Seth Rogen has appeared in a number of movies and photoshoots with visible tattoos. As is often the case with celebrities, there is a lot of mystery around whether or not Rogen has any real tattoos.
Seth Rogen does not have any real tattoos. He has appeared with fake tattoos in movies, most notably in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”, where he has extensive sleeve tattoos on his arms. He also appeared heavily tattooed for a photoshoot alongside James Franco but these were digitally edited onto his body.
For more on the various temporary tattoos that Rogen has worn, as well as some of the reasons he might avoid getting a permanent tattoo, read on.
Temporary Tattoos
Rogen first appeared with notable tattoo work in 2005’s “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”, his earliest recognizable movie role (although he did have a brief appearance in “Donnie Darko” in 2001).
His character, Cal, was heavily tattooed, with full sleeves on both arms. As Rogen was not yet known to the majority of the moviegoing audience, his appearance in the movie led many to question whether or not he actually has tattoos.
While such extensive tattooing would lead to countless hours in the makeup chair, Rogen would not be the first Hollywood star to cause a headache for the makeup department.
Dwayne Johnson, for example, has a very large traditional Samoan tattoo on his left pectoral and shoulder, which have required covering up in a number of his films.
Luckily for film productions everywhere (and Rogen himself), his tattoos were only temporary. As far as we’re aware, Rogen has no real tattoos.
“The 40-Year-Old Virgin” is not the only time Rogen has appeared onscreen with tattoos. He recently appeared in “Long Shot” with Charlize Theron, starring as political journalist Fred Flarksy.
During the opening scene, Fred attempts to infiltrate a white supremacist group and is forced to get a swastika tattoo, which is half completed before he escapes. He later has the symbol of hatred turned into a smiling stick figure, converting it into something pleasant.
The scene is indicative of how far his character is willing to go in order to reach the truth, as well as being especially powerful due to Rogen’s real-life Jewishness.
Rogen also appeared in a photo alongside longtime friend James Franco, replicating the iconic John Lennon and Yoko Ono cover of Rolling Stone.
Wearing his finest pair of tighty-whities, Rogen took the position of Lennon, wrapped around Franco, kissing him on the cheek as they relaxed in bed together. Rogen was also inexplicably covered in tattoos from neck to ankle.
The image was posted on Instagram, with a caption that thanked username @indiangiver, the online alias of artist Cheyenne Randall. Randall is well known online for his work editing tattoos onto photos of both current and historical celebrities and previously provided a book cover of a tattooed Franco.
Tattoos in Judaism
It’s also worth remembering that Rogen is Jewish and that the faith has a longstanding aversion to tattoos. This is partly due to the forced tattooing of Jews during the Holocaust, as well as a popular myth that tattooed Jews cannot be buried in Jewish cemeteries.
The attitude has softened somewhat in recent years, with some more liberal followers of the faith becoming tattooed, including to remember to those who were forcibly tattooed by the Nazis.
It’s unclear when the widespread myth that Jews cannot be buried in Jewish cemeteries first started. The rumor is untrue, although some Jewish burial societies enforce the rule.
While Rogen’s parents were liberal Jews, in his own words, he might still not want to risk offense in the community by getting tattooed.
That, or he simply hasn’t found anything he wants yet. It’s possible that Seth Rogen sees movies as providing a fun opportunity to wear tattoos when he either can’t have or doesn’t want them in real life.