Will Observe and Report - ComingSoon.net ] ] He is set to costar with Adam Sandler in Apatow's third directorial feature, "Funny People". Rogen will play a young, inexperienced comic while Sandler will play a mentor of sorts to Rogen's character; the film will have more dramatic elements in it than Apatow's previous directorial efforts. [ [http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=45672 In the Future with Seth Rogen - ComingSoon.net ] ] Other co-stars include Eric Bana and Apatow's wife Leslie Mann.

In April 2008, "Empire" reported that Rogen and Evan Goldberg will write an episode for the animated television series "The Simpsons". [cite web|url=http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=22486 |title=From Superbad To Superheroes - Evan Goldberg on Hornet and The Boys|author=Liam Burke |publisher="Empire"|date=2008-04-30|accessdate=2008-04-30] He will also voice a character in the episode. [cite news|url=http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/879/879150p1.html|title=Rogen and Goldberg Writing Simpsons Episode|accessdate=2008-06-04|date=2008-06-04|author=Cindy White |publisher=IGN]

After years of speculation, a feature film adaptation of The Green Hornet will be handled by Rogen and Evan Goldberg with a theatrical release of 2010. To prepare his role, Rogen's physical appearance and attributes will be changed through fitness routines. Rogen is also set to produce and take a supporting role in the film "I'm With Cancer", from Mandate Pictures. "Cancer" is based on an autobiographical comedy script by screenwriter Will Reiser. [ [http://movies.tvguide.com/Movie-News/Seth-Rogen-Try-20190.aspx Seth Rogen Will Try to Bring the Funny to "Cancer"] " "TV Guide". October 8, 2008. Retrieved on October 8 2008.]

"Pineapple Express" co-star James Franco has hinted about Rogen and Goldberg planning a crossover sequel to both "Superbad" and "Pineapple Express".

Improvisation

Though Rogen has penned scripts for both film and television, his comedic stylings tend to rely heavily on improvisational dialogue. Apatow noticed this improvisation talent on the set of "Freaks and Geeks", which influenced his decision to have Rogen write for "Undeclared" and pitch jokes for "The 40-Year-Old Virgin". As with most Apatow projects, the dialogue in Rogen's films is usually not what was on paper. Rogen says he prefers improvised dialogue because it captures the essence of real friends spouting jokes. [ [http://suicidegirls.com/interviews/Seth+Rogen/ "Seth Rogen"] Epstein, Daniel Robert; December 13, 2005; [http://suicidegirls.com/interviews/ Suicide Girls - Interviews] ] Because Apatow never stops rolling after takes, allowing his actors to improvise differently each time, Rogen's three largest film roles to date (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Pineapple Express) all achieved the rare milestone of shooting over a million feet of film, almost unprecedented for comedies.

Influences

Rogen has described the shock of being thrust into an industry where he is now working alongside the comedic icons he grew up watching, such as Will Ferrell, Owen Wilson, and Jim Carrey. Rogen cites the Adam Sandler album "They're All Gonna Laugh at You!" (which features Apatow at certain points) as the funniest thing he has ever heard, stating that the track "At A Medium Pace" was the seed for what became his comedic persona. Rogen was also a huge fan of the , so it was a shock to suddenly work for Sacha Baron Cohen. Rogen cites the films "Porky's" and "Bachelor Party", in addition to films by Kevin Smith, as inspirations for writing sex comedies. [ [http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_12043.html "Seth Rogen Interview, Knocked Up"] ; Roberts, Sheila; [http://www.moviesonline.ca/ MoviesOnline] ; Retrieved on 2007-19-5] In an interview with MTV, he said of Smith "I feel like my strengths were always kind of ripping off a Kevin Smith movie anyway. It's not a far departure." [ [http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1575636/20071203/story.jhtml "Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks Are Ideal 'Porno' Stars, Says Kevin Smith"] ; Adler, Shawn; [http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1575636/20071203/story.jhtml] ] Of Smith and his films, Rogen has gone as far as to say "I wouldn’t be a writer if it wasn’t for you and your movies." [http://silentbobspeaks.com/?p=365, The Man Who Would Be Zack.]

Personal life

Rogen moved to Los Angeles at the age of 16, after Apatow discovered him in Vancouver. During his late teens, Rogen's parents moved from Canada with him, but by the time he landed his second television series, his parents would live in both Canada and the United States. Rogen still resides in Los Angeles. He continues to write and produce with longtime writing partner Evan Goldberg, with whom he has worked on "Da Ali G Show", "Knocked Up", "Pineapple Express", and "Superbad", the latter of which is a semi-autobiographical take on their longtime friendship. Rogen and long-time girlfriend Lauren Miller attended the film premieres of "The 40 Year-Old Virgin", "You, Me and Dupree" and "Knocked Up". [ [http://entertainment.msn.com/celebs/celeb.aspx?c=145904&stab=2&vpid=644369 "Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller at the You, Me and Dupree premiere in Hollywood on July 10, 2006"] ; Granitz, Steve (WireImage.com); Retrieved October, 27, 2006; [http://entertainment.msn.com/celebs/celeb.aspx?c=145904&stab=2 Photos for Seth Rogen on MSN Movies] ] [ [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1804494942/photo/583744 "Seth Rogen and guest at the Hollywood premiere of Universal Pictures' The 40-Year-Old Virgin - 8/11/2005"] ; Sciulli, John (WireImage.com); Retrieved October, 27, 2006; [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1804494942/photos Seth Rogen Photos - Yahoo! Movies] ] One of his most loved films is "Army of Darkness". [according to his commentary on "Superbad" DVD] On "Rove Live" he stated that his most watched movie was "The Big Lebowski". When appearing on the British morning t.v. show "Soccer AM" he drew the team AFC Bournemouth out of a hat as he did not have a team to support, this is done by most celebrities who are not affiliated with a team.

Filmography

Awards

Further reading

*cite news | last =Patterson | first =J| title =Comedy's new centre of gravity | work =Film | publisher=The Guardian | date =2007-09-14 | url =http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,,2168261,00.html | accessdate =2007-09-23

References

External links

*
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1622581-1,00.html The Education of A Comic Prodigy] on Time.com (a division of Time Magazine)
* [http://www.avclub.com/content/interview/seth_rogen The Onion A.V. Club interview]
* [http://www.complex.com/CELEBRITIES/Cover-Story/Seth-Rogen-RZA Seth Rogen Interview in Complex Magazine]
* [http://maguiresmovies.blogspot.com/2007/08/seth-rogen-and-knocked-up.html Interview with Seth Rogen about "Knocked Up"]
* [http://www.g-wie-gorilla.de/content/view/554/18/ Interview with Seth Rogen about "Knocked Up"]
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/08/15/bfseth115.xml Telegraph.co.uk] Interview with [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/08/15/bfseth115.xml Seth Rogen]