A new behind-the-scenes video reveals just how Seth Rogen managed to act opposite himself as two characters in his latest comedy, An American Pickle. The movie, which is the first HBO Max original comedy, features Rogen playing turn-of-the-century immigrant Herschel Greenbaum, who moves from the fictional Eastern European town of Schlupsk to Brooklyn. Once there, he falls into a vat of pickles and remains preserved for over 100 years, waking up in modern-day Brooklyn only to find out he has just one remaining relative - his great-grandson Ben Greenbaum, also played by Rogen.
Despite initially being hesitant to play both roles, going as far as getting Ike Barinholtz to do a table read as Herschel, Rogen manages to pull off two completely different and moving performances as the Greenbaum's. Besides the marked physical difference (Rogen grew a big, bushy beard and let his hair grow out to play Herschel), Rogen puts on a very convincing accent and gives Herschel a much stiffer, more formal physical presence than the sloppy millennial Ben. As a result, the effect of Rogen appearing on-screen alongside himself never detracts from the story.
Rogen shared a behind-the-scenes video from An American Pickle that provides an in-depth look at just how the production shot both performances, and it's a lot more complicated than you'd think. Not only was every scene featuring both characters shot twice, but they had to be shot months apart, as Rogen didn't want to wear a fake beard. As a result, everything featuring Herschel was filmed first. Rogen shaved his enormous beard off, and the movie went back to each location and had to re-shoot the scenes again, using the exact same lighting, camera position, and movements. You can watch the video below.
A great deal of the video is devoted to an interview with Rogen's stand-in, Ian Poake, who not only performed both roles opposite Rogen but had a small role as Devon in the movie. He reveals that he would not only act out Rogen's opposite role but also provide action guidelines from off-camera for Rogen to time his performance correctly. The entire undertaking sounds incredibly labor-intensive, but the result is there for everyone to see on-screen.
Not only is An American Pickle a fantastic technical achievement, but it also illustrates how good Rogen's dual performances are. To be able to portray two different characters for months, and react appropriately to a stand-in who isn't even performing the dialogue proves that Rogen isn't just a goofy stoner comedy actor.
Source: Seth Rogen