Seth Rogen Says His ‘Gigli’ Audition Tape Would “End My Career”

More than 20 years after the movie that launched Bennifer, Seth Rogen recently recalled his audition for 2003’s Gigli.

The 3x Golden Globe nominee explained that he was “an aspiring young actor” when he auditioned for the role of mentally challenged hostage Brian, who was ultimately portrayed by Justin Bartha in the Ben Affleck/Jennifer Lopez romantic comedy crime flick.

“It has been a long time,” he said on Jimmy Kimmel Live of the last time he auditioned. “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.”

Rogen recalled Gigli as an example. “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,” he noted.

Explaining that he was eager to work with the film’s “great director” Martin Brest, Rogen said, “I wanted to leave an impression.”

“I don’t think I wore a helmet in to the audition itself, but it was at play,” he said with a laugh. “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.”

Rogen added, “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.”

The Studio star definitely dodged a bullet, as the movie barely surpassed $7 million globally, currently holding a 6% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes.