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Superbad: Jonah Hill ‘immediately hated’ Christopher Mintz-Plasse during audition, Seth Rogen says

‘In the audition, [Mintz-Plasse] was very caustic and attacked Jonah and did improvs insulting Jonah,’ producer Judd Apatow said

Inga Parkel
Thursday 18 August 2022 06:13 BST
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Superbad clip: McLovin buys alcohol

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According to Seth Rogan and Judd Apatow, Jonah Hill “immediately hated” Christopher Mintz-Plasse during the callback audition for Superbad.

Hill starred as high schooler Seth, alongside Mintz-Plasse’s nerdy Fogell, in Greg Mottola’s 2007 teen comedy, co-written by Rogan and executive produced by Apatow.

In a new interview with Vanity Fair, celebrating the movie’s 15th anniversary, the cast and crew recalled the initial bad blood between the co-stars.

“Jonah immediately hated him. He was like, ‘That was f***ing with my rhythm. I couldn’t perform with that guy,’” Rogan explained.

Apatow added: “Jonah said, ‘I don’t like that guy. I don’t want him doing it.’ And I said, ‘That’s exactly why we’re hiring him. It couldn’t be more perfect. The fact that it bothers you is exactly what we want.’”

Apatow recalled Mintz-Plasse acting “very caustic” during the third callback audition when he read with Jonah, adding that he “attacked Jonah and did improvs insulting Jonah”.

Director Mottola further remembered: “[Mintz-Plasse] played it like he was clearly the coolest guy in the room and everyone else was a nerd and a loser. He was Dean Martin instead of Jerry Lewis.”

Christopher Mintz-Plasse was 17 years old when he starred in Superbad
Christopher Mintz-Plasse was 17 years old when he starred in Superbad (Columbia Pictures)

Hill later admitted: “Chris was really, really amazing off the bat. And I think he was really annoying to me at that time.”

Upon its release, the film became a box office success and received acclaim from critics and audiences alike.

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Despite its success, there have been no active plans to reunite the cast for a follow-up film, with Hill and Rogen expressing their disinterest in a sequel.

However, in May, Apatow shared his proposed plot for a sequel, which included a spinoff of the characters in college.

Meanwhile, in June, Rogan posted in celebration of McLovin’s 41st birthday, encouraging fans to do the same.

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