Seth Rogen

The actor who sent the viewers rolling in laughter with his goofy performance in the film ‘The 40-Year Old Virgin’, Seth Rogen is someone who seems to have been born to be a comedian. With due respects to his acting skills, it must be mentioned that there is something so amusing and funny about his very appearance that makes one want to laugh! Blessed with a chubby face framed by curly hair, twinkling eyes and a silly smile, the actor has got the perfect looks for a comedian. He is the very personification of innocence, goofiness and cuteness combined! As a small boy he realized he had it in him to make people laugh with his silly jokes and antics. The more he made others laugh, the more he loved it and decided to become a career comedian. He started performing stand-up comedy as a teenager. A financial crisis hit his family when Seth was 16, and the teenager dropped out from high school to become a full-time comedian in order to pay the bills. Eventually he carved a niche for himself and started appearing on television shows. After a few initial hiccups, he became an established television actor who eventually ventured into Hollywood. Today the actor has definitely come a long way from his stand-up comedy days!

Seth Aaron Rogen was born on April 15, 1982, in Vancouver, British Columbia to a Jewish family of Ukrainian and Russian origin. His mother, Sandy Belogus, is a social worker, and his American father, Mark Rogen, worked for non-profit organizations and as an assistant director of the Workmen's Circle Jewish fraternal organization. Of his dual citizenship, Rogen has stated, "I definitely associate with being Canadian much more than being American" because he grew up in Canada. He has described his parents, who met on kibbutz Beit Alfa in Israel, as "radical Jewish socialists". Rogen has an older sister named Danya. He attended Vancouver Talmud Torah Elementary School and Point Grey Secondary School, incorporating many of his classmates into his writing, and took up kyokushin karate for ten years. He was also known for the stand-up comedy he performed at Camp Miriam, a Habonim Dror camp.

As a child, Rogen did not want to pursue any career other than comedy, stating, "As soon as I realized you could be funny as a job, that was the job I wanted." He got his start in show business at age 12 after enrolling in a comedy workshop taught by Mark Pooley. His early comedy routines involved jokes about his bar mitzvah, his grandparents, and his camp counsellors. During his teenage years, he would perform stand-up comedy routines at places like bar mitzvahs and small parties, later shifting to bars. A mohel paid him to write jokes. At the age of 13, he co-wrote a rough draft of Superbad with childhood friend Evan Goldberg, whom he had met at bar mitzvah classes. Based on their teenage experiences, Rogen and Goldberg spent the rest of their time in high school polishing the script. They initially worried that American Pie (1999) had beaten them to the idea for the movie, but they decided that the film "'managed to totally avoid all honest interaction between characters,' which is what we're going for."

His mother was supportive of his comic endeavours and would often drive him to stand-up gigs at the comedy club Yuk Yuk's.[19] With his deadpan humour, he placed second in the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest at 16 years old. Also when Rogen was 16, his father lost his job and his mother quit hers, forcing them to put their house up for sale and relocate to a significantly smaller apartment. Around this time, he landed a role on Judd Apatow's television show Freaks and Geeks after attending a local casting call. Rogen dropped out of high school, began working for Apatow, and relocated with his family to Los Angeles. Rogen paid the bills and had become the main wage earner at just 16.

Director Judd Apatow recognized the boy’s skills and cast him in the television comedy drama ‘Freaks and Geeks’ which premiered in 1999. Seth played Ken in the show. The series was short-lived but became a cult classic.

He was offered a part in Apatow’s next television show, ‘Undeclared’ which was about a group of college freshmen at a university. Seth also served as a writer on the show. This show too was short-lived.

Moving on to film roles, he played Ricky in the 2001 movie ‘Donnie Darko’ which was a supernatural thriller. The film received favorable reviews and was a box office hit.

He played one of the friends of the main character in the romantic comedy ‘The 40-year Old Virgin’ (2005) which is about a middle-aged man desperate to lose his virginity. The film was a big hit.

In ‘Knocked Up’ in 2007 he played Ben Stone, a slacker who has a one-night stand with a successful working woman which results in a pregnancy. The movie was a big hit at the box office.

He co-wrote and co-produced the comedy film ‘Superbad’ in 2007. The film was based on a script Seth had written as a teenager along with his friend Evan Goldberg. The film was much loved by the viewers for its silly comedy.

He played Dale Denton, a drug addict in the 2008 comedy ‘Pineapple Express’ which he had co-written with Evan Goldberg. The term ‘Pineapple Express’ refers to a rare strain of marijuana in the film. The movie also had James Franco and received good reviews.

Continuing his professional link with Apatow, Seth starred along with Adam Sandler and Leslie Mann in the 2009 comedy drama film, ‘Funny People’. The film received positive reviews and Seth’s performance was especially appreciated.

Keeping up with his penchant for playing slackers, he portrayed an irresponsible slacker son of a widower in the 2011 action comedy ‘The Green Hornet’. The film received negative reviews but was a commercial success nonetheless.

He turned director in 2013 as he co-directed the disaster comedy, ‘This is the End’ with long-time friend Evan Goldberg. The film had an ensemble cast including Seth, James Franco, Jonah Hill and Emma Watson. It was both a critical and commercial success.

In 2014, he acted in the Comedy ‘Neighbors’ directed by Nicholas Stoller in which he plays a married man with a baby daughter whose life turns upside down when some strange neighbors move in next door. The film is counted among Seth’s biggest hits.