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Seth Rogen

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Seth Rogen
Rogen in August 2007
Occupation(s)actor, comedian, voice artist, producer, writer
Years active1995–present

Seth Rogen (born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, voice artist, screenwriter and film producer. Rogen 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. While still living in his native Canada, he landed a supporting role in Freaks and Geeks. After Rogen moved to Los Angeles for the role, Freaks and Geeks was canceled after one season. He then got a part on the equally short-lived Undeclared, 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 Rogen and the other writers received an Emmy nomination, he was guided by film producer Judd Apatow toward a film career. Rogen 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.

Rogen has appeared in the films Donnie Darko, You, Me and Dupree, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Observe and Report, and The Green Hornet, and also in the Apatow-produced comedies Anchorman, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, Pineapple Express, and Funny People. He co-wrote the comedy film Superbad, for which he originally intended to headline years ago, with his comedy partner Evan Goldberg. He also co-wrote the screenplay for another comedy film that Apatow helped co-produce, Drillbit Taylor. Rogen has provided voice talents in the animated films Horton Hears a Who!, Kung Fu Panda, and Monsters vs. Aliens. He also supports Crowdrise; a charitable networking site.[1]

Early life

Rogen was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, to Sandy, a social worker, and Mark Rogen, who works for non-profit organizations and as an assistant director of a Workmen's Circle.[2][3] He has described his parents, who met at an Israeli kibbutz, as "radical Jewish socialists."[3] He has one older sister, Danya, who is a social worker. Rogen attended Vancouver Talmud Torah Elementary School and Point Grey Secondary School (although he never graduated), 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.[2] Rogen got his start in show business at age 13, after signing up for a comedy class. At the age of 14, with his friend Evan Goldberg, he co-wrote Superbad, reflecting pieces from their childhood and dad. With his deadpan humour, he placed second in the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest at 16 years old, 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.[4] After trying his hand as a standup comic for a few years, Rogen obtained his first starring role in the series Freaks and Geeks with only two auditions. He played cynical, acerbic "freak" Ken Miller. Judd Apatow, the show's co-producer, was very impressed with Rogen's improvisational skills. 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, and went on to write several episodes. In 2001, Rogen also had a minor role in Donnie Darko (playing Ricky Danforth) and in 2003 on an episode of Dawson's Creek called "Rock Bottom" as "Bob" in their last season, that he also claims he never saw.[5] 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.

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.[6] During the show's run, Rogen wrote one episode by himself and co-wrote four others.[7]

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 and ultimately final 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. Rogen's association with the show's star, Sacha Baron Cohen, who had belonged to the same Jewish youth group, Habonim Dror, was not over, however; in a recent interview with Tokion (#55), Rogen claimed to have made uncredited contributions to Cohen's film version of Borat, and he is credited with providing additional material for Brüno.[8]

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 role 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).[9] Rogen also wrote the screenplay for the Owen Wilson movie Drillbit Taylor, which is based on a 70-page scriptment written by John Hughes.[10]

Recent projects

Rogen (far right) at Comic-Con in 2010.

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 success, grossing $109,449,237 domestically ($177,358,395 worldwide).[11] Apatow then cast Rogen as the lead in the 2007 film Knocked Up.[12] 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,[13] for which Rogen was nominated for Best Actor at the 2008 Canadian Comedy Dundies, losing to Michael Cera for his role in Superbad which was co-written by Rogen.

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 The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Dupree as successful examples.[14] When asked in an interview if he is in the group, Rogen has stated that he is not sure.[5][15]

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.[16] Rogen hosted Saturday Night Live on October 6, 2007 and again on April 4, 2009.[17] Rogen's next release was Kevin Smith's Zack and Miri Make a Porno, in which he co-starred with Elizabeth Banks.[18] It was the first film Rogen has co-headlined in that grossed under $100 million at the domestic box-office. Rogen also appeared along-side Kevin Smith on the October 18th, 2008 episode of the movie review podcast Scene Unseen.[19]

He starred in the Jody Hill-directed mall cop comedy Observe and Report,[20] which opened in theaters on April 10, 2009.[21]

Later in 2009, Rogen starred in Apatow's third directorial feature, Funny People, with Adam Sandler. Rogen played a young, inexperienced comic while Sandler played a mentor of sorts to Rogen's character; the film had more dramatic elements in it than Apatow's previous directorial efforts.[22] Other co-stars included Eric Bana and Apatow's wife Leslie Mann.

