Seth Rogen once auditioned for the role of Cheddar Bob in the 2002 film 8 Mile, describing it as the “craziest audition of my life.”
During the latest episode of The A24 Podcast, The Invite star spoke with director Olivia Wilde, who mentioned that she had once worked as an assistant to the late casting director Mali Finn. That prompted Rogen to recall his unforgettable audition experience.
“I only remember her because she’s responsible for the craziest audition of my life,” Rogen said.
He explained that before the audition, he was told to bring someone to read opposite him because no one in the casting office felt “comfortable reading the other role.”
“I was told beforehand, ’cause the scenes were with other rappers, and we got a fax or some shit beforehand being like, ‘No one in this office feels comfortable reading the other role, so you have to bring someone to read with you,’” he said around the 4:42 mark of the episode.
“Like we all have a rapper on standby, a reading rapper,” Rogen joked.
Olivia Wilde guessed that Rogen had brought along his longtime friend and collaborator Evan Goldberg, but he revealed that he actually teamed up with Jason Segel, who was also auditioning for the role of Cheddar Bob.
“So, we just went with each other, and then one of us did it, and then we switched, and the other one did it,” Rogen recalled.
Although the arrangement sounded like a good idea at first, things quickly went off the rails once they entered the audition room.
“We both started laughing,” Rogen said. “I started laughing uncontrollably, to the point I was just like, ‘This is, like, it was too stupid.’”
The role of Cheddar Bob ultimately went to Evan Jones, who later appeared in films including The Book of Eli and Den of Thieves.
Rogen also reflected on the audition in his memoir, Yearbook, explaining why the experience was especially embarrassing for him.
“Auditioning is embarrassing in the best of times,” he wrote. “Add the fact that one of my best friends is watching me do it, and we’re both reading for rappers from Detroit, which we could NOT have been less right for.”
