Why Rogen works so hard

Seth Rogen might be the hardest-working stoner in showbiz, said Caroline McCloskey in GQ. After bursting onto the scene in the mid-2000s with comedic roles in movies like Superbad and Knocked Up, Rogen, 37, has evolved into an actor, writer, producer, and philanthropist

(he’s raised millions for his charity benefiting Alzheimer’s patients). He’s also an entrepreneur, launching a cannabis company in his native Canada. Consuming his own inventory, Rogen insists, doesn’t put a damper on his work ethic. “I always worked hard, because I recognized from a young age it was one of the only things I could control,” Rogen says. “I did karate as a kid at the Jewish Community Center, and when I started I was the worst of 25 Jewish kids who were afraid of getting picked on. Then just because everyone else quit, three years later I was at the top of the class. That was always tangible: Just by not stopping I became the best one.” Success as a teenage stand-up comedian helped him get cast on an NBC show, and overnight, Rogen went from cutting high school and smoking weed to putting in 14-hour days making a TV show—while still smoking weed. Getting stoned, he says, helps him stay grounded. “Not a lot of people have delusions of grandeur when they’re high,” Rogen says.