RoGEN
He’s still getting high. He’s still making us laugh.
SETH ROGEN IS NOT THE TYPE OF DUDE TO DISTILL HIS STRATEGIES FOR LIVING INTO THERAPEUTIC
SOUND BITES, little chunks of wisdom inspo to be digested in the morning alongside a matcha and some
sun salutations. In fact, and thank god, he wouldn’t even formally consider them “strategies for living” at
all, let alone dream of imposing them on anyone else. Still, spend a little time in his company, talking about
his life, and certain patterns start to emerge, themes and lessons recurring with enough frequency that
they can be isolated for general distribution: work harder than everyone else. Find a mentor, or at least
some encouragement. Cultivate enduring relationships. Grow gradually. Beware hubris. Never be their
bigg est problem. Be in control of your own work (where possible). Always have something else going on.
Charity, a seriesofcomedyshowsthat’sraisedmillionsfor
Alzheimer’scare,supportandresearch.He’salsowriting
a bookofessays,dueoutin2020.atlingeringlow-
achievingpersonaofhisoldcharacters,though,might
bea blessing,sinceit’sprovideda coveragainstpublic
scrutinyandraisedexpectationsforRogen,thehuman,
whoarrivedinHollywoodasa teenagerandhasn’tstopped
workingsince.e man,likethemyth,maybea burner,
buthe’salsoa machine.
‘I reallyalwaysworkedhard,becauseI recognisedfrom
a prettyyoungageit wasoneoftheonlythingsI could
control,’Rogensays.‘I rememberI didkarateasa kid,
andwhenI startedI wastheworstintheclass– I wasthe
worstof 25 kidswhowereafraidofgettingpickedon.And
thenjustbecauseeveryoneelsequit,threeyearslaterI was
atthetopoftheclass,andtherewere 25 kidswhowere
worsethanme.Andthatwasalwaystangible.Justbynot
stoppingI becamethebestone.It wasn’tthisferocious
leap.I justkeptgoing,andslowly[other]peoplestopped.
Becausea lotofpeoplewillstop.’
RogenwasjustbackfromCinemaConinLas
Vegas,wherehe’dbeendeployedtocharma groupof
internationaltheatreownersonbehalfofhisnewmovie,
theromanticcomedyLongShot. It wasa random-
seemingbutnecessaryactofringkissingandpartofthe
pre-releasepromotionalkabukithatcanhelpnudge
a projecttowardsuccess.(esearethegatekeepers
whodecidewhetherornottoscreenthelms,aer
all.)SincepremieringatSXSWinMarch,where
n a TuesdayaernooninApril,SethRogenwassitting
ina cornerboothinthebackofCanter’sDeliinLA,
awaitinghismatzo-ballsoup.Overtheyearshe’s
celebratedbirthdayshereand,intheerabeforehehad
oces,therestaurantfunctionedasa defactoconference
roomforbusinessmeetings.Nosurprise,then,thathe
wasgreetedlikethemayor,alongwithobscureinside
jokeswiththewaitsta. Almostimmediately,Rogen
- bearded,bespectacled,becapped– wasapproached
bysomeblokesapologeticallyaskingfora picture.He
obliged,grabbingtheirphonesandmuggingfortwo-
secondintervals.‘Takingthepicturemyselfwasa big
evolution,’hesaidaerthey’dgone.‘athelps.Takes
a lotoftheguessworkout.’
Forpeoplewhosecasualimpressionofhimbegins
andendswiththegalleryofquasi-employed,stoned
men-childrenheplayedinhis20s,it mightbehardto
fullycomprehendthatRogen,now37,is a legitimate
Hollywoodoperatorandentrepreneurinhisown
right,witha careerthatextendswellbeyondactingand
writing.Overa singleweek,forexample,heannounced
a multi-platformdealbetweenPointGreyPictures– his
productioncompanywithcreativepartnerEvanGoldberg - andLionsgate,andlauncheda weedbrandemphasising
consumereducation,Houseplant,inhisnativeCanada.In
additiontodeveloping,writingandactinginhisownlm
projects,RogenproducesTV(Preacher,FutureMan,Black
Monday), doesvoicework(SausageParty,LionKing), and
withhiswife,LaurenMiller-Rogen,createdHilarityfor
CarolineMcCloskey SebastianMader Mobolaji Dawodu
66 / september 2019 GQ.CO.ZA