INSIDER'S ANGLE ON THE CITY OF ANGELS

Seth Rogen's 5 fav places in LA

- GERALD NARCISO

In true Seth Rogen fashion, his “welcome to Los Angeles” moment embodied a perfect blend of chaos and comedy. Shortly after departing his native Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1998 to pursue a Hollywood career, a rookie detour caused the then 16-year-old actor to arrive 45 minutes late for the first day of filming the TV comedy Freaks And Geeks.

“My dad was driving me to work, and he turned west on Ventura, and when we hit the 405 we realised we were going the wrong direction,” remembered Rogen during a recent video interview.

After nearly three decades in Los Angeles, the 43-year-old, who now stars in the Apple TV+ comedies The Studio and Platonic, has grown to enjoy driving around the city, often venturing 45 minutes across town to go to a restaurant, which, he admitted, “in Vancouver would be psychotic and completely unheard of”.

Rogen identifies most with the Los Angeles neighbourhoods that are far from the glitz and glamour. In Platonic, whose second season began streaming this week, destinations like Pasadena, the Arts District and Runyon Canyon serve as the backdrops to the adventures of his character, Will, and his partner in crime, Sylvia (Rose Byrne).

“I think what's great about Platonic is there’s a real contrast,” he said. “It’s capturing sort of a less glamorous side of the city,” but it’s “a side of the city that a lot of people in Los Angeles spend more time in”.