At the young age of 23 Seth Rogen has had a comedy career equal to a Tim Kazurinsky or Charles Rocket. Hes improvised with the some of the best comedic actors in the world in films like Anchorman and the television show Undeclared.
Both those projects were connected with Judd Apatow who first discovered Rogen and cast him in the cult classic TV series Freaks and Geeks [created by Paul Feig]. But Rogen has been waiting to star in an R-rated movie like The 40-Year-Old Virgin for many years because now he can curse his face off.
I got a chance to talk with Rogen about the new unrated DVD of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, his improv skills and the upcoming feature he will be starring in.
Buy the Unrated DVD of The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Seth Rogen: Is this SuicideGirls?
Daniel Robert Epstein: Sure is!
Are you a fan of SuicideGirls?
SR: Who isnt?
DRE: First its a pleasure to talk to you. Ive been a fan for many years.
SR: Oh, thank you very much. I appreciate that.
DRE: Even though youre younger than me, which Im bothered by.
SR: Im younger than most people.
DRE: The 40 Year Old Virgin ended up making almost $110 million. How much did that blow you guys away?
SR: Oh, man we were completely flabbergasted. Shit. Me and Judd were used to doing things that people like but no one watches. So the fact that this was received on a commercial level is very weird.
DRE: Judd told me that you really wanted to do something where you can curse as much as you want.
SR: I really have. Ive been a big proponent of that for years. Me and my friends all curse constantly as do most people that I meet. You just dont see that in movies very often. I just thought itd be funny if people spoke how me and my friends speak. Im glad people like it and werent completely appalled.
DRE: I stopped calling my friends gay about ten years ago, but as a result of the movie, I started up again.
SR: Im glad to bring it back. To us it is just so funny how that is actually in the movie. Me and Paul Rudd came up with this really dumb thing on set and then we did it for 20 minutes straight. Im completely shocked that they actually put it in the movie. But if you think thats funny, theres literally eight more minutes of it on the DVD.
DRE: Thats good because its fun to even say to my gay friends, Youre gay because you take it up the ass.
SR: It works on every level. Gay people do it. Straight people do it. I think Ive heard gay guys are actually going now You know how I know youre straight?
DRE: I think its very rare for a producer to work with a teenage actor then have them grow up and become a movie producer with them.
SR: Yeah, I could not agree more. Loyalty is really not something that you hear a lot about in the entertainment world and Judd has been extremely good to me in that way. Id like to think I helped him in some way throughout that time as well but maybe it is that we get along. It is rare that you find someone that you work with who makes it feel like it isnt exactly work. I think the big reason he keeps me around is that it makes him forget that were actually doing a job.
DRE: As co-producer what were your duties?
SR: Its funny because I had no idea what that was. When I was hired I literally went on IMDB to look up what a co-producer did. That was useless. It didnt tell me anything. So I was just like Ill just talk and give my opinion until someone tells me to shut up. Thats basically what a co-producer does.
DRE: Im a heavy guy. Did you lose weight specifically for this movie?
SR: No, I just slimmed down a little. Although the prospect of seeing yourself on a 50 foot screen is a good motivation to not eat that hamburger.
DRE: How was doing the Age of Aquarius video at the end of the movie?
SR: That was so much fun to do. That again was one of those things that I cant believe is actually in there. People have asked me Is there anything that wasnt in the movie that you wish was. I will keep saying No, if anything Im shocked how much of the stuff we shot wound up in the movie. We were laughing our asses off as we were shooting the Age of Aquarius stuff but we didnt think anyone else would find it funny. In the test screenings some people hated that, but slightly more people liked it and thats the only reason its in the movie.
DRE: I got to speak to Adam McKay for the DVD release of Anchorman. I asked him Whats it like to create movie thats probably going to in the future be quoted as much as movies like Caddyshack and Stripes? So I ask you the same question about The 40 Year Old Virgin.
SR: Its always nice when people agree with you about whats funny. When we think its funny on set and someone else thinks Hey, that was funny, then its just one more day I can go without doubting everything I do.
