Seth Rogen

• 1. Introduction

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  Seth Rogen was 13 when he co-wrote a rough draft of Superbad with his childhood friend Evan Goldberg. The two had met in bar mitzvah classes. They spent the rest of high school polishing that script. Rogen grew up to be a Canadian actor, comedian, filmmaker and cannabis entrepreneur. He has won four Primetime Emmy Awards, along with two Actor Awards and a Golden Globe. His shelf also holds a Producers Guild of America Award, a Writers Guild of America Award and a Directors Guild of America Award. He is known mainly for playing the comedic leading man. How did a boy from Vancouver who wanted nothing except a comedy career turn that ambition into films, television series and businesses? What did his long partnership with Goldberg make possible? And what happens when a comedian's jokes collide with real politics and real threats?

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• 2. Vancouver Childhood

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  Seth Aaron Rogen was born on the 15th of April 1982 in Vancouver, British Columbia. His family was Jewish, with Ukrainian and Russian origins. His mother, Sandy Belogus, is a social worker. His American father, Mark Rogen, worked for non-profit organizations and served as an assistant director of the Workmen's Circle Jewish fraternal organization. The two met on kibbutz Beit Alfa in Israel, and Rogen has called them "radical Jewish socialists". He has an older sister named Danya. Rogen holds both Canadian and American citizenship, yet he once said, "I definitely associate with being Canadian much more than being American."

  At 12, Rogen enrolled in a comedy workshop taught by Mark Pooley. His first routines joked about his bar mitzvah, his grandparents and his camp counsellors. He also performed stand-up at Camp Miriam, a Habonim Dror camp. As a teenager he worked bar mitzvahs and small parties, then moved on to bars. A mohel even paid him to write jokes. Rogen later explained, "As soon as I realized you could be funny as a job, that was the job I wanted." He attended Vancouver Talmud Torah Elementary School and then Point Grey Secondary School, and he worked many of his classmates into his writing. He also practised kyokushin karate for 10 years.

  American Pie, from 1999, worried Rogen and Goldberg because it seemed to have beaten them to their idea. Their teenage script was based on their own experiences, and they judged the rival film harshly. In their view it "managed to totally avoid all honest interaction between characters." They kept polishing.

  Yuk Yuk's, a comedy club, was where his mother often drove him to stand-up gigs. At 16, his deadpan delivery earned him second place in the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest. That was also the year his father lost his job and his mother quit hers. The family put their house up for sale and moved into a much smaller apartment. Around then Rogen attended a local casting call and landed a role on Judd Apatow's television show Freaks and Geeks. He dropped out of high school, began working for Apatow and moved with his family to Los Angeles. At just 16, he had become the main wage earner in the household.

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• 3. Apatow's Circle

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  Freaks and Geeks, which first aired in 1999, gave Rogen his acting debut as Ken Miller, a cynical, acerbic "freak". The series followed a group of teenagers and was well reviewed. NBC nonetheless counted it as its lowest-viewed program, and poor ratings ended it after one season. It later became a cult hit.

  Impressed by Rogen's improvisation, Apatow next chose him to lead another show, Undeclared. Rogen was set to play a fairly popular college freshman, but the network did not think he was leading man material. Apatow decided not to go along with the network, and Rogen worked on the short-lived production as a staff writer.

  After Undeclared was cancelled in 2002, Rogen did not get many auditions. That did not trouble him, since he had always expected to find more success as a writer. He became part of Apatow's close-knit "frat pack", a group that included Steve Carell and Paul Rudd. Apatow said of the teenager, "I'm such a comedy fan that, even though he's 16, I know I'm hanging out with one of the guys who's going to be one of the great comics." To stimulate the creativity of Rogen and Goldberg, Apatow set them unusual writing tasks. One was to turn an idea of his into a movie in 10 days. Another was to come up with 100 one-page film ideas. In 2009 Rogen said, "Obviously, I can't stress how important Judd's been to my career."

