Seth Rogen thought he was going to be fired on the spot when he made Steven Spielberg cry on the set of his new movie The Fabelmans.
The actor distanced himself from previous goofy comedy characters for his role in The Fabelmans, which is based on Spielberg’s upbringing, and also stars Michelle Williams and The Batman's Paul Dano.
Rogen thankfully did make it into the final cut of the movie, in spite of his fears that he was going to lose the job:
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The Knocked Up star plays Bennie Loewy in the movie; a character inspired by Spielberg's uncle, whose real name is Bernie.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, Rogen described the film as being 'deeply personal', and admitted he did get 'a little bit' nervous acting in front of the renowned filmmaker.
He explained that he didn't know what to expect when working with Spielberg as a director, saying he 'didn't know what kind of feedback he was going to give', but it wasn't long before he found out.
Rogen continued: "The first day, we start shooting and we do a take and I go back to where he's standing and I'm looking for feedback. And he is just sobbing uncontrollably."
The actor's mind immediately went to all the things he might have done to make actual Steven Spielberg cry, with the director's dramatic reaction convincing Rogen that it would not only be his first day on set, but also his last.
"I thought, 'Oh no, I'm so bad he's crying, and he's going to fire me right now, he's going to say 'I made a mistake''," Rogen told Fallon.
Luckily for the actor, crying isn't always an indicator of something bad, and as it turns out it was the brilliance of Rogen's performance that had reduced Spielberg to tears.
The Superbad actor continued: "No, it was actually - it's such a deeply personal movie that he cried a lot, actually. When the scenes were happening, you would go back and he would be weeping.
"I never thought it would feel great to make Steven Spielberg cry all the time but it did, it felt wonderful. I'd make him cry right now if I could."
The Fabelmans is set in post-World War II era Arizona, telling the story of youngster Sammy Fabelman and his dreams to become a filmmaker before he discovers a shattering family secret.
The Fabelmans is currently in cinemas in the US and is set to arrive in the UK on 27 January.
Topics: Seth Rogen, Jimmy Fallon, Celebrity, Steven Spielberg, Film and TV
Emily Brown