I guess it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that Seth Rogen doesn’t seem too comfortable in an interview setting. He deflects his awkwardness with humor and seems a little dismayed by the fact that people actually care about the intricacies of his life. In person he is the same self-deprecating character he plays on screen. In fact one of the first things Rogen says as he and Anna Faris sat down for an interview in a room filled with press was regarding girls he’s had sex with in film (simulated of course), “I say they should make a support group together: Blond girls forced to have sex with Seth Rogen in film. You’re in there Anna, sorry.” For that matter so is Elizabeth Banks, twice, once for 40 Year old Virgin, and a few times in Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Lucky girls! Observe and Report is Rogen’s latest film without the usual repertoire of supporting cast he is often a part. This time around he stars as Ronnie, a bipolar security guard whose opinion of himself highly contrasts with that of the outside word. An “unapologetic comedy,” as they say, ensues. This is a more serious role for Rogen, perhaps more complex, and if you’ve seen the film, you’ll notice it might not be what you expected. In the conversations I’ve been a part with cast and director, there was a definite intent to make a serious movie with funny parts, rather than say, a funny movie with serious parts. “I’d say I guess the end result of this movie, I think it comes across as a serious role. As we were filming it, it did not seem like that at all, I think people are ideally, from what I read, viewing it exactly how we wanted them to. But as we were filming it, it did not seem like a dark serious role. The second they yelled cut they were laughing after every single thing we were doing regardless of how dark it may seem on film,” Rogen said. Hopefully if this trend continues soon we’ll be seeing Rogen in American Beauty meets Philadelphia right? Well maybe I shouldn’t get ahead of myself; he doesn’t plan any serious roles anyway. “I try to do the movies I go see, and I haven’t seen Changeling yet.” Uh oh, I hope Clint Eastwood doesn’t get wind of that comment or Rogen’s going end up with a rope around his neck balancing precariously to keep from hanging to death next to a grave marked Unknown. (That’s The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly reference if you didn’t get it. Obscure I know, but everyone knows not to mess with Clint, he’s badass.) Ronnie is bi-polar with a positive and profoundly wrong sense of self, so what’s the connection with him and the man who plays him? “I think in these movies, I think you need one small thing for people to relate to. For this one it’s like he views himself one way and the world views himself another way and he has a hard time dealing with that, and I think that’s relatable.” Rogen is a self-deprecating comedic movie star the country is in love with; maybe that relatability is what made the role appealing. We asked him what drew him to the movie. “Working with Jody [Hill]” was his answer. I guess I was wrong. As if Rogen couldn’t be anymore of a regular guy he was asked about his Canadian roots, what he misses the most about his land of birth, what he watches on TV and what he’d do if he wasn’t an actor. What he says, coming from anyone else would be the worst answers possible, but from a movie star, it’s actually quite refreshing. On his Canadian roots, it “all depends on what I’m doing. At this moment, I think it’s important, it’s who I am, it’s where I’m from, it’s a large part of why I am the way I am and why I view the world the way I do. Yeah I’m very proud.” And of the countless beauty of Canada, the famous Mounties, Alanis Morrisette, and a legal drinking age of 18, what’s Rogen’s answer for what he misses most from the nation that formed his worldview? “Ketchup and potato chips.” Spoken like the true pothead characters he plays. If he wasn’t working as an actor he’d be working in a comic book store or another similar area. “I have a friend that works at GameStop. That’d be great.” Like everyone else Rogen has one of the worst pastimes in our country: watching reality television. Rogen and Faris both agreed they like Top Chef, but why do they watch? “People feel a lot better about themselves watching it, probably, cause those people are such disasters for the most part, it’s a nice experience to know there are people way crazier than you in the world,” explained Rogen. So maybe we’ll see him in some reality television in the future? “No I’d rather kill myself.” I asked in my review of the movie a burning question that I have had for quite a while, why in nearly every movie, whether it be Rogen or Jonah Hill playing Rogen does he cradle carry a friend out of danger. It isn’t as purposeful as I had thought, and Rogen shed some light for me: “It isn’t entirely accidental, it’s symbolic in a lot of ways. I didn’t have anything to do with the writing (for Observe and Report), but for Superbad and Pineapple, it’s a very symbolic thing to carry your friend out of some danger, it just works for the theme, it’s a hilarious image.” In just about a decade since living in Los Angeles, Rogen has gone from obscurity to writer and actor in the most popular comedies in the country today. Los Angeles has been good to him. “It was 10 years ago at this point. So you know, I got used to it. People love complaining about it when they first move here, it’s a real hobby of people.” Faris agreed: “Yeah you’re right, and then now it’s like, ‘This place is rad.’” “It’s really nice and sunny all the time.” added Rogen. Faris then summed things up well: “We get to live our dream.”