Fame Is "Knocking" For Seth Rogen
After a supporting role in the hugely successful "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," Seth Rogen is taking the lead in the new comedy "Knocked Up."
Rogen, 25, made his name on the cult TV shows "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared." He started as a standup comedian at age 13. He has also held other supporting roles in "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" and "You, Me and Dupree." In addition, he's a producer and an Emmy-nominated writer.
Rogen isn't the typical dashing leading man, but he said his look is more relatable to the everyday public.
"It's funny when people call me untraditional looking because looking at the crowd, I'm a lot more traditional looking than, say, Tom Cruise," Rogen told The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith. "People just don't want to acknowledge that. No one wants to look at this for two hours."
"Knocked Up," which opens Friday, was written and directed by Judd Apatow, the same man behind "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." The movie, which also stars Katherine Heigl of "Grey's Anatomy," is the story of a one-night-stand that results in a pregnancy.
Rogen, who was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, plays Ben Stone, an ambitionless, ordinary guy while Alison Scott's (Heigl) career as an entertainment reporter is on the fast track toward success. After their drunken hook-up, they go their separate ways only for Rogen's character to receive a phone call that Alison is pregnant. The movie called for some intimate scenes and Rogen said he gave his co-star some advice:
Photos: "Knocked Up" Premieres
"I told her to sleep underneath a bear for a week, climb in a cave with hibernating animals," he said. "That's what it will be like to perform an intimate scene with me."
In a way, Ben Stone speaks up for the common man. He lives with a bunch of his buddies and is living off of a settlement he got for being hit by a mail truck years ago. He and his friends are trying to strike it rich with a celebrity porn Web site.
"I stand up for it," he said. "Say, just because you're stupid and unattractive doesn't mean you can take any stuff from anybody."
Ben is a moron, Rogen says — the worst person who could ever get a woman pregnant. But he has room to evolve.
"It would be funny to have a character where you could really see him grow, you know? In order to have that, you need to start pretty low," he said.