In April 2008, Empire reported that Rogen and Evan Goldberg would write an episode for the animated television series The Simpsons.[23] He also voiced a character in the episode.[24] The episode was titled Homer the Whopper and was the season premiere.[25]

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 January 2011. To prepare for his role, Rogen's physical appearance has been changed through fitness routines. In 2007, in a strategy to garner interest and funding, Rogen created a pre-pre-production trailer for Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse, a film he is now working on with Goldberg,[26] and is set to produce and take a supporting role in the film Live With It, from Mandate Pictures. The film is based on an autobiographical comedy script by screenwriter Will Reiser.[27]

In June 2010, Executive Producer of Entourage, Doug Ellin, admitted that he once considered casting Rogen for the program.[28]

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 it was on paper.[13] Rogen says he prefers improvised dialogue because it captures the essence of real friends spouting jokes.[29] 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.[13]

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 Adam Sandler, Owen Wilson, and Jim Carrey. Rogen cites the 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 Da Ali G Show's first season, 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.[30] 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."[31] Of Smith and his films, Rogen has gone as far as to say (to Smith) "I wouldn't be a writer if it wasn't for you and your movies."[32] Also, when first moving to Hollywood he said that his goal was to be in a Kevin Smith Movie. People had said "Well, that probably isn't that hard to do".[33]

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.[7] Rogen still resides in Los Angeles with his girlfriend, Lauren Miller, who has had minor on-screen roles in a few of Rogen's films. She has also produced, written, and directed for unrelated films.[34] 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 being a semi-autobiographical take on their longtime friendship.[35] He is also a naturalized citizen of the United States.[citation needed] He is a big fan of The Simpsons and has always wanted to work with Matt Groening on a movie.[citation needed] Rogen has claimed his five favorite films to be The Big Lebowski, Ghostbusters, The Last Detail, Total Recall and Goodfellas. He has also publicly claimed he smokes cannabis, though not at the extent some of his movie characters do.[36]

Filmography

Template:Filmography table begin |- 1994 ll "Romeo and Juliet" (Movie Series) ll cast and crew ll | 1999 || Freaks and Geeks || Ken Miller || TV Series: 18 Episodes |- |rowspan="2"| 2001 || Undeclared || Ron Garner || TV Series: 17 Episodes
Writer |- |Donnie Darko || Ricky Danforth || |- | 2003 || Dawson's Creek || Bob || TV Series: 1 Episode |- | 2004 || Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy || Scottie || |- | 2005 || The 40-Year-Old Virgin ||Cal|| Co-Producer |- | 2006 || You, Me and Dupree||Neil|| |- | rowspan="3" | 2007 || Knocked Up || Benjamin Stone || Executive Producer |- | Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse || Seth || Writer |- | Superbad || Officer Michaels || Writer/Executive Producer |- |rowspan="8" | 2008 || The Spiderwick Chronicles || Hogsqueal || |Voice only |- | Horton Hears a Who! || Morton the Mouse || Voice Only |- | Strange Wilderness ||Ranger In The Helicopter || Voice Only |- | Drillbit Taylor || || Writer Only |- | Kung Fu Panda || Master Mantis || Voice only |- | Step Brothers || Sporting Goods Manager || |- | Pineapple Express || Dale Denton || Writer/Executive Producer |- | Zack and Miri Make a Porno || Zack Brown || |- |rowspan="7"| 2009 || Fanboys || Admiral Seasholtz
Mr Roach "The Pimp"
Star Journey alien || |- | Monsters vs. Aliens || B.O.B. || Voice Only |- | Observe and Report || Ronnie Barnhardt || |- | Funny People || Ira Wright || Executive Producer |- | Paper Heart || Himself || Interview |- |Family Guy || Himself || TV Series: 2 Episodes
Voice Only |- | The Simpsons || Lyle McCarthy || TV Series:One episode
Voice Only
Writer |- |rowspan="1"| 2010 || Live With It || Kyle || Producer
Post-Production |- |rowspan="4"| 2011 || Paul || Paul || Voice Only
Post-Production[37] |- | Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom || Master Mantis || Voice Only
Pre-Production |- | The Green Hornet || Britt Reid/The Green Hornet || Writer/Executive Producer
Post-Production |- | Take This Waltz || Lou ||Pre-Production[38] |- |rowspan="1"| 2012 || Jay and Seth vs. the Apocalypse || Seth || Director/Writer/Executive Producer[39]
Pre-Production |- |rowspan="1"| TBA || Boo U || || Voice only
Pre-production |- |}

Awards

Year Award Category Film Result Notes
2000 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a TV Series - Young Ensemble Freaks and Geeks Nominated Shared with cast
2005 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program Da Ali G Show Nominated Shared with writing staff
2006 MTV Movie Award Best On-Screen Team The 40-Year-Old Virgin Nominated Shared with Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, and Romany Malco
2008 High Times Stony Award 2008 Stoner of the year Pineapple Express Won
Canadian Comedy Award Best Writing (Film) Superbad Won
Canadian Comedy Award Best Actor (Film) Knocked Up Nominated
MTV Movie Award Best Comedic Performance, Breakthrough Performance Knocked Up Nominated
2009 MTV Movie Award Best Fight Pineapple Express Nominated

Shared with James Franco, and Danny McBride

Teen Choice Award Choice Movie Actor: Comedy Observe and Report, Pineapple Express Nominated
2010 Kids Choice Awards Best Voice From an Animated Movie Monsters vs. Aliens Nominated

Further reading

  • Patterson, J (2007-09-14). "Comedy's new centre of gravity". Film. The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-09-23.

