Seth Rogen is well-known for wearing many hats such as writer, actor, freelance ceramicist, and director. However, one thing that the actor hasn't done is portraying a double role. Fortunately, An American Pickle which is slated to release this week will witness his dual portrayal.
The HBO Max series is produced by Rogen and the actor will be seen portraying Herschel Greenbaum's character who is an Old World immigrant along with Ben's character who is the great-grandson of Greenbaum. Ben's character is a millennial who develops applications for smart devices.
Rogen opened up about the movie to Entertainment Weekly from his house in Los Angeles. He also talked about the fake beards, Nora Ephron, fermentation, and more. The Pickle is written by Simon Rich in 2013, Sell Out. Rogen knows Rich since his days on Saturday Night Live.
The 36-year-old humorist said that the inspiration for novella creation came after he saw a picture of his grandfather. Rich said that his grandfather would have hated him. Rogen connected with Rich's feelings related to his grandfather and revealed that his grandfather was a professional football player and participated in World War II.
When I was a kid I had a hangnail on my toe, and he literally ripped my entire toenail off and I had to go to the hospital to get it fixed, you know? He was a tough guy. If he had met me when we were both in our mid-30s, he probably would have beaten the s--- out of me,” Rogen explained.
The 38-year-old actor said that his grandfather's kind of tough man image he had in his mind while portraying the character. The actor acknowledged how difficult life his grandfather had lived. Rogen said that he might have to be ready for a fight at any moment.
This Is the End star said that he kept his grandfather in mind and stay on the edge always. He recalled how he used to cut an apple into half without using a knife. The actor revealed that he had thought about playing both the characters for a long time.
At a point, the creators thought to rope in another actor because Rogen didn't want to look self-indulgent on-screen. While the actor believed that he could portray both the characters with ease, yet he wanted to think out of the box before falling into a trap. However, the actor admitted his love for ceramics that is visible on his Instagram.