Seth Rogen will receive the Norman Jewison Career Achievement Award at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival. The actor, writer, and director, 44, began his career in comedy at age 13 and has since appeared in over 40 films, written 10, and directed two, also creating four TV series.
Rogen was honored with the award and participated in a career-spanning conversation with Geoff Macnaughton, TIFF’s vice president of market programming at theatrical, at the festival’s John Bassett Theatre. He has two films at this year’s festival: “Babies,” directed by his wife Lauren Miller Rogen, and “Tangles,” which the couple produced.
During the conversation, Rogen recalled beginning his stand-up career at a Vancouver lesbian bar called The Lotus, stating, “My first show was at a lesbian bar called The Lotus. It went very well.” He expressed gratitude for knowing his desired career path early on, noting his parents’ support and his early interest in filmmaking with his friend Evan Goldberg, with whom he continues to collaborate.
When asked about the worst advice he received, Rogen cited an acting teacher who told him, “Your voice is terrible. You should change your voice because you’ll never have a career sounding like that.” Conversely, he shared the best advice came from Judd Apatow during the filming of “Knocked Up.” Apatow, while they were improvising, yelled, “Less semen, more emotion!”
Rogen explained the surprising depth of Apatow’s advice, stating, “And honestly, as I’ve gone on to make films, it’s amazing how much I come back to ‘Less semen, more emotion,’ and how many times I’m writing with my friends and we’re making ourselves laugh and then we stop and go, ‘You know what? Less semen, more emotion.’” He said the advice taught him a valuable lesson about focusing on emotional impact.
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