  In 2004, Rogen became a staff writer for Sacha Baron Cohen's last season of Da Ali G Show. He and the show's other writers received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. He also had roles in Donnie Darko in 2001 and in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy in 2004. Then came The 40-Year-Old Virgin in 2005, Apatow's debut as a feature director. Rogen co-produced it, played one of the main character's co-workers and improvised all of his dialogue. MTV's John Constantine wrote that nothing in Rogen's earlier screen work suggested he could give so memorable a performance as Cal. Moira Macdonald of The Seattle Times called him "droopily deadpan", while Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel felt he "had his moments". Rogen followed it with a small role in You, Me and Dupree in 2006, a comedy starring Matt Dillon, Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson that critics panned.

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• 4. Breakthrough Years

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  Universal Studios green-lit Rogen as the lead of Knocked Up, an Apatow production released on the 1st of June 2007. After The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Apatow had asked Rogen about starring roles, and Rogen pitched many high-concept science fiction ideas. Apatow insisted that he would work better in real-life situations, and the two settled on an accidental pregnancy. In the film, a drunken one-night stand between Rogen's slacker character and Katherine Heigl's just-promoted media personality leads to an unintended pregnancy. Rogen called shooting the sex scenes with Heigl "nerve-wracking". He was grateful that the supporting cast pulled some of the focus away from him. The film cost $30 million, earned a 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed $219 million.

  Later in 2007 came Superbad, which Rogen wrote with Goldberg and Apatow co-produced. Rogen took a supporting part as an irresponsible police officer. Michael Cera and Jonah Hill played the two teenage best friends whose party plans go wrong, characters based on Rogen and Goldberg themselves. Critics found the film and its writing very authentic, and it topped the U.S. box office for two weeks. That October, Rogen also hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time.

  Pineapple Express arrived in August 2008. Rogen and Goldberg wrote the script, Apatow produced, and David Gordon Green directed for Columbia Pictures. Rogen played a 25-year-old who accidentally witnesses a murder while delivering a subpoena. James Franco played his hippie pot dealer, and the two become fugitives. Asked about its inspiration, Rogen said, "I write what I know." The film made $101 million against a $27 million production budget, and critics praised the performances and humour.

  Drillbit Taylor, also from 2008, stumbled. Rogen co-wrote it from a 70-page scriptment by John Hughes, and Owen Wilson starred as a homeless man who becomes bodyguard to three kids. Critics thought the plot was unfocused and too drawn-out. Josh Bell of the Las Vegas Weekly said it looked like Superbad remade as a gimmicky Nickelodeon movie. Kevin Smith's Zack and Miri Make a Porno rounded out the year. Rogen and Elizabeth Banks played two Pennsylvania roommates who try to earn money by making an adult film together. The film struggled to secure an R rating, and Rogen told MTV it was "a really filthy movie". He complained that a film like Hostel could show eyes being gouged out while two people having sex was considered too much. The Weinstein Company released it on Halloween, and it disappointed at the box office.

  Observe and Report opened on the 10th of April 2009, with Rogen as Ronnie Barnhart, a bipolar mall security guard. Critics noticed a shift from his laid-back roles toward something more sadistic. Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe wrote, "Ronnie is something altogether new for Rogen. Vulnerability never arrives. He's shameless." Later in 2009 came Funny People, Apatow's third film as director. Rogen played a young, inexperienced comic, and Adam Sandler played a mentor of sorts to him. The film had more dramatic elements than Apatow's earlier work. It fell short of earning back its $75 million budget, though reviews were generally positive, with critics noting its "considerable emotional depth." Rogen also hosted Saturday Night Live a second time that year, starring in the Lonely Island music video "Like a Boss", which premiered on the show.

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• 5. Directing and Danger

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  The Green Hornet reached theatres in January 2011 after years in development, handled by Rogen and Goldberg. Rogen chose to re-imagine the title character, served as executive producer and cast himself in the lead. He went on a strict weight-loss diet to play the slim crime fighter. The budget was $120 million, and Rogen admitted to being overwhelmed. He said, "It's not so much the specific amount of money that's stressful, it's all the things that go along with making a movie of that size." Adam Graham of the Detroit News called the result "a big, sloppy, loud, grating mess of a movie". It still opened at No. 1 with $33 million in its first weekend and grossed more than $225 million.

  In 2011, Rogen and Goldberg founded the production company Point Grey Pictures. They named it after Point Grey Secondary School, which both had attended.

