Seth Rogen stars in the cast of Hulu's series Pam & Tommy as Rand Gauthier, but who is the real-life figure Rogen plays? Taking a break from his comedy film roles, Seth Rogen returns to television for Pam & Tommy, Hulu's miniseries that tells the true story of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee's infamous sex tape. Not only does Rogen star in a main role, but he was also instrumental in developing the series and getting it to Hulu.
Rogen began his career as a television actor in the short-lived ‘90s series Freaks & Geeks. Since then, Seth Rogen has produced and starred in a variety of successful comedy movies like Pineapple Express, Superbad, and Neighbors. Although Pam & Tommy's true story has been a divisively-received project for Rogen, the actor is no stranger to controversy. In 2014, Seth Rogen and frequent collaborator James Franco got into international hot water after the release of their comedy The Interview, where the duo’s characters are sent to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. While the responses to Anderson and Lee's Pam & Tommy portrayals have varied, they at least haven't been subject to intense international scrutiny.
Pam & Tommy stars Lily James and Sebastian Stan as model Pamela Anderson and Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, documenting their turbulent marriage and media frenzy after a disgruntled former employee publicly releases their sex tape. Set in the mid-1990s, Pam & Tommy's true story begins when Seth Rogen's character Rand Gauthier, working as a carpenter for the couple, is abruptly and unfairly fired without pay. As revenge, both Pam & Tommy's character and the real-life Gauthier stole Lee's safe, finding a sex tape between the drummer and actress locked inside. Seth Rogen's character, a former porn actor, then works with a former colleague in the porn industry to widely and publicly distribute the tape via the newly-popular internet in hopes of profit.
Pam & Tommy: The Real-Life Rand Gauthier Explained
Rand Gauthier (played by Seth Rogen in Pam & Tommy) was an electrician for Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson at the time of their marriage. After Lee fired him and never paid for his services in real life, Gauthier decided to humiliate the rocker and make some fast cash – cue the theft of the infamous sex tape that drives the narrative of Pam & Tommy. The true Rand Gauthier designed a heist where, under the guise of returning to collect his tools, he stole Lee’s refrigerator-sized safe holding the couple’s jewels and guns, later discovering it also contained their sex tape. While the heist is portrayed accurately, Seth Rogen's real-life Pam & Tommy character was originally at the mansion to install a studio and sound system, whereas the show depicts him as a carpenter.
As is portrayed in Pam & Tommy, Gauthier then used his contacts from the porn industry to make several copies of the sex tape and, with help from friend Milton Ingley, devised to sell them online at about $60 apiece. Gauthier never actually made any money from the distribution, however, and the true story of Seth Rogen's Pam & Tommy character only got weirder from there. Since Gauthier never found a proper distributor for the sex tape, he ended up owing money to the mob instead to pay off his debts. Since Pam & Tommy's true story takes place long before the majority of proper internet privacy laws were set, the real Gauthier never faced any jail time for publicly releasing the sex tape. He now lives further up the California coast and remains an electrician to this day.
Although Pam & Tommy primarily utilized Seth Rogen’s more dramatic depths, his stoner reputation and comedy talents were still tapped into for Gauthier's failed heist. Rogen has played some diverse roles in the past, but a former porn-star-turned-electrician-turned-blackmailer for Pam & Tommy is one of the strangest in his portfolio. While Seth Rogen’s Rand Gauthier isn't the primary focus of Pam & Tommy, his instigation of their tumultuous media scandal and personal troubles makes for a riveting plot.