Seth Rogen’s Many Magic Mushroom Trips

If you think Seth Rogen is all about weed, well you’re right. In addition to regularly appearing in roles that find his characters blazing up, the Canadian comedian went ahead and launched his own cannabis and ceramicware brand, Houseplant, in 2021. 

But did you know the writer-star of hilarious blockbusters like Superbad and Pineapple Express is also a big fan of magic mushrooms?

No, it’s not an entirely shocking revelation, especially for those familiar with a famous scene from 2007’s Knocked Up in which Rogen and co-star Paul Rudd trip hard while attending a Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas. 

It’s not the only time a Rogen character has enjoyed magic mushrooms as a plot point, but even more fascinating are the actor’s own psilocybin-induced adventures. A cursory survey of late-night talk show appearances, published interviews, and social media posts reveals that Rogen’s been publicly sharing his affinity for shrooms for over a decade. 

Here are a few of the top highlights from Rogen’s many tales of tripping balls.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2015)

“I did so many drugs I wound up in another country.”

 Marking the first of two Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearances from Rogen to make this list, the actor stopped by in 2015 to discuss the then-new release of his holiday film, The Night Before. In that movie, Rogen’s character is given a literal box of drugs by his wife and, obviously, proceeds to take them throughout the movie. During his Kimmel appearance, Rogen shared a related true story about traveling to Amsterdam when he was 18. Watch the clip to hear him detail how he and a friend accidentally split 60 grams of mushrooms and later found themselves in Paris!

Vulture (2018)

“I did shrooms recently and then quit a job the next day. So yeah, I’ve made some real-life decisions as a result.”

How much of your comedic sensibility was enhanced by drugs and how much was it actually formed by them?
That’s hard to know. What I do know is that I’ve started reading more about drugs as I’ve gotten older and what I’ve read has made me think, Man, I did a lot of shrooms when I was like 13 and 14 years old — dozens of times at a formative age. It’s a real consciousness-expanding drug, so maybe it’s had pretty deep effects.

Do you still regularly take hallucinogenic drugs?
I don’t know if I’d say regularly, but I do them, yeah.

For fun or insight?
Shrooms are a very insightful drug — very introspective.

What’s an insight you’ve gotten from them?
I did shrooms recently and then quit a job the next day. So yeah, I’ve made some real-life decisions as a result.

In 2018, Seth Rogen spoke with Vulture for a wide-ranging profile that covered everything from the Sony hacks to Alzheimer’s disease to, yes, magic mushrooms. Rogen shared that he still takes hallucinogenic drugs (“I don’t know if I’d say regularly, but I do them, yeah”) and that he sees them more as a tool for insight than recreation. The prolific screenwriter also touches on his use of cannabis in his creative process and how mushrooms once helped him to realize he needed to ditch a bad gig. 

Jimmy Kimmel Live (2019)

“Sex becomes very medical on mushrooms. You just don’t want that.”

Circling back to Rogen’s iconic Knocked Up scene, the comedian made another visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2019 to offer some epic real-life backstory. Apparently, in order to ensure they selected the ideal show for the characters in the film to attend, Rogen and another producer spent two days taking magic mushrooms and seeing every Cirque du Soleil offering in Vegas as “research.” According to Rogen, the water-themed option (“O”) made him “nervous for the performers” and another show with a burlesque twist (“Zumanity”) was deemed by the pair as too sexy for a mushroom voyage. Watch the clip to hear the whole incredible saga!

Twitter

Like many of us, Seth Rogen likes to speak his mind on Twitter. Occasionally, he even offers shroom-related observations and anecdotes. Here are few of his choicest posts on psilocybin, including an anecdote about Ron Rifkin that has apparently really stuck with him:

“True Story 3: I went to a strange party on shrooms. Ron Rifkin was there, and I was freaking out because I thought he was Wolf Blitzer.” (2012)

True Story 3: I went to a strange party on shrooms. Ron Rifkin was there, and I was freaking out because I thought he was Wolf Blitzer.

— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) January 3, 2012

“The only real negative repercussion of being famous is it's harder to do shrooms in public.” (2014)

The only real negative repercussion of being famous is it's harder to do shrooms in public.

— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) June 15, 2014

“The first time I heard the song “Hot In Herre” I was on shrooms in a youth hostel in Amsterdam and I remember thinking humanity was doomed.” (2015)

The first time I heard the song “Hot In Herre” I was on shrooms in a youth hostel in Amsterdam and I remember thinking humanity was doomed.

— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) April 3, 2015

“#Yellowjackets is a fantastic show that reaffirms why I will only do shrooms with people I really, really like.” (2022)

#Yellowjackets is a fantastic show that reaffirms why I will only do shrooms with people I really, really like.

— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) January 17, 2022

“Since he’s trending, I’ll just say once I did shrooms at a party and Ron Rifkin was there, and I freaked out because I thought it was Wolf Blitzer.” (2020)

Since he’s trending, I’ll just say once I did shrooms at a party and Ron Rifkin was there, and I freaked out because I thought it was Wolf Blitzer.

— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) October 14, 2020

Many happy trips to you Mr. Rogen, and watch out for Ron Rifkin (who is not Wolf Blitzer).