Seth Rogen Says Comedy Should Be Hard To Do
The actor, writer, and director opens up about how to make people laugh these days.
Feb 12, 2025
When I think about multi-hyphenates I admire, Seth Rogen is at the top of the list. He came to Hollywood as an actor but has since shaped himself and his company into an incredibly successful and imaginative person, who can tackle adaptations and has incredibly commercial original ideas as a writer and director as well.
Rogen is definitely someone to emulate, and that's why I'm always so interested when he gives an interview. Recently, he spoke to Esquire magazine and I loved hearing about his process and life.
One of the most interesting things he talked about was how hard it is to do comedy today.
And how important that hardship is for the genre.
“The complaint that comedy’s harder than it used to be is not a valid complaint,” Rogen said. “Maybe it was too easy before. And why should it be? Why shouldn’t it be hard? I like that my job is hard, because I’m trying to do something that requires a huge amount of resources and people’s time and energy.”
Rogen continued, “What do you wish you could say? What do you feel has been taken from you? It’s always funny when people are like: Oh, they could never make the Diversity Day episode of ‘The Office’ today. You can still watch it…I’m constantly meeting teenagers who love ‘Superbad’ and who think it holds up, and none of them are like: How fucking dare you have said that?”
Seth Rogen in 'The Studio'
CREDIT: Apple TV+
I loved this answer because I think it embodies how people should tackle projects. See, comedy is about finding what the audience thinks is funny. It's not about rules. There are plenty of comedians who still push the envelope.
They do so knowing what they can get away with and by making people laugh.
If people aren't laughing, that's on you.
Everyone wants to make excuses for why their stuff doesn't work out. A lot of times when I hear that, I know it's because they just aren't funny.
Writing a great comedy is hard work; it's legitimately tough. Embrace that challenge and do your best work. that's how you'll stand out in Hollywood and how you can have career longevity like Rogen.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
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