MOVIES

Exclusive photos: Seth Rogen finds himself in 'An American Pickle'

Bryan Alexander
USA TODAY
Herschel Greenbaum (Seth Rogen) falls into a factory vat of brine and re-emerges 100 years later in modern Brooklyn in " An American Pickle. " Herschel develops a trendy pickle business with objectionable ingredients. " I hope pickling companies have safer practices than the ones portrayed in the film, " says Rogen.
Herschel Greenbaum (Seth Rogen) falls into a factory vat of brine and re-emerges 100 years later in modern Brooklyn in "An American Pickle." Herschel develops a trendy pickle business with objectionable ingredients. "I hope pickling companies have safer practices than the ones portrayed in the film," says Rogen.
HOPPER STONE
Seth Rogen stars as both young Ben Greenbaum (left) and pickled American immigrant Herschel Greenbaum in " An American Pickle, " shooting both sides of the conversation months apart. " We essentially shot the whole twice, " says Rogen. " It was unique in that way.
Seth Rogen stars as both young Ben Greenbaum (left) and pickled American immigrant Herschel Greenbaum in "An American Pickle," shooting both sides of the conversation months apart. "We essentially shot the whole twice," says Rogen. "It was unique in that way.
HOPPER STONE
Herschel Greenbaum begins his journey at the turn of the last century with his wife (played by " Succession " star Sarah Snook) in Eastern Europe. " The entire opening act is in Yiddish, which is a very difficult language to learn and to perform, " says Rogen.
Herschel Greenbaum begins his journey at the turn of the last century with his wife (played by "Succession" star Sarah Snook) in Eastern Europe. "The entire opening act is in Yiddish, which is a very difficult language to learn and to perform," says Rogen.
HBO MAX
Herschel Greenbaum (left) and great-grandson Ben Greenbaum (both played by Seth Rogen) don't always see eye-to-eye in "An American Pickle." Even this scene was complicated to shoot because Rogen insisted on growing his Herschel beard. The beard growth was the easy part. "I wish I could say growing a beard was hard. All you do is not shave," says Rogen.
Herschel Greenbaum (left) and great-grandson Ben Greenbaum (both played by Seth Rogen) don't always see eye-to-eye in "An American Pickle." Even this scene was complicated to shoot because Rogen insisted on growing his Herschel beard. The beard growth was the easy part. "I wish I could say growing a beard was hard. All you do is not shave," says Rogen.
HOPPER STONE
Seth Rogen showed off his "American Pickle" beard at "The Lion King" premiere in 2019. "I've done many movies through the years. The one thing that is consistent is that fake beards look terrible," says Rogen. "We didn't use any fake beards throughout the entire movie."
Seth Rogen showed off his "American Pickle" beard at "The Lion King" premiere in 2019. "I've done many movies through the years. The one thing that is consistent is that fake beards look terrible," says Rogen. "We didn't use any fake beards throughout the entire movie."
ROBYN BECK/AFP/GETTY IMAGES