For many actors, auditioning for some questionable roles is an inevitable part of trying to get their big break in Hollywood. And during a recent interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Rogen recalled one of his early auditions that was memorable for all the wrong reasons.
During the conversation, Jimmy asked Seth whether he still auditions for projects, prompting the star and creator of The Studio to reflect on how times have changed in the industry. “It has been a long time,” Seth said. “And thank god it was mostly physical VHS tapes and stuff like that that was being used when I was auditioning for things, because the things I auditioned for, in retrospect, if they were out there in the world, they would end my career very, very fast, I believe.”
Jimmy encouraged Seth to give one example, and the actor obliged, recalling the time that he “auditioned for this boy with a cognitive disability” in the 2003 movie, Gigli, which starred Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez.
As you may know, Gigli has been criticized for several reasons, not least for its plot, which followed Ben’s character, a hitman named Larry, being hired to kidnap someone with a mental disability. The role eventually went to Justin Bartha, and, in hindsight, Seth recalled that the script was not “written in what, by today’s standards, would be the most sensitive portrayal of a boy with a cognitive disability.”
Looking back at his ill-fated audition, Seth said he wanted to “leave an impression” as an aspiring young actor. “I don’t think I wore a helmet into the audition itself, but it was at play,” he said. “And I’m tempted to do an impression of what I did, but I can’t even do it. I can’t! That’s how bad it was! It’s so bad. I dare not even portray what I did in this audition.”
“I went for it. I saw myself at the Oscars,” he continued, as Jimmy laughed so hard he could barely speak. “Truthfully, if that tape was out in the world today, this would be the last interview you ever saw me do. Other than, like, my apology tour. Please, if you have it, burn it. Please sell it to me. I will buy it from you.”
I think we can safely say that Seth missing out on that role was no huge loss for his career. The movie was a critical and commercial flop, grossing just $7.2 million worldwide. And today, it’s perhaps best remembered as the film that sparked J.Lo and Ben’s decade-spanning love story.
In 2022, Ben reflected on the Gigli’s unfortunate legacy as “a disaster,” telling Entertainment Weekly: “It was a movie that didn’t work… The funny name, the Jennifer Lopez romance, and overexposure of that, it was kind of a perfect storm. And I remember talking to Marty [Brest, the director] the Friday it came out, and I was like, it’s just spectacular, it’s a tsunami, it couldn’t be worse. This is as bad as it gets.”