DRE: Youve been acting since you were 16, when did you discover you had this talent for improv?
SR: To me it was always easier to make stuff up than memorize what was there. That was my take on it. Its just something that makes it a lot more fun for me. It makes the whole process a lot more alive and you never know whats going to happen so I feel like a lot of the funniest stuff comes out of that. I always laugh harder at stuff my friends say than anything ever in a movie. The reason is because it really seems like they said it on the spot. It doesnt seem like someone told them to say it. When you can capture that on film I think its a lot more interesting to watch than scripted lines. But thats just our poor acting ability if anything. Im sure great actors can take scripted lines and make it seem like improv and get away with it, but we are just not skilled enough to do that.
DRE: Does it bother you that Paul Rudd is as funny as he is good looking?
SR: Its like the grossest thing in the world how talented and handsome he is. Im thinking like Man, Ive got to be onscreen next to Paul Rudd shirtless. Great. Thats not going to hurt.
DRE: What was it like working with Steve Carell?
SR: Ive was around him a little on Anchorman but I hadnt had a large dose of Carell until we started doing the movie. Hes absurdly normal. I always describe it as one of your friends dads who drives you to school in the morning. Hes almost the most normal guy in the entire world. Hes really not even that hilarious to talk to. Hes just a guy whos very nice and thoughtful in a way that you really dont get why hes so funny.
DRE: When and how did you lose your virginity?
SR: I was in high school and I was drunk at a party. I was just compiling a list of who I was going to call the second it was over. Thats all that was going through my head.
DRE: Was that before or after you became a TV star?
SR: It was before. Thats how I know it was real.
DRE: What scene in The 40 Year Old Virgin still makes you laugh?
SR: A lot of scenes will forever make me laugh. Its different things that amuse me as I watch it more and more. The part where Jay [played by Romany Malco] is watching Dawn of the Dead and keeps screaming. For some reason theres something weird about the fact that you just dont really see a guy watching another movie in a movie and reacting to it throughout the course of a scene. I always laugh really hard at that.
DRE: How did you guys find Romany?
SR: A few years ago him and Paul Rudd were in a movie called The Chteau, where they played brothers, weirdly enough, who inherited a French chateau. Its an all improvised movie and it is pretty funny. Its not mind blowing, but me and Judd were looking for guys and someone sent us that movie with Rudd for Anchorman and we were like Hey, these two guys can play together. Lets just hire both of them. Thats exactly what we did.
DRE: What else is in the unrated version of The 40 Year Old Virgin?
SR: Theres just a lot dirty shit. The movie is like 17 minutes longer, which is crazy because it is already two hours long. Judd is one of the few directors who really is thinking of the DVD as hes shooting the movie. Theres just so much stuff we shot specifically for the DVD. There are hilarious scenes of improv that are specifically meant to be watched in that format. Smoke a doobie and watch it. Thats my opinion.
DRE: How much did the DVD releases of Undeclared and Freaks and Geeks have an impact on people recognizing you?
SR: Id say as many people recognize me now as they did when the shows were on the air. If I ever left my house I might have a much better sense of what the actual answer to that question is. But in my apartment not a lot of people recognize me.
DRE: What is the movie starring you and going to be direct by Judd about?
SR: Right now it is called Knocked Up and it is about me impregnating a woman on a one night stand and us having a baby together. Weve just finished the first draft and its somehow far more graphic than The 40 Year Old Virgin.
DRE: Is it going to be an improvised movie?
SR: it will be a similar thing. We always go in with a tight script and then kind of throw it out the second we get on set.
DRE: Thats awesome. Is your movie going to be more in the vein of Anchorman or more reality-based like 40 Year Old Virgin?
SR: Id say much more reality-based like 40 Year Old Virgin. Maybe even slightly more reality-based in a weird way because the subject matter of pregnancy is slightly heavier. But I hope it is equally hilarious.
DRE: As a fan of comedy which Im sure you are, who would you want to get to star in a movie with you, besides Bill Murray?
