By Jae-Ha Kim
Tribune Media Services
December 18, 2012
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, actor Seth Rogen, 30, always assumed his career would be behind the scenes. Though he started doing stand-up comedy as a teenager in Canada and had a co-starring role on the short-lived series, “Freaks and Geeks,” he was comfortable working as a staff writer on such projects as Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Da Ali G Show.” But these days, the affable actor-screenwriter is best known for his comedic work in films such as “Knocked Up” and “Pineapple Express.” In his latest movie, “The Guilt Trip,” Rogen and his on-screen mom, Barbra Streisand, take a cross-country road trip. To stay in touch with Rogen, fans may follow him on Twitter.
Q. What do you imagine an actual road trip with Barbra would be like?
A. It’d probably be pretty similar to the movie, which means that it would be fun and funny. (Laughs) She likes a lot of snacks, so I think that would be a big part of it. I’d like to try it! Whether she would or not is another story.
Q. Road trips can make or break friendships. Have you had any breakups after bad road trips?
A. No, thankfully! My friends and I are all pretty much the same. I never had a make-it-or-break-it road trip.
Q. What was your most memorable road trip?
A. When I was 16, my mom and I rented a car in Israel and drove around for a couple weeks. It was fun. I’m pretty easy maintenance, which is a good thing, since I have to travel so much for work.
Q. Where have you traveled that you never imagined you’d visit?
A. I was in Fiji recently and it was amazing. Bora Bora was wonderful, too.
Q. Do you prefer warm weather destinations?
A. Not necessarily. I’m Canadian, so I like winter sports. I’ve been snowboarding since I was young. I grew up going to Whistler Blackcomb (in British Columbia) a lot. My friend has a cabin there so it’s always nice to go there. And I feel better in winter clothes than in summer clothes.
Q. What is your favorite vacation destination?
A. I like Big Sur (in California) a lot. It’s really pretty and nice up there. I’ve been to Australia a couple times and really enjoyed that country. So right now, I’d say those places.
Q. Given the chance, would you opt for Big Sur or a completely new destination?
A. Someplace new. We try not to go to the same place over and over. There are a lot of places I still would like to get to.
Q. Like where?
A. India and Greece. I’ve always wanted to go.
Q. Are there places that everyone tells you are great, but you really don’t want to visit there?
A. I don’t really want to go to Hawaii. I’ve been there a few times and liked it a lot, but I’m sort of done. Same thing with Mexico; it’s a beautiful country and I’ve enjoyed myself there, but I’m afraid of the drug war. I’m joking! I just think there’s a whole world out there and I’ve only seen a small part of it. So I’d like to try to see what else is out there.
Q. How adventurous are you when it comes to eating what the locals eat?
A. I’ll experiment and try different stuff. I’ve been to China and Korea and they serve you some odd stuff from time to time, and sometimes it’s better suited for different palates, but I always give it a shot. You never know if you’ll like it until you try. And if you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it again.
Q. When you were a child, did your family go on a lot of road trips?
A. Not that much. We would drive to Disneyland from Vancouver, which is like a 24-hour drive. We wouldn’t do it straight through. It was fun, but we stopped when my sister got to the age where she said, “I can’t do this anymore.”
Q. If you had all the time in the world, what would be your ultimate road trip?
A. I’d like to travel around the Greek Islands.
Q. When you’re away somewhere, are you dying to get back home or do you dread having to leave your vacation?
A. It kind of waivers, depending on who I’m with, where I am and what’s going on. Sometimes I’m excited to go home and sometimes I’m almost crying that I have to leave.
Q. Given the choice, do you prefer flying or driving?
A. I would prefer to drive. I don’t like flying. I was on a cruise once when I was 12 and I don’t need to do that again. I felt trapped. So driving.
Q. Did you ever backpack your way through any country?
A. I did. I went to Amsterdam and Paris when I was 18 or 19 for a few weeks. It was really fun. Almost everyone I know spent some time backpacking around South America or Asia or somewhere.
Q. What is the most important thing to have when you travel?
A. All I need is my passport.
Q. Have you ever eaten food so good that it’d be worth returning just to have another meal?
A. I was in New Orleans for a while working. The food there is worth getting on a plane for.
Q. What are some of your favorite cities?
A. Vancouver, New Orleans, Amsterdam, New York, Montreal and Toronto.
© 2012 JAE-HA KIM
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
Clicking now..already jeaolus
Who the hell is seth rogen?
‘Comedic Work” c’mon? Work is for a good to great movie. Comediac Work?? Movie about a drunk kid who gets a girl pregnant. And of of course Pineapple Express is one for the ages