GQ South Africa – September 2019

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