Rogen joshing

LOOK down the cast list of Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy, one of BBC1's Bank Holiday movies, and near the bottom you'll find a credit for "Eager cameraman: Seth Rogen".

You might well recognise the face but be ignorant of the name. For weeks, his face has been adorning posters on billboards and buses, accompanied by the words "What If He Got You Pregnant?"

On a regional tour of this country to promote Knocked Up, the film his mugshot is advertising, the 25-year-old American actor, writer and producer is getting used to seeing himself on public transport.

His profile is going to get a lot higher. Rogen is "hot", to borrow a Hollywood phrase to describe someone who can do no wrong. He makes a formidable alliance with writer, producer and director Judd Apatow, who was involved with a gaggle of funny men on screens big and small before hitting the jackpot with the movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

Together, they represent something US studios like a lot - value for money. Made on modest budgets, both The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up sailed past the $100m mark at the US box office alone.

Rogen can afford to smile as he sits in a smart hotel in Manchester. Superbad, a teen comedy script he and Apatow have been trying to get made for eight years, has opened in American cinemas, taking more in the first weekend than it cost to make.

Canadian Rogen began doing stand-up comedy in his teens, then moved to Los Angeles where he was cast in Apatow's TV comedies, Freaks And Geeks and Undeclared. Both were notable for being well-liked and cancelled after a single season.

After writing for both those shows and De Ali G Show, Rogen was guided towards a film career by Apatow. Now he's a bone fide big screen leading man, partly, you suspect, because he has an endearing quality that makes the raucous comedy of his movies more acceptable.

"People seem to like me," he admits. "I'm not one of those guys who gets s*** thrown at me. One of the reasons I've found some success lately is because I'm kind of a normal guy which, especially when dealing with the public, is very helpful. I really am just a normal guy."

The current success that he and Apatow are enjoying is "crazy", he says. "We just thought we'd always fail together. Who knew that would change? It's truly strange that we've gone mainstream."

That's been achieved without compromise on their part. "Studios now let us do what we've always wanted to do, whereas they've been too afraid until now," he explains. "Superdad is a very good example of that. We've been trying to sell it for the last eight years and no one would touch it with a ten-foot pole. People thought it was funny but no one would make it.

"It was number one this weekend and I'm sure the studios will want to think, 'if we'd released it eight years ago no-one would have liked it'. I don't think that's the case: it would've been received exactly the same. No one wants to be first to do something, I guess."

The success of Virgin, Anchorman and Talledega Nights - all of which he and Apatow were involved in in some capacity - helped gain the green light for Knocked Up and the raft of other movies the pair have in production.

"We're doing the same thing. The public would always have liked it, it's just the studio had no real reason to think it would work," he adds.

Rogen's as surprised as anyone at what they're allowed to get away with in comedies that may be classified as filthy but fun. They're a million miles away from the Four Weddings style rom-coms of Richard Curtis. "When I watch our movies I'm shocked we were allowed to get away with what we got away with," he says.

"When I watch Knocked Up and Superbad especially, I can't believe we did this in a big movie that was promoted, that there are billboards for."

In Knocked Up, he plays a twentysomething slacker who discovers he's made Katherine Heigl's TV reporter pregnant after a one-night stand. Neither are ready to settle down with a family. Their reactions, and that of their friends, form the basis for the often off-colour comedy.

Genres make him uncomfortable, he continues. He wouldn't rush out to see a normal romantic comedy but something like Knocked Up he would go to see.

"To me, the best ideas are ones that aren't necessarily funny," he explains. "You take the idea of a guy who's 40 and never had sex, that can be a really depressing movie. You take an unplanned pregnancy, a child's life is at stake. That can be a very intense subject matter.

"It's how your characters are designed to approach it. I read once that a drama is just an undeveloped comedy, and I see where they're going with that. Any idea can be funny, it just depends what you're going for.

"As soon as I start to think of the scenes and we talk about them, it seems amusing and relateable to me. Every time I hear 'unplanned pregnancy', every single person I know has at least had a moment where they think they've got a girl pregnant."

'WE do improvise a lot and just inherently, everyone's own feelings and references and experiences will start to seep through into it. Our rehearsal process is mostly people sitting around telling stories. To us, it's just an odd documentation of the ridiculous things that we do. I love watching a movie, something happens and I think it's so weird and specific that it must have actually happened to one of those people. Those are the moments I'm happy to try and create."

Perhaps it hasn't quite sunk in how big a star he's on the verge of becoming. With writer, actor and producer credits on a string of upcoming movies, there'll be no escape from Rogen over the next year or so.

He's still enjoying the whole thing. "I love every second of it, being on set is one of the best things ever," he says with childish glee.

"The actors get a lot of freedom and input, and it's very collaborative. It's the best time. You feel like a bunch of people who've stolen a film camera and are making a movie. And you feel there's really no-one in charge, but in a good way."

Knocked Up (15) is now showing in cinemas.

Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy is on BBC1 on Monday at 10.25pm.