Washington DC [US], June 26 : Actor and comedian Seth Rogen recalled the last time he auditioned for a role in 'Gigli' that would have ended his career.
'Gigli' is a 2003 American romantic comedy crime film written, co-produced, and directed by Martin Brest, and starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bartha, Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, and Lainie Kazan.
Seth Rogen opened up about his audition for 2003's Gigli and why he's glad the tape of his work is seemingly gone. Rogen auditioned for the role of a "boy with a cognitive disability" in the Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez film. The part ultimately went to Justin Bartha and the film became a notorious critical and commercial flop, reported People.
He appeared on the recent episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and shared, "It has been a long time," adding, "And man, honestly 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, it would end my career very, very fast, I believe," reported People.
"Well, there's a movie called Gigli ... that stars Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez and in the film, they're assassins or something like that," he said.
The 2003 romantic crime drama was a notorious critical and commercial flop.
"In Gigli, they're assassins who are sent to watch over a boy who and this was not the words they used at the time - but had a cognitive disability, let's say," Rogen continued. "And so I, as an aspiring young actor ... I auditioned for this boy with a cognitive disability and I don't think the script was written in what, by today's standards, would be the most sensitive portrayal of a boy with a cognitive disability," reported People.
Rogen, who at the time had starred in the TV series Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, also said that he "didn't get a lot of auditions," and he knew the movie was being helmed by "great director," Martin Brest, who had done Beverly Hills Cop and and Midnight Run.
"I don't think I wore a helmet into the audition itself, but it was at play," Rogen 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, because I went for it. I saw myself at the Oscars."
"And truthfully if that tape was out in the world today, this would be the last interview you ever saw me do, other than my apology tour," he said.
The role Rogen auditioned for, Brian, was ultimately played by Justin Bartha. The A.V. Club wrote in a 2021 article in which they revisited Gigli, "Pretty much everything about the depiction of Brian's disability falls into the 'oh no' category," reported People.
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