Seth Rogen started making pottery at 38 just for fun — and now, he made a whole show about it
The filmmaker and potter talks about bringing his passions together in The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down
When Seth Rogen isn't cracking jokes or making movies, there's a good chance he's at his in-home studio, throwing clay on a potter's wheel and firing up the kiln.
The comedian and filmmaker only started making pottery at 38-years-old, but he's been hooked ever since.
"I liked making something physical," Rogen tells Q's Tom Power in an interview. "Movies … are weightless."
Rogen, now 41, combined his love of film and pottery by executive producing The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down. The new CBC Gem show chronicles amateur Canadian potters competing in weekly challenges to create beautiful art.
In a roundabout way, it was his film career that enabled Rogen to become as passionate as he has about ceramics. Thanks to the money he earned from his hit films, such as Superbad and Neighbors, Rogen was able to buy a kiln for his home.
He explains to Power that kilns are usually too expensive and big for someone to own, so most novice potters must visit an art studio during specific times to fire their creations.
But because Rogen had unlimited access to a wheel and kiln, he could make as many mistakes as he liked in a very short time frame.
"I am proud that I took [it] on as an adult," he says. "Most adults just don't want to learn new things."
WATCH | Official trailer for The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down:
But The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down isn't just part of Rogen's adult passion, it also has ties to his childhood. The show was filmed in his hometown of Vancouver on Granville Island, right across from the art studio where the comedian himself took art classes as a kid.
"As someone who loves Vancouver, it was really cool to be able to show off Granville Island," he says. "It's one of my favourite parts of Canada."
In the first episode of The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down, Rogen shows off his skills and teaches the potters how to make an ashtray.
Part of Rogen's interest in pottery was that he could create beautiful things that he could use in his everyday life — particularly to complement his cannabis habit.
Rogen founded Houseplant, a smoking accessories and home goods company which sells items like ceramic ashtrays and rolling papers.
"People who smoke weed deserve to have nice things," he says. "They deserve to have people put creative thought into those things."
Though Rogen was familiar with pottery, he was not familiar with making a show like The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down. He and his production company, Point Grey Pictures, had never made a reality-competition television program.
"We were just like, 'We have no idea what's going to happen,'" Rogen says. "Everyone's stuff could just explode in the kiln, the first episode. What do you do then? There's no show!"
No spoilers, but nothing exploded. In fact, Rogen kept seeing beautiful creations.
"That was my real fear that I, as a pottery fan, would be watching the show and it wouldn't seem impressive and it wouldn't seem aspirational," he says. "I was so pleased week after week when it seemed to pay off."
Watch Rogen's full interview with Power, or listen to it on our podcast, for more.
WATCH | Seth Rogen's interview with Tom Power:
The full interview with Seth Rogen is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Interview with Seth Rogen produced by Catherine Stockhausen.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