  This Is the End, released in 2013, was the directorial debut of Rogen and Goldberg. Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson and Danny McBride joined Rogen in playing fictional versions of themselves facing a global apocalypse. The film received positive reviews and was No. 2 at the box office on its opening weekend. In May 2014, Rogen starred in Neighbors with Rose Byrne and Zac Efron, directed by Nicholas Stoller. Rogen and Byrne play a couple who come into conflict with the fraternity next door, led by Efron's character. It became Rogen's highest-grossing non-animated film, earning over $270 million worldwide.

  In June 2014, North Korea threatened "merciless" retaliation against the United States unless it banned The Interview. Rogen and Goldberg had co-directed the film and co-written its story. Rogen and James Franco play journalists recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after setting up an interview with him. North Korea called the movie "an act of war" and a "wanton act of terror", and it labelled Rogen himself a "gangster filmmaker".

  In December, Sony Pictures announced it was cancelling the release after a cyber attack on the studio, allegedly tied to North Korea. Criticism of that decision followed, and Sony made the film available online and allowed a theatrical release on the 25th of December 2014. Reviews were mixed. Scott Foundas of Variety found it "about as funny as a communist food shortage, and just as protracted," while Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph called it "a raucous, abrasive, snort-out-loud satire with mischief in its heart and methane in its gut." It grossed only $11.3 million in theatres but had strong online sales and rentals. Meanwhile, through Point Grey Pictures, Rogen and Goldberg set up a joint venture with Good Universe to make mainstream comedy films.

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• 6. Voices and Drama

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  In the 2015 biopic Steve Jobs, directed by Danny Boyle from an Aaron Sorkin screenplay, Rogen played Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. His performance was widely praised, and Wozniak himself said Rogen did an "excellent job". Earlier, in 2011, Rogen had already stepped toward drama. He produced and took a supporting role in 50/50, a film about cancer based on an autobiographical script by screenwriter Will Reiser. He also appeared in Take This Waltz that year, as a man whose wife, played by Michelle Williams, explores a new relationship. In The Disaster Artist in 2017, he played Sandy Schklair, the script supervisor for Tommy Wiseau, who was played by James Franco. The film chronicles the making of The Room, from 2003. In Long Shot in 2019, he starred opposite Charlize Theron as an unemployed journalist reconnecting with a childhood love interest and babysitter who has become a major political figure.

  His voice has been just as busy. Kung Fu Panda, which Rogen made with Jack Black and Angelina Jolie, earned more than $630 million in theatres. He returned for Kung Fu Panda 2 and voiced Master Mantis in Kung Fu Panda 3 in 2016. In 2008 he voiced Morton the Mouse in Horton Hears a Who! and a hobgoblin in The Spiderwick Chronicles. In 2009 he voiced a character in Monsters vs. Aliens alongside Reese Witherspoon, and the film took $381.5 million. In Paul, from 2011, he supplied the voice and motion capture for a grey alien who is helped to escape FBI agents by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

  In April 2008, Empire reported that Rogen and Goldberg would write an episode of The Simpsons. Titled "Homer the Whopper", it opened the 21st season, and Rogen voiced a character in it.

  Sausage Party, in 2016, gave Rogen the lead voice of Frank, a sausage trying to escape his fate in a supermarket. He also co-wrote and produced it. It became the most commercially successful R-rated animated film of all time, overtaking South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut from 1999. Lindsey Bahr of the Associated Press wrote that nobody else was making comedies quite like Rogen and Goldberg.

  In the 2019 remake of The Lion King, Rogen voiced the warthog Pumbaa, who rescues Simba with his friend Timon. Timon was voiced by Billy Eichner, and Donald Glover voiced Simba. Rogen sang three songs, which appeared on the soundtrack. He said Pumbaa "was one I knew I could do well." Critics gave the film a middling reception, but it earned more than $1.663 billion. In September 2021, Nintendo announced during a Nintendo Direct that Rogen would voice Donkey Kong in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, released in 2023. For Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, also from 2023, Rogen produced, co-wrote and voiced Bebop.

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• 7. Television Producer

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  Preacher premiered on AMC in May 2016, developed by Rogen, Goldberg and Sam Catlin for Sony Pictures Television. It adapted the comic book series created by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. Its hero is a small-town preacher named Jesse Custer, played by Dominic Cooper, who can command others to do as he says. Rogen also wrote, executive produced and directed for the series, which ran from 2016 to 2019.