SR: Besides Bill Murray? Who else is there? I want to work with Sacha Baron Cohen more. Thats all Im saying. I want him to be in anything I ever do. Hes the funniest guy alive.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Both those projects were connected with Judd Apatow who first discovered Rogen and cast him in the cult classic TV series Freaks and Geeks [created by Paul Feig]. But Rogen has been waiting to star in an R-rated movie like The 40-Year-Old Virgin for many years because now he can curse his face off.
I got a chance to talk with Rogen about the new unrated DVD of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, his improv skills and the upcoming feature he will be starring in.
Buy the Unrated DVD of The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Seth Rogen: Is this SuicideGirls?
Daniel Robert Epstein: Sure is!
Are you a fan of SuicideGirls?
SR: Who isnt?
DRE: First its a pleasure to talk to you. Ive been a fan for many years.
SR: Oh, thank you very much. I appreciate that.
DRE: Even though youre younger than me, which Im bothered by.
SR: Im younger than most people.
DRE: The 40 Year Old Virgin ended up making almost $110 million. How much did that blow you guys away?
SR: Oh, man we were completely flabbergasted. Shit. Me and Judd were used to doing things that people like but no one watches. So the fact that this was received on a commercial level is very weird.
DRE: Judd told me that you really wanted to do something where you can curse as much as you want.
SR: I really have. Ive been a big proponent of that for years. Me and my friends all curse constantly as do most people that I meet. You just dont see that in movies very often. I just thought itd be funny if people spoke how me and my friends speak. Im glad people like it and werent completely appalled.
DRE: I stopped calling my friends gay about ten years ago, but as a result of the movie, I started up again.
SR: Im glad to bring it back. To us it is just so funny how that is actually in the movie. Me and Paul Rudd came up with this really dumb thing on set and then we did it for 20 minutes straight. Im completely shocked that they actually put it in the movie. But if you think thats funny, theres literally eight more minutes of it on the DVD.
DRE: Thats good because its fun to even say to my gay friends, Youre gay because you take it up the ass.
SR: It works on every level. Gay people do it. Straight people do it. I think Ive heard gay guys are actually going now You know how I know youre straight?
DRE: I think its very rare for a producer to work with a teenage actor then have them grow up and become a movie producer with them.
SR: Yeah, I could not agree more. Loyalty is really not something that you hear a lot about in the entertainment world and Judd has been extremely good to me in that way. Id like to think I helped him in some way throughout that time as well but maybe it is that we get along. It is rare that you find someone that you work with who makes it feel like it isnt exactly work. I think the big reason he keeps me around is that it makes him forget that were actually doing a job.
DRE: As co-producer what were your duties?
SR: Its funny because I had no idea what that was. When I was hired I literally went on IMDB to look up what a co-producer did. That was useless. It didnt tell me anything. So I was just like Ill just talk and give my opinion until someone tells me to shut up. Thats basically what a co-producer does.
DRE: Im a heavy guy. Did you lose weight specifically for this movie?
SR: No, I just slimmed down a little. Although the prospect of seeing yourself on a 50 foot screen is a good motivation to not eat that hamburger.
DRE: How was doing the Age of Aquarius video at the end of the movie?
SR: That was so much fun to do. That again was one of those things that I cant believe is actually in there. People have asked me Is there anything that wasnt in the movie that you wish was. I will keep saying No, if anything Im shocked how much of the stuff we shot wound up in the movie. We were laughing our asses off as we were shooting the Age of Aquarius stuff but we didnt think anyone else would find it funny. In the test screenings some people hated that, but slightly more people liked it and thats the only reason its in the movie.
DRE: I got to speak to Adam McKay for the DVD release of Anchorman. I asked him Whats it like to create movie thats probably going to in the future be quoted as much as movies like Caddyshack and Stripes? So I ask you the same question about The 40 Year Old Virgin.
SR: Its always nice when people agree with you about whats funny. When we think its funny on set and someone else thinks Hey, that was funny, then its just one more day I can go without doubting everything I do.
DRE: Youve been acting since you were 16, when did you discover you had this talent for improv?
