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Seth Rogen and Jason Segel have done pretty well for themselves in Hollywood thanks to their comedic abilities, but they both had to endure the “Struggling Actor” phase of their career before getting their big break. That included plenty of auditions for roles you wouldn’t necessarily associate them with today—including a character in 8 Mile neither of them got the chance to play thanks to a terrible Eminem impression.
Seth Rogen and Jason Segel got their first taste of fame as members of the cast of the cult classic that is Freaks and Geeks, the short-lived series helmed by Judd Apatow and Paul Feig that gave the world their first glimpse at a crew that would eventually become some of the biggest and most influential names in the entertainment industry.
Freaks and Geeks only ran for a single season before it was canceled in 2000, and Segel and Rogen subsequently found themselves being subjected to the Los Angeles grind they were forced to endure before rising to stardom toward the end of the 2010s.
Earlier this week, Rogen appeared with Nick Offerman and Paul Dano on Jimmy Kimmel Live during a conversation where he revealed he auditioned for the part of Cheddar Bob in 8 Mile (a role that would eventually go to Evan Jones).
If you’ve seen 8 Mile, you know Cheddar Bob serves as Eminem’s (or, more accurately, B-Rabbit’s) hapless sidekick, and it’s kind of hard to imagine either Rogen or Segel playing him based on what we know about them today.
However, both of them decided to try to land the part, which required them to go to an audition where the casting director told prospective actors to bring a partner to read Eminem’s lines. Unfortunately, things fell apart as soon as the scene kicked off:
“We had a sleepover at my house that night. We practiced. We ran our lines. When you’re alone, it’s different.
Then we got there and the casting director was like, ‘Action!’ and the first line is me being like, ‘Yo, yo, yo. Let me show you my demo! It’s at Paisley Park!’ and I said it and just started laughing hysterically.
Jason started laughing hysterically, and we both laughed until we cried and then were both just asked to leave.”
At least it worked out in the end.