After almost 30 years in Los Angeles, the star of “The Studio” and “Platonic” has grown to love exploring the less glamorous corners of his adopted hometown.
In true Seth Rogen fashion, his “welcome to Los Angeles” moment embodied a perfect blend of chaos and comedy. Shortly after departing his native Vancouver in 1998 to pursue a Hollywood career, a rookie detour caused the then 16-year-old actor to arrive 45 minutes late for the first day of filming the TV comedy “Freaks and Geeks.”
“My dad was driving me to work, and he turned west on Ventura, and when we hit the 405 we realized we were going the wrong direction,” remembered Mr. Rogen during a recent video interview.
After nearly three decades in Los Angeles, the 43-year-old, who now stars in the Apple TV+ comedies “The Studio” and “Platonic,” has grown to enjoy driving around the city, often venturing 45 minutes across town to go to a restaurant, which, he admitted, “in Vancouver would be psychotic and completely unheard of.”
Seth Rogen regularly enjoys movies — and pretzels — at the TCL Chinese Theater, in Hollywood.
Mr. Rogen identifies most with the Los Angeles neighborhoods that are far from the glitz and glamour. In “Platonic,” whose second season began streaming this week, destinations like Pasadena, the Arts District and Runyon Canyon serve as the backdrops to the adventures of his character, Will, and his partner in crime, Sylvia (Rose Byrne).
“I think what’s great about ‘Platonic’ is there’s a real contrast,” he said. “It’s capturing sort of a less glamorous side of the city,” but it’s “a side of the city that a lot of people in Los Angeles spend more time in.”
Today, Mr. Rogen regularly hangs out at Barnsdall Art Park in East Hollywood and catches movies at the iconic TCL Chinese Theater, which he likes for its “incredible sound” and butter-and-salt pretzels. He also geeks out over the kimchi fried rice at Kyochon Chicken in Koreatown — although, he said, he’s likely to take his order to go and eat at home.
“What I love about the ambience is that it’s my living room,” he said with his unmistakable laugh.
Here are five places you might spot Mr. Rogen in Los Angeles (when he is not dining in his living room).
1. Grand Central Market
Grand Central Market, a century-old food hall and marketplace in downtown Los Angeles, includes vendors like Eggslut, whose owner has credited Mr. Rogen with helping sustain the business.
2. Holbox
Mr. Rogen often brings friends from Canada to Holbox, a restaurant in Historic South Central, where the chef Gilberto Cetina cooks up specialties like aguachiles. “It’s a level of Mexican cuisine that just does not exist in Vancouver at this moment,” Mr. Rogen said.
Local food connoisseurs are familiar with Holbox, the creative Michelin-starred Mexican and seafood restaurant in the food court of the cultural hub Mercado la Paloma in Historic South Central. “I go there with my wife, and we bring friends there from out of town, especially people from Canada,” said Mr. Rogen. “It’s a level of Mexican cuisine that just does not exist in Vancouver at this moment.” While Holbox offers an area to grab Baja tacos to go, the actor prefers to dine in and order the tasting menu (available Wednesdays and Thursdays) served by the chef, Gilberto Cetina. The aguachiles, Mr. Rogen said, are “really, really, really, good and spicy and delicious.”
3. Largo at the Coronet
Before Largo — one of the city’s top comedy venues — relocated to the historic Coronet Theater on La Cienega Boulevard in West Hollywood, it occupied an unassuming space on Fairfax Avenue, a few blocks from Mr. Rogen’s first apartment. He had performed stand-up back in Canada as a teenager, but never performed at Largo. “I was not a good enough stand-up comic to perform at Largo at that time, even though I was on a television show,” he said. But he did see Zach Galifianakis, Sarah Silverman, Larry David and Bob Odenkirk grace the stage there over the years. The theater is intimate, the talent is elite and Mr. Rogen still goes there — and sits in the audience.
Franklin Canyon Reservoir sits in a 605-acre park featuring grasslands, duck ponds and hiking trails just above Beverly Hills. Even getting there is “a beautiful drive,” Mr. Rogen said.
High in the hills behind the Beverly Hills Hotel, Franklin Canyon Reservoir beckons to Mr. Rogen when he craves instant nature. “It’s a beautiful drive through the hills to get there,” he said. A large and tranquil lake, enclosed by a 605-acre park featuring grasslands, duck ponds and hiking trails, transports any local or visitor out of the rat race. “You kind of feel like you’re just in a lake in the middle of the canyons, but you’re right outside of Beverly Hills,” he said.
5. The Grove LA
Though the Grove LA has all the makings of a tourist trap, it appeals to locals, too, Mr. Rogen said, especially the farmers’ market, where you can find produce and spots to sit back and enjoy wine and oysters.
At first glance, the Grove LA — a bustling, upscale outdoor shopping complex in the Fairfax District — has all the makings of a tourist trap. It has live entertainment, a Disneyland-esque double-decker electric trolley and retail chains. But it appeals to locals, too. “The Grove is a necessity in your life,” Mr. Rogen said. “Like, I was at the Apple Store in the Grove yesterday.” When he is not perusing new iPads, he routinely watches movies at AMC the Grove 14 theater. However, the crown jewel of the complex for Mr. Rogen is the adjacent farmers’ market on West Third Street. “There’s really good food there. It’s a fun place to hang out,” he said. “There’s a little French market and place to get wine and oysters.”
This local spot, he said, is a far cry from the influencer’s-eye view of Los Angeles that guides many visitors to places like trendy supermarket chains. “I was watching a YouTube video of a couple from New Zealand’s first trip to Los Angeles,” Mr. Rogen said, “and, they always go to, like, Erewhon.”