References

  1. ^ http://www.crowdrise.com/sethrogen
  2. ^ a b JewishJournal.com
  3. ^ a b Patterson, John (2007-09-14). "Comedy's new centre of gravity". Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 2007-09-14. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ "Seth Rogen Biography"; Retrieved October 27, 2006; Yahoo! Movies
  5. ^ a b "Interview with Seth Rogen"; Harris, Will; July 13, 2006; Bullz-Eye.com - Guys' Portal to the Web
  6. ^ "Rogen & Rudd From the Knocked Up Set "; Newgen, Heather; August 16, 2006; ComingSoon.net
  7. ^ a b "The Seth Rogen Interview"; Ariano, Tara (credited as Wing Chung); 2002; Television Without Pity
  8. ^ "The Dynamite Issue!". Tokion Magazine (55). Retrieved 2007-08-18. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ "SET VISIT: KNOCKED UP"; Dellamorte, Andre; August 10, 2006; Cinematic Happenings Under Development
  10. ^ "Par twists into 'Drillbit' with Wilson"; Siegel, Tatiana; June 20, 2006; The Hollywood Reporter
  11. ^ "Box Office Mojo - The 40-Year-Old Virgin" Retrieved October 27, 2006; BoxOfficeMojo.com
  12. ^ "'Virgin' director to team with Seth Rogen" The Associated Press (NY); September 2, 2005; USAToday.com
  13. ^ a b c "A (Kind of) New Star is Born"; Carrol, Larry; September 28, 2006; MTV Movies - Flick'd
  14. ^ "'Frat Pack' splits"; Wloszczyna, Susan; December 6, 2005; USA Today.com
  15. ^ "Movie File: Nicolas Cage, 50 Cent, 'Harry Potter,' Elisha Cuthbert & More"; Carroll, Larry; August 8, 2006; MTV.com - Movies - News
  16. ^ Franco to reunite with 'Freaks' pals; United Press International; September 23, 2006; United Press International
  17. ^ Bill Hader Online » Blog Archive » Seth Rogen to host SNL
  18. ^ Kevin Smith & Co. make 'Porno'
  19. ^ scene unseen
  20. ^ Seth Rogen Will Observe and Report - ComingSoon.net
  21. ^ Seth Rogen's New Movie Observe and Report
  22. ^ In the Future with Seth Rogen - ComingSoon.net
  23. ^ Liam Burke (2008-04-30). "From Superbad To Superheroes - Evan Goldberg on Hornet and The Boys". Empire. Retrieved 2008-04-30. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ Cindy White (2008-06-04). "Rogen and Goldberg Writing Simpsons Episode". IGN. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  25. ^ "Breaking News - SETH ROGEN, JONAH HILL, ANNE HATHAWAY, CHRIS MARTIN, SARAH SILVERMAN, ANGELA BASSETT, CHUCK LIDDELL, JACKIE MASON, NEVE CAMPBELL, ELI MANNING, PEYTON MANNING, BOB COSTAS AND THE LATE EARTHA KITT AMONG GUEST VOICES ON 21ST SEASON OF "THE SIMPSONS"". TheFutonCritic.com. 2009-01-14. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
  26. ^ Variety.com November 17, 2008 Rogen, Showtime team on comedy - Network greenlights series for 2009
  27. ^ Seth Rogen Will Try to Bring the Funny to Cancer" TV Guide. October 8, 2008. Retrieved on October 8, 2008.
  28. ^ "Exclusive: Before Their Feud, Entourage Creator Considered Seth Rogen for the Show". TVGuide.com.
  29. ^ "Seth Rogen" Epstein, Daniel Robert; December 13, 2005; Suicide Girls - Interviews
  30. ^ "Seth Rogen Interview, Knocked Up"; Roberts, Sheila; MoviesOnline; Retrieved on 2007-19-5
  31. ^ "Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks Are Ideal 'Porno' Stars, Says Kevin Smith"; Adler, Shawn; [1]
  32. ^ silentbobspeaks, The Man Who Would Be Zack.
  33. ^ http://silentbobspeaks.com/?p=365
  34. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1601643/
  35. ^ "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; Photos for Seth Rogen on MSN Movies
  36. ^ Vo, Alex (2008-10-29). "Five Favorite Films with Seth Rogen". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
  37. ^ "Principal photography wraps!", Paul official website, 2009-09-09. Retrieved on 2010-02-18.
  38. ^ "Sarah Polley Asks Seth Rogen and Michelle Williams to TAKE THIS WALTZ", Collider, 2010-01-28. Retrieved on 2010-02-18.
  39. ^ "Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg will direct JAY AND SETH", Very Aware, 2010-07-24. Retrieved on 2010-19-08.

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