SR: To me it was always easier to make stuff up than memorize what was there. That was my take on it. Its just something that makes it a lot more fun for me. It makes the whole process a lot more alive and you never know whats going to happen so I feel like a lot of the funniest stuff comes out of that. I always laugh harder at stuff my friends say than anything ever in a movie. The reason is because it really seems like they said it on the spot. It doesnt seem like someone told them to say it. When you can capture that on film I think its a lot more interesting to watch than scripted lines. But thats just our poor acting ability if anything. Im sure great actors can take scripted lines and make it seem like improv and get away with it, but we are just not skilled enough to do that.
DRE: Does it bother you that Paul Rudd is as funny as he is good looking?
SR: Its like the grossest thing in the world how talented and handsome he is. Im thinking like Man, Ive got to be onscreen next to Paul Rudd shirtless. Great. Thats not going to hurt.
DRE: What was it like working with Steve Carell?
SR: Ive was around him a little on Anchorman but I hadnt had a large dose of Carell until we started doing the movie. Hes absurdly normal. I always describe it as one of your friends dads who drives you to school in the morning. Hes almost the most normal guy in the entire world. Hes really not even that hilarious to talk to. Hes just a guy whos very nice and thoughtful in a way that you really dont get why hes so funny.
DRE: When and how did you lose your virginity?
SR: I was in high school and I was drunk at a party. I was just compiling a list of who I was going to call the second it was over. Thats all that was going through my head.
DRE: Was that before or after you became a TV star?
SR: It was before. Thats how I know it was real.
DRE: What scene in The 40 Year Old Virgin still makes you laugh?
SR: A lot of scenes will forever make me laugh. Its different things that amuse me as I watch it more and more. The part where Jay [played by Romany Malco] is watching Dawn of the Dead and keeps screaming. For some reason theres something weird about the fact that you just dont really see a guy watching another movie in a movie and reacting to it throughout the course of a scene. I always laugh really hard at that.
DRE: How did you guys find Romany?
SR: A few years ago him and Paul Rudd were in a movie called The Chteau, where they played brothers, weirdly enough, who inherited a French chateau. Its an all improvised movie and it is pretty funny. Its not mind blowing, but me and Judd were looking for guys and someone sent us that movie with Rudd for Anchorman and we were like Hey, these two guys can play together. Lets just hire both of them. Thats exactly what we did.
DRE: What else is in the unrated version of The 40 Year Old Virgin?
SR: Theres just a lot dirty shit. The movie is like 17 minutes longer, which is crazy because it is already two hours long. Judd is one of the few directors who really is thinking of the DVD as hes shooting the movie. Theres just so much stuff we shot specifically for the DVD. There are hilarious scenes of improv that are specifically meant to be watched in that format. Smoke a doobie and watch it. Thats my opinion.
DRE: How much did the DVD releases of Undeclared and Freaks and Geeks have an impact on people recognizing you?
SR: Id say as many people recognize me now as they did when the shows were on the air. If I ever left my house I might have a much better sense of what the actual answer to that question is. But in my apartment not a lot of people recognize me.
DRE: What is the movie starring you and going to be direct by Judd about?
SR: Right now it is called Knocked Up and it is about me impregnating a woman on a one night stand and us having a baby together. Weve just finished the first draft and its somehow far more graphic than The 40 Year Old Virgin.
DRE: Is it going to be an improvised movie?
SR: it will be a similar thing. We always go in with a tight script and then kind of throw it out the second we get on set.
DRE: Thats awesome. Is your movie going to be more in the vein of Anchorman or more reality-based like 40 Year Old Virgin?
SR: Id say much more reality-based like 40 Year Old Virgin. Maybe even slightly more reality-based in a weird way because the subject matter of pregnancy is slightly heavier. But I hope it is equally hilarious.
DRE: As a fan of comedy which Im sure you are, who would you want to get to star in a movie with you, besides Bill Murray?
SR: Besides Bill Murray? Who else is there? I want to work with Sacha Baron Cohen more. Thats all Im saying. I want him to be in anything I ever do. Hes the funniest guy alive.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
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And yes I know this thread is old.