Seth Rogen biography

Synopsis

Actor Seth Rogen, born on April 15, 1982, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, rose to fame in his twenties as one of the comedy icons of his generation. His roles in television series and movies directed by Judd Apatow, including The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, made him a household name and brought him nonstop work as an actor and producer for other comedies and animated films.

Early Life and Work

Seth Rogen was born on April 15, 1982, in the city of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. His parents, Sandy (Belogus) and Mark Rogen, worked for nonprofit organizations; he has one older sister, Dayna. Rogen began performing stand-up comedy as a teenager, crafting his routines at parties and clubs. He won the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest when he was 16 years old.

Collaborations With Judd Apatow

Rogen left high school when a casting call landed him a part in director Judd Apatow's new prime-time comedy-drama Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000). He played Ken, a burnout with a deadpan sense of humor, in an ensemble of young actors just beginning their careers. Freaks and Geeks soon became a cult classic, although it was canceled after just one season due to low ratings. Rogen joined Apatow's next television venture, a comedy about college students called Undeclared (2001-02), as an actor and writer; again, the project was shut down after less than a year.

Although Rogen continued to write for television and film, and received small roles in 2001's Donnie Darko and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy in 2004, it was another Judd Apatow enterprise that gave him a career breakthrough. In 2005 he played one of Steve Carell's co-workers in the raunchy-but-sweet comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin, a hit with audiences and critics. His exposure increased greatly when he took the lead role in Apatow's Knocked Up (2007), acting opposite Katherine Heigl in an unconventional romantic comedy about a one-night-stand that leads to an unexpected pregnancy. Two years later, he was featured in Apatow's darker comedy-drama Funny People, which starred Adam Sandler as a comedian and cancer victim.

Other Film Projects

In addition to his acting ability, Rogen's writing and producing skills were evident in Superbad, a 2007 film that he developed from a script he had co-written with his friend Evan Goldberg at the age of 13. He and Goldberg went on to co-write the action-comedy Pineapple Express, in which Rogen, playing a crime witness, teamed up with fellow Freaks and Geeks alumnus James Franco as his drug dealer (2008).

Rogen's constant presence on movie screens continued with his work in Kevin Smith's Zach and Miri Make a Porno in 2008, the crime spoof Observe and Report in 2009, and the romantic comedy Take This Waltz in 2011. He starred as the titular superhero of the comic-book-based movie The Green Hornet (2011) and was the sidekick to a young cancer patient played by Joseph Gordon Levitt in 2011's 50/50.

Rogen has also lent his deep, scratchy voice to several animated features, including Dr.

Seuss's Horton Hears a Who!, Kung Fu Panda (and its sequel), Paul and Shrek the Third.

For The Guilt Trip, Rogen teamed up with legendary singer-actress Barbra Streisand in a mother-and-son road-trip movie (2012). In 2013's The End of the World, Rogen reunites with fellow actors (and friends) Jonah Hill, James Franco, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel and others—all playing themselves—in an apocalyptic action-comedy film.

Personal Life

Rogen married writer/actress Lauren Miller in 2011. He lives in Los Angeles.