Seth Rogen Admits There Are Old Videos Of Him That Could 'End His Career Very Fast' If Unearthed
By Favour Adegoke on June 24, 2025 at 1:15 PM EDT
Seth Rogen has opened up about his past movie auditions during the start of his career in Hollywood.
The actor admitted to being relieved that clips of his auditions from early on would not see the light of day, as they would "end his career very fast."
Seth Rogen made mention of one particular audition for a role in a movie starring Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, and how the role of a boy with a cognitive disability wasn't well written.
Seth Rogen Says One Audition Tape Could Have Ended His Career Before It Began
During an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Rogen, known for his hit roles in "Superbad," "Knocked Up," and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," opened up about a particularly regrettable audition from his early days in Hollywood when he was just another struggling actor trying to break into the industry and willing to take any opportunity he could get.
Speaking to Kimmel, he said: "Thank god it was mostly physical VHS tapes and stuff like that that was being used when I was auditioning for things. Because the things I auditioned for, in retrospect, if they were out there in the world, they would end my career very, very fast, I believe."
The Canadian actor revealed that one early audition he's relieved never saw the light of day, as he believes it could have completely derailed his career, was his audition for the role of Brian, a character with a cognitive disability in the infamous 2003 romantic comedy "Gigli," starring Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck.
He admitted that portrayal of the character was not handled with sensitivity in the script or his performance, saying: "I don't think the script was written in what, by today's standards, would be the most sensitive portrayal of a boy with a cognitive disability."
The Actor Says He Can't Reenact His Embarrassing 'Gigli' Audition Despite Being 'Tempted' To
Recalling the audition, Rogen admitted he was so embarrassed by his performance that he couldn't even bring himself to reenact it for the audience.
"I'm tempted to do an impression of what I did and can't even do it," he confessed, per the Daily Mail. "That's how bad it was. Truthfully, if that tape were out today, this would be the last video you see of me today - outside of my apology tour."
Rogen even joked that he would go to extreme lengths to make sure the tape never resurfaces. "Please, if you have it, burn it. Please sell it to me. I will buy it," he said.
Ultimately, the role went to Justin Bartha. "Gigli" would go on to become one of the biggest box office flops of the early 2000s, pulled from theaters just three weeks after its release due to overwhelmingly negative reviews and poor ticket sales.
Seth Rogen Claims Being Child-Free Helped Him Succeed
In 2023, Rogen spoke about his successful movie career and shared how his and his wife's decision not to have children had a positive impact on their lives.
"That has helped me succeed as well, definitely," he shared during an appearance on the "Diary of A CEO" podcast with Steven Bartlett. "There's a whole huge thing I'm not doing, which is raising children."
Rogen continued by saying that the choice was not made accidentally because he and his wife had always discussed it, and that, at the moment, they are "grateful" they don't have kids.
"Some people want kids, some people don't want kids," he explained. "Honestly, you just are told, 'You go through life, you get married, you have kids.' That's what happens. And me and my wife, neither of us were like that."
Rogen continued, "Honestly, the older we get, the more happy and reaffirmed we are with our choice to not have kids."
The Actor Says No Kids Means He And His Wife 'Get To Do Whatever' They Want
According to Rogen, one benefit of not having kids is gaining the freedom to pursue any interests he and his wife may have.
"Now more than anything, the conversation is like, 'Honestly, thank God we don't have children.' We get to do whatever we want, we're in the prime of our lives," he said.
The actor continued by listing his and his wife's numerous accomplishments with children out of the pictures, noting that he has more free time than his friends and colleagues, who are parents.
"I'm not saying that kids don't bring them joy," he acknowledged. "But Me and my wife seem to get a lot more active enjoyment out of not having kids than anyone I know seems to get out of having kids."
Seth Rogen Recently Took A Jab At Donald Trump
Rogen's comments about his past auditions come on the heels of his jokes about Donald Trump, which were cut from the broadcast of April's Breakthrough Prize ceremony, one of the world's most prestigious science award shows.
Often referred to as the "Oscars of Science," the high-profile event honors exceptional achievements in scientific research and is backed by some of the most prominent names in the tech world, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
While presenting a special prize in fundamental physics alongside actor Edward Norton, Rogen reportedly took aim at Trump.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, he quipped to the elite audience: "It's amazing that others [who have been] in this room underwrote electing a man who, in the last week, single-handedly destroyed all of American science."
The "Pineapple Express" star went on to say, "It's amazing how much good science you can destroy with $320m and RFK Jr, very fast."
However, despite being delivered at a live event, the jokes were notably absent from the so-called "full" YouTube upload of the ceremony.
