With his creative partner Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen has written his own movies ever since he started out in Hollywood – and in the last few years, he’s also directed himself alongside Goldberg – so the actor is often able to give himself whatever role he wants.
But in the decade between Freaks and Geeks’ cancelation and the breakout success of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Rogen tried out for a number of roles that he missed out on. And since becoming a huge star, he’s been offered a lot of high-profile gigs that he turned down. A lot of these rejected parts surfaced in Vulture’s “Lost Roles” piece about the what-ifs of Rogen’s career.
Saul In Pineapple Express
According to Vulture, when Rogen and Goldberg were writing their stoner action-comedy hit Pineapple Express, Rogen was planning to play the wacky, off-the-wall pot dealer Saul Silver, while the everyman protagonist Dale Denton would’ve been played by a more traditional movie star.
However, when they sent the script to Rogen’s Freaks and Geeks co-star James Franco – a traditional movie star – he was more interested in playing Saul, so Rogen took the role of Dale instead.
One Of The Dudes In Dude, Where’s My Car?
In an interview with The A.V. Club, Pineapple Express was compared to Dude, Where’s My Car? and Rogen confessed that he hadn’t seen the Ashton Kutcher/Seann William Scott comedy.
The interviewer joked, “Your life is consequently bereft of meaning,” and Rogen explained the reason why he avoided the film: “It’s ‘cause I auditioned for it and I didn’t get it, and I felt bitter toward it.” When the interviewer asked which role he tried out for, Rogen replied, “One of the dudes.”
Tuck Hansen In This Means War
McG’s This Means War has exactly the kind of star-driven high-concept premise that Hollywood traffics in. It’s a love-triangle rom-com mixed with an action thriller as two CIA agents fall for Reese Witherspoon.
Although they ended up casting two straightforward leading men – Chris Pine and Tom Hardy – the producers originally sought a double act of a traditional movie star and a comedy star. According to Empire, the roles were initially offered to Pine and Rogen, but Rogen turned it down so his role went to Hardy.
Cheddar Bob In 8 Mile
According to Insider, Rogen has named his attempt to land the role of Cheddar Bob alongside Eminem in 8 Mile as his “weirdest” audition. He was told to bring another actor to his second audition, so they could read the Eminem lines, and he brought his frequent collaborator Jason Segel along.
Rogen explained, “I started laughing hysterically, and so did Jason. We literally couldn’t make it through the auditions. As soon as one of us started the scene, the other would lose it... It was so silly, we couldn’t finish. We just excused ourselves and saw ourselves out, tears streaming down our faces.” The role of Cheddar Bob was instead played by Evan Jones.
The Lead Role In The Long D
According to Vulture, after the success of Superbad, Rogen and Goldberg collaborated with producer Judd Apatow on a script for a romantic comedy called The Long D, about a high school couple adapting to a long-distance relationship after getting into different colleges.
However, when the trio moved on to Pineapple Express and Rogen aged out of the role of a college student, the crudely titled The Long D never materialized.
Patrick In Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
When Rogen worked with director Michel Gondry on The Green Hornet, Gondry didn’t remember that Rogen had unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Patrick in his existential, universally acclaimed breakup movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Rogen explained (via Vulture), “I auditioned for the Elijah Wood part... I was telling Michel Gondry, ‘I f**king auditioned for you, dude,’ and he’s like, ‘Oh, I did not know!’ But yeah, that was just like one of a thousand movies that I did not get cast in.”
Dr. Adrian Helmsley In 2012
According to Vulture, Roland Emmerich offered the role of Dr. Adrian Helmsley in his big-budget disaster epic 2012 to Rogen, but the actor turned it down. Instead, the part went to Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Rogen explained, “I don’t want to become the kind of superstar who parties all the time, does coke, and throws up in the back of a limo... For me, my main goal is simple: to write the kind of comedy that me and my friends would instantly throw money down to see.”
An Unspecified Part In Band Of Brothers
When Rogen brings up an anecdote about auditioning for Steven Spielberg’s seminal World War II miniseries Band of Brothers on the Superbad DVD commentary, Jonah Hill is surprised to learn he was up for a part on the show: “You auditioned for Band of Brothers?”
It might seem strange to imagine Rogen playing a role in a gritty, harrowing military drama, but the cast of Band of Brothers featured such fellow comedy stars as David Schwimmer and Simon Pegg.
Seth In Superbad
According to Vulture, Rogen and Goldberg started writing the movie that would become Superbad when they were teenagers attending high school themselves. Back then, Rogen – who was just starting out as a standup comic – intended to play Seth (the character named and modeled after himself).
However, since the movie didn’t get made until Rogen was in his twenties and couldn’t pass for a high schooler, he played Officer Michaels opposite Bill Hader’s Officer Slater instead, and the role of Seth went to Hill, who knocked it out of the park.