Seth Rogen decided to take it all the way back to age 13 on Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show on Thursday. The Preacher director fondly recalled his young AF stand-up debut, a moment made possible thanks to his "hugely supportive" family. Rogen's first foray into comedy, which took place at a lesbian bar in Vancouver, also gifted him with the realization that metaphors are indeed a dope thing to utilize in a comedy club.
"I started when I was 13, so I had no driver's license," Rogen said. "The first show I did was at a lesbian bar called the Lotus, which is a flower. I didn't understand at the time. I thought it was Ladies' Night."
Rogen added that the true meaning of the flower simply escaped him at 13, though a few years of maturity ultimately landed him the joy of getting it. "I didn't get it at the time, I guess, the metaphor," Rogen said. "I was like 'Wow, they really like close-up pictures of blooming flowers in this place."
After taking a deep dive into some vintage footage of his younger stand-up days, Rogen admitted his greatest flaw at the beginning of his career was his failure to fully develop his jokes. "My problem as a comedian was that once I told the joke once, I was like 'Alright!' and then I didn't want to tell it again," Rogen said. "And you can't do that if you want to be a comedian. You have to refine your material over and over again."
Rogen later joined Fallon for a round of "Kid Stand-Up," a hilarious segment in which guests try to land jokes written by elementary school children:
For some decidedly less kid-friendly Rogen, peep Neighbors 2 in theaters Friday and/or AMC's Preacher this Sunday.