*8. Seth Rogen A man who needs no introduction, Rogen has been a prominent weed-smoker in Hollywood since breaking onto the scene in 1999's Apatow/Feig created, Freaks and Geeks. He proudly endorses the use of marijuana in interviews and in his movies, and he even shared "Stoner of the Year" honors with co-star of Pineapple Express, James Franco, in 2008. Rogen, who has written comedy hit after hit (Knocked up (2007), Superbad (2007)), has become somewhat known for always (with some exception) portraying a pothead in his films. He has an uncanny ability to 'normalize' weed smoking in his pictures, and he really depicts the true nature of the drug without blowing its effects out of proportion- as is common place in the media.
**Seth Rogen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Seth Rogen | |
|---|---|
Rogen at the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013
| |
| Born | Seth Aaron Rogen[1][2] April 15, 1982 Vancouver, British Columbia,Canada |
| Residence | Los Angeles, California, US[3] |
| Citizenship | Canada/United States |
| Occupation | Actor, filmmaker, comedian |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Spouse(s) | Lauren Miller (m. 2011) |
Seth Aaron Rogen (/ˈroʊɡən/; born April 15, 1982)[4] is a Canadian–American actor, filmmaker, and comedian. He began his career performing stand-up comedy during his teenage years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a supporting role in the series Freaks and Geeks. Shortly after he moved to Portland, Oregon for his role, Freaks and Geeks was officially cancelled after one season due to low viewership. Rogen later got a part on sitcom Undeclared, which also hired him as a staff writer.
After landing his job as a staff writer on the final season of Da Ali G Show, for which he and the other writers received an Emmy Award nomination, he was guided by Judd Apatow toward a film career. Rogen was cast in a major supporting role and credited as a co-producer in Apatow's directorial debut, The 40-Year-Old Virgin. After Rogen received critical praise for his performance, Universal Pictures agreed to cast him as the lead in Apatow's films Knocked Up and Funny People. Rogen co-starred as Steve Wozniak in Universal's Steve Jobs biopic in 2015. Since 2016, he has been an executive producer and writer on AMC's television seriesPreacher.
Rogen and his comedy partner Evan Goldberg co-wrote the films Superbad, Pineapple Express, This Is the End, and directed bothThis Is the End and The Interview; all of which Rogen starred in. He has also done voice work for the films Horton Hears a Who!, theKung Fu Panda film series, Monsters vs. Aliens, Paul, and the upcoming Sausage Party.
W. Kamau Bell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| W. Kamau Bell | |
|---|---|
W. Kamau Bell in 2010
| |
| Birth name | Walter Kamau Bell |
| Born | January 26, 1973 Palo Alto, California, U.S.[1] |
| Medium | Stand-up comedy |
| Nationality | American |
| Subject(s) | Racism, social identity, inequality, American politics |
| Influenced | Zahra Noorbakhsh |
| Spouse | Melissa Hudson Bell[2] |
| Children | Sami Bell (daughter) Juno Bell (daughter)[3] |
| Notable works and roles | Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell,United Shades of America, Denzel Washington Is The Greatest Actor Of All Time Period |
| Website | wkamaubell |
Walter Kamau Bell (born January 26, 1973),[4] known professionally as W. Kamau Bell, is an American stand-up comic andtelevision host.[5] Prominent within the San Francisco stand-up comedy scene, he is best known as the host of the former FXXtelevision series Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell.[5] Bell is currently the host of the CNN original series United Shades of America, which debuted on April 24, 2016.[6] He is the host of the live radio show and podcast Kamau Right Now on KALW, and also co-hosts the podcasts Denzel Washington Is The Greatest Actor Of All Time Period with Kevin Avery and Politically Re-Active with Hari Kondabolu.[7][8]
Contents
[hide]Early life and education[edit]
Bell grew up in Alabama and Chicago, the son of Walter Bell, who served as Alabama's Insurance Commissioner and Chairman ofSwiss Re America Holding Corporation, and author Janet Cheatham Bell, who founded a self-publishing firm.[9][10] Bell graduated from the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and attended the University of Pennsylvania before dropping out. Later he began to pursue a career in comedy.[11]
Career[edit]
After establishing himself as sociopolitical comedian and community activist based in San Francisco, Bell became a founding member of the comedy collective "Laughter Against the Machine" and has been featured in a number of prominent podcasts and publications, such as WTF with Marc Maron, Citizen Radio, and Current TV's The War Room with Jennifer Granholm, on which Bell is a regular correspondent.
His first comedy album, One Night Only, was released in 2007. Also in 2007, he developed a one-man show entitled The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About An Hour, "a comedic exploration of the current state of America’s racism", that he has continued to periodically perform updated versions of the show.[12][13][14]
His follow-up album, Face Full of Flour, was released in 2010, and was named one of the Top 10 Best Comedy Albums of the year by iTunes and Punchline Magazine.[15] From 2011 to 2012, he wrote the blog "Kamau's Komedy Korner" for the San Francisco Weekly.[16] In 2012, Bell was voted San Francisco's best comedian by the SF Weekly, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and 7×7 Magazine.[12]
His first stand-up comedy TV special, Semi-Prominent Negro, premiered on Showtime on April 29, 2016.[17]
Television host[edit]
From 2012 to 2013, Bell hosted a weekly stand up comedy television series, Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, first on FX and later on FXX.[18] The show, produced by Chris Rock, provided observational comedy and commentary on social and political issues in addition to celebrity interviews. After the show was cancelled in November 2013,[18] Bell moved back to California from New York.[19]
He is currently the host of the CNN documentary series United Shades of America, which premiered on April 24, 2016.
Podcast host[edit]
From 2010 to 2014, Bell co-hosted the podcast The Field Negro Guide to Arts & Culture with Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid.[20]
Since November 2014, Bell has co-hosted the Earwolf-produced podcast Denzel Washington Is The Greatest Actor Of All Time Period with comedian and writer Kevin Avery.[21]In addition to reviewing the films of Denzel Washington one by one, the podcast has also featured interviews with prominent actors, filmmakers, musicians, and comedians including Spike Lee,[22] Ava DuVernay,[23] Jesse Williams,[24] Issa Rae,[25] and Ryan Coogler.[26]
Since January 2016, he has hosted Kamau Right Now, a live radio show and podcast produced by KALW.[27]
Since June 2016, he has also co-hosted the Panoply/First Look Media-produced podcast Politically Re-Active with comedian Hari Kondabolu.[8] The podcast explores American politics and elections with a comedic approach, and includes interviews with activists and scholars such as Ian Haney-López.[28]
Activism[edit]
Bell sits on the advisory boards of Race Forward, a racial justice think tank (formerly known as the Applied Research Center), and Hollaback!, an anti-harassment organization.[29]In October 2013, he was named the American Civil Liberties Union celebrity ambassador on racial justice.[30]
Racial incident in 2015[edit]
On January 26, 2015, Bell and his wife Melissa were involved in an incident at a cafe in Berkeley, California, which Bell alleged was racially motivated.[31] Bell quickly posted his version of the event online, which sparked a controversy in the media.[31] As a result, a community forum was held and a new initiative was announced to help train local businesses in handling implicit bias.[31] Bell’s account was eventually featured in an episode of the radio series This American Life entitled Birds & Bees.[32] Bell narrated his portion of the episode.[32]