  He had been a television actor for years by then. From 2011 to 2015, he played Dirty Randy, a librarian and pornographer, in the sitcom The League, and he wrote two episodes. In May 2013, he recurred on the revived fourth season of Arrested Development, playing a young George Bluth Sr. in flashbacks. Jeffrey Tambor played the older version.

  In November 2017, Hulu premiered Future Man, a science fiction comedy starring Josh Hutcherson, which Rogen directed and executive produced with Goldberg. In 2019, he produced the comedy Black Monday and directed its pilot with Goldberg. That same year, he began executive producing The Boys for Amazon Prime Video. Its spin-offs include The Boys Presents: Diabolical, Gen V and Vought Rising. In 2021 he began voicing Allen the Alien in the animated series Invincible, which he also produces.

  Pam & Tommy, a Hulu miniseries from 2022, put Rogen back in front of the camera. It brought him Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor. Since 2025, he has starred in The Studio, a satirical comedy on Apple TV+ that he created, wrote and directed alongside Goldberg. Critics have acclaimed it, and its awards span acting, producing, directing and writing.

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• 8. Causes and Private Life

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  Alzheimer's disease runs in the family of Rogen's wife, Lauren Miller, and has affected her mother for several years. He told CNN, "until you see it firsthand, it's kind of hard to conceive of how brutal it is." He and Miller spoke on A Larry King Special, Unthinkable: The Alzheimer's Epidemic, which aired in April 2011. On the 26th of February 2014, Rogen testified about the disease and his charity before the United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services. That charity effort is Hilarity for Charity, which he founded to raise awareness among Millennials. Its annual comedy fundraiser reached a sixth edition, broadcast on Netflix in April 2018. With Home Instead Senior Care, Rogen and Miller also started the Alzheimer's and Dementia Care Grant Program, which provides free at-home dementia care to senior citizens. On the 25th of February 2016, they received the unite2gether accolade from unite4:humanity.

  In June 2018, Mitt Romney invited Rogen to speak at an Alzheimer's awareness seminar in Park City, Utah. House Speaker Paul Ryan attended, and after Ryan's children chatted with Rogen, Ryan asked for a photo. Rogen refused. He told Stephen Colbert he had said, "No way, man!" and that he hated what Ryan was doing to the country. On the 3rd of July 2018, Rogen criticized Twitter and its CEO Jack Dorsey for what he called a "bizarre need to verify white supremacists". Rogen describes himself as "left wing" and supports the Black Lives Matter movement.

  In a 2020 conversation with comedian Marc Maron, Rogen said he had been "fed a huge amount of lies about Israel" as a Jewish person. He later said he was sensitive to Jewish people being hurt and proud of his Jewish identity. He added that his parents met in Israel and that he has visited several times. At the 2025 Breakthrough Prize ceremony, he presented a physics prize with Edward Norton and made unscripted jokes about the science policy of the second Donald Trump administration. He said, "it's amazing how much good science you can destroy with $320 million and RFK Jr., very fast." The comments were edited out of the YouTube broadcast, which aired a week later.

  In 2019, Rogen and Goldberg launched the cannabis company Houseplant in Canada. Rogen is also a member of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and an open marijuana user. In April 2017, he was initiated into the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at the University of Vermont, after a fourth campus visit for Hilarity for Charity. He also appeared in a Bud Light commercial celebrating LGBT Pride Month and the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage.

  Rogen began dating the writer and actress Lauren Miller in 2004, after they met while he worked on Da Ali G Show. They became engaged on the 29th of September 2010 and married on the 2nd of October 2011 in Sonoma County, California. Miller directed Like Father in 2018, in which Rogen co-starred with Kristen Bell and Kelsey Grammer. The couple have said they do not plan to have children. After taking pottery classes with his wife in 2017, Rogen began making ceramics, citing the artist Kenneth Price as an inspiration. In 2023 he was announced as executive producer and guest judge of the Canadian series The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down. In January 2021, he revealed on Twitter that he has mild Tourette syndrome, which runs in his family. His first book, the memoir Yearbook, followed in May 2021. Good Fortune, Aziz Ansari's directorial debut, began filming in January 2024, with Rogen, Keanu Reeves and Keke Palmer in the cast.

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