This year has not been slow for SETH ROGEN (B.O.B.). He started by lending his voice as Mantis (alongside Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Angelina Jolie) in “Kung Fu Panda,” which has earned more than $630 million worldwide, making it DreamWorks Animation’s most successful non-sequel film ever. Rogen immediately followed “Kung Fu Panda” with another #1 box office hit in the action comedy “Pineapple Express,” a film he co-wrote with Evan Goldberg and starred in opposite James Franco and Danny McBride. Sony Pictures released the film in August, nearly earning $100 million worldwide to date. Most recently, Rogen was seen in Kevin Smith’s “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” released by The Weinstein Company in October, in which he starred opposite Elizabeth Banks.
Rogen has emerged leading a new generation of comedic actors, writers and producers. Nominated for an Emmy Award in 2005 for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy for “Da Ali G Show,” Rogen began his career doing standup comedy in Vancouver, Canada, at 13 years of age. After moving to Los Angeles, Rogen landed supporting roles in Judd Apatow’s two critically acclaimed network television comedies, “Freaks and Geeks” and “Undeclared,” the latter of which Rogen was also hired on as a staff writer at the age of 18. Shortly after, Rogen was guided by Apatow toward a film career.
In 2005, Rogen was cast by Apatow in the hit feature comedy “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” which opened #1 at the box office, where it remained at the top perch for two weekends in a row. The film went on to gross over $175 million worldwide and helped put Rogen on the map as a future film star. The film was named one of 10 Most Outstanding Motion Pictures of the Year by AFI and took home Best Comedy Movie at the 11th annual Critics’ Choice Awards. Rogen was a co-producer on the film as well.
In 2007, Rogen toplined the summer comedy “Knocked Up” with co-stars Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann, a film that has grossed over $140 million domestically. Once again pairing Rogen with Apatow, the story centers on a one-night stand; eight weeks later, Alison (Heigl) reveals to Ben (Rogen) that she’s pregnant. Having little in common, the two decide that they have to at least try to make some kind of relationship work for the baby’s sake. Rogen was also an executive producer on the project, which was distributed by Universal Pictures.
Later that year, Rogen was seen in another summer blockbuster, “Superbad” (a semi-autobiographical comedy), which he co-wrote and executive-produced with writing partner Evan Goldberg; the film grossed over $120 million domestically for Sony Pictures. The story is based on two co-dependent high school seniors (Jonah Hill and Michael Cera), who are forced to deal with separation anxiety after their plan to stage a booze-soaked party goes awry.
Other film credits for Rogen include “Horton Hears a Who!,” “The Spiderwick Chronicles,” “Drillbit Taylor,” “You, Me, and Dupree” and “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.”
He recently wrapped filming the comedy “Observe and Report” with writer/director Jody Hill (“The Foot Fist Way”) and producer Donald De Line (“The Italian Job”), where Rogen stars as Ronnie, a local mall security guard who wages war on the cops; in it, he plays opposite Anna Faris (“House Bunny”). Warner Bros. is set to release the film in 2009.
Rogen is currently filming Judd Apatow’s new comedy “Funny People,” which is set to release next July by Universal Pictures; Rogen stars as Ira and will be joined by comedy superstars Adam Sandler, Jonah Hill, Leslie Mann and Jason Schwartzman. At the conclusion of “Funny People,” Rogen will demonstrate his wide-ranging acting ability by starring in the action film “The Green Hornet” (Sony Pictures). He will again team up with writing partner Evan Goldberg for director Stephen Chow—the film has a scheduled release of June 2010.
Rogen currently resides in Los Angeles.
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