2 Attachment(s)
S.Rogen Offers Voice to Vancouver Transit System For Free to Replace Morgan Freeman
Seth Rogen's friendly voice will soon grace the stations of Vancouver's public transit system as he'll replace Morgan Freeman. The actor offered his voice for free to the city's SkyTrain and bus system to provide them with friendly advice and etiquette tips about taking public transportation.
Rogen, who was born in Vancouver, began his acting career in Hollywood as a teenager. At the age of 16, he landed a role on Judd Apatow's Freaks and Geeks TV series. The show was a cult hit, but its ratings weren't good enough to get it a second season. Rogen continued to work with Apatow, though, on the TV series Undeclared, where he also worked as a writer. The Apatow and Rogen relationship continued into movies, where they managed to collect some blockbuster hits, including The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up.
Rogen just scored another notch in his belt, too. CBC reports that commuters can now hear Rogen's voice throughout Vancouver's public transportation system, giving helpful tips and etiquette advice about riding public transportation. Rogen also did the work for free; he states that he wanted to give back to a city he still feels a strong connection to:
"A lot of people hate where they're from and want nothing to do with where they're from. The older I get, the more I realize how rare it is to like where you're from and so I even more feel an urge to bolster and associate myself with it."
Rogen got the job as the voice of Vancouver's public transportation, all thanks to a tweet in May. Initially, Morgan Freeman was tagged to voice the public announcements for TransLink BC, Vancouver's public transit authority, as part of a Visa ad campaign. Visa dropped the Academy-award winning actor, though, after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against Freeman. On Twitter, fans recommended Rogen as a replacement since he is actually from Vancouver, unlike Freeman. Rogen responded that he was interested. Although it might have seemed like a joke at the time, TransLink BC took the funny man seriously. In the end, he offered his voice talent for free to the city.
Rogen had to take time out of his busy schedule to record the announcements. Not only has he helped to adapt Vertigo Comics' Preacher into a hit TV series for AMC, but he currently has starring roles in several upcoming movies, including Like Father, Zero Ville and the remake of Disney's The Lion King. He was also recently tagged to play Walter Cronkite in a film based around the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Rogen recently announced that he is working on a political comedy that will pit a conservative family against a liberal one, a project currently in development for ABC. The show will focus on a liberal man from Berkeley who meets and falls in love with a woman from Western Pennsylvania with a "reactionary conservative" father and a “precocious, war-obsessed eight-year-old.”
In the meantime, Vancouver commuters are in for a treat. They will hear Rogen's voice and signature laugh throughout their daily commute, offering a cheerful touch to their train and bus rides.
