Seth Rogen says Anne Hathaway left Knocked Up because of a graphic childbirth moment in the script, specifically the visual depiction of a baby crowning. The detail came up during Rogen’s appearance on The A24 Podcast with Olivia Wilde, his The Invite director and co-star, as the two revisited a piece of 2000s comedy casting lore that had been floating around for years.
What Seth Rogen said about Hathaway’s exit
Rogen and Wilde were discussing Judd Apatow’s 2007 comedy, which ultimately starred Rogen and Katherine Heigl as two very different people preparing for an unplanned baby together. Wilde had auditioned for the female lead but did not land the part.
Rogen then mentioned the earlier casting change.
“It was Anne Hathaway who quit the movie,” he said.
Wilde immediately asked about the long-circulating explanation: “Because of the crowning right? Is that real?”
Rogen said that was the reason he remembered being given, while acknowledging that actors rarely leave major studio films for one tidy reason.
“Yeah, I mean… it could have been a hundred million things. That was what I remember being told,” Rogen said. “Crowning is a tough one.”
The scene Hathaway reportedly objected to
According to Rogen, Hathaway did not want the childbirth sequence to include a visual representation of crowning, even though the shot would not have involved her actual body. Movie magic: sometimes glamorous, sometimes a conversation about whether a fake birth image fits someone’s public image.
“She didn’t want the crowning of the baby to be visually representative,” Rogen said. “Even though it wasn’t going to be hers… It’s obviously not real. But she didn’t even want… she felt that it was not her brand.”
Rogen also suggested there may have been more behind the decision. He said rehearsals had already started, and Hathaway may simply have realized the film was not the right fit for her.
“Maybe she was just like, ‘I don’t know if this is for me,’” he said. “I don’t know. I will take what she said at face value, which was the crowning.”
Rogen said Hathaway likely made the right call
Rather than calling it a mistake, Rogen sounded fairly accepting of the decision in hindsight. He said Hathaway seemed to know what was right for her, and he gave her credit for trusting that instinct.
“She had a sense, and she knew it was not for her,” Rogen said. “And history will tell… she has been right about a lot more things than I have over the years. So I think she was probably right.”
He then praised Heigl, who stepped into the role and helped make the film one of the biggest comedy hits of its moment.
“[Heigl] knew what was right for her, yes,” Rogen said. “And then Heigl was great. Katie Heigl was great.”
A representative for Hathaway was contacted for comment by Variety.
How Knocked Up performed after the casting change
Knocked Up opened in summer 2007 and became both a critical and commercial success. The Universal Pictures release made $219 million worldwide on a reported $25 million budget, giving Apatow another major studio comedy win after The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
The film’s success also extended beyond its original run. A semi-sequel, This Is 40, was released in December 2012, shifting focus to Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann’s characters.
Hathaway, of course, did just fine without it. Heigl did just fine in it. And Rogen, looking back nearly two decades later, seems comfortable saying that sometimes the smartest career move is knowing exactly which fake birth scene you do not want to be associated with.
