In “Steve Jobs,” Michael Fassbender scorches as the titular tech innovator, but he's surrounded by an equally vitriolic cast. Seth Rogen plays Steve Wozniak, the famed Apple I creator who repeatedly offers up criticisms of Jobs' behavior and ultimately comes off as his Salieri.
Rogen's fiery portrayal of the real-life figure is bound to stir up Oscar attention, but it's fair to say he's shown this kind of onscreen command before — in most of his comedies, in fact.
“It's honestly one of the things that makes me relate to Steve Wozniak,” Rogen said in our interview. “It's basically like, his whole problem is because he's affable, people view what he does as less intellectually viable, which is the exact same distinction between comedic and dramatic movies. But they are the same thing! It is funny how people like to draw that distinction. They assume comedy is easier because we're being funny on top of telling a story and portraying characters in scenes.“
He added that the movies that tend to garner awards attention share a quality: They purposely resemble the award-winning movies that have preceded them.
“I almost feel like these kinds of movies are a genre. It's like, there's comedies, action movies, and then… awards movies. And I don't make those kinds of movies usually, so it's not surprising that it's not a conversation I'm generally near.”
In our interview posted above, Rogen discusses his relative ease in learning Sorkin dialogue, his knowledge of Wozniak, and the comic actor who should do more dramatic work.
“Steve Jobs” hits theaters October 9.