Tamal Kundu
In the Apple TV+ series ‘Platonic,’ the plot revolves around two former friends, Will (Seth Rogen) and Sylvia (Rose Byrne). About five years ago, they had a falling out after Will married a woman named Audrey, who didn’t like Sylvia, and the feeling was mutual. In the present day, Sylvia decides to reach out to Will after learning that he is now divorced. Their initial meeting goes terribly, full of awkwardness involving what to say to each other. But Sylvia accepts Will’s invitation to attend a party at his brewery and witnesses him fighting his former wife. She subsequently approaches, and just like that, their friendship is reaffirmed.
Rogen is famously known for his unkempt beard and hair. But in ‘Platonic,’ his beard is only a few days old, and hair is trimmed to his scalp. If you are wondering why the actor-writer-director suddenly decided to change his look, we got you covered.
The Story Behind Seth Rogen’s Short Hair
Rogen debuted the cleaner look on social media in September 2021. He wrote in the caption on Instagram, “New hair, same smoldering look.” This prompted hilarious responses from other actors, actresses, industry affiliates, and fans. David Krumholtz reportedly wrote in the comment section, “You are Benjamin Button. At 39, you look 63. And at 63, you will be but a small chubby toddler. I look forward to baby ol’ Seth.” The ‘White House Plumbers’ actor added, “This is exactly what Paul Bettany wishes he looked like.”
Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, Seth Aaron Rogen hails from a Jewish family of Ukrainian and Russian origin. Rogen has always wanted to be a comedian. “As soon as I realized you could be funny as a job, that was the job I wanted,” he told Toronto Star. Rogen started doing stand-up comedy when he was 13 years old. During this period, he also prepared a rough draft for what would become the script for ‘Superbad.’
Active in the industry since 2000, Rogen’s first memorable role was Ken Miller in ‘Freaks and Greeeks.’ Since then, he has established himself as one of the most accomplished comedic actors of our time, with performances in ‘Donnie Darko’ (2001), ‘Knocked Up’ (2007), ‘Neighbors’ (2014) and its 2016 sequel (films in which he and Byrne collaborated with ‘Platonic’ co-creator Nick Stoller), ‘Steve Jobs’ (2015), ‘Pam & Tommy’ (2022) and ‘The Fabelmans’ (2022).
Rogen and his writing partner, Evan Goldberg, worked on projects such as ‘Superbad’ (2007), ‘Pineapple Express’ (2008), ‘The Green Hornet’ (2011), and ‘This Is the End’ (2013). Rogen directed films like ‘This Is the End’ and ‘The Interview,’ and developed the AMC TV Series ‘Preacher’ (2016–2019).
The new look might seem temporarily jarring for the fans, but the performance is very much quintessential Seth Rogen. Describing ‘Platonic,’ Rogen told The Hindu, “… But I’d say first and foremost, ‘Platonic’ is an adult R-rated comedy, with some screwball antics. It’s also very emotionally relatable, and hopefully kind of reminiscent of the lives of the viewers in some capacity. The comedy tries to play a lot of different notes; we’re trying to have big, crazy moments and kind of more quiet, funny ones as well.”
Rogen added, “Ultimately, ‘Platonic’ is saying men and women can be friends, and specifically that these two people can be friends. Our characters do work out their issues, and rediscover each other at a time when there is more opportunity for their dynamic to work out than maybe there was when they first rediscovered each other.” Recent pictures and videos of the multi-talented Hollywood personality reveal that he has grown out the hair since the production ended on the first season of ‘Platonic.’
