How Bill Hader and Seth Rogen Prepared for Their Roles in ‘Superbad’
In honor of the 15th anniversary of the release of the movie Superbad (2007), its cast and producers spoke about their experiences creating the coming-of-age teen comedy.
Actor and Co-Screenwriter Seth Rogen explains how many elements in the script were based on real-life inspirations, including the blasé attitudes of Officer Michaels and Officer Slater—two inept cops with a flair for theatrics.
Hader was in the right place at the right time to be cast in ‘Superbad’
After Rogen was cast as one of the officers in Superbad, he knew the actor who played opposite him needed to have some serious comedy skills. It was during the filming of You, Me, and Dupree (2006) that Rogen met and shared scenes with actor Bill Hader. The two hit it off right away.
“It was just one of those things,” Rogen explained to Vanity Fair. “Talking to him, I was like, ‘We would be funny together.’ We have the same understanding of timing and tone and rhythm, we love all the same movies.”
Co-Screenwriter Evan Goldberg was also present at the shoot in Hawaii, allowing the three to meet and become fast friends. Apparently, that’s all it took for director Judd Apatow to agree to cast Hader without even bothering with an audition.
Hader recalls a meeting soon after where Apatow explained that the two writers had enjoyed meeting him and that he was going to play the part of a cop in their movie called Superbad. “I remember he didn’t ask if I would play it,” says the comedian. “He said, ‘You’re gonna play this.'”
Rogen’s police ride-along was one of the most terrifying experiences of his life
In preparation for their roles as true Los Angeles cops, Rogen and Hader undertook a fateful ride-along with someone they could only describe as “the worst cop on Earth.” Rogen goes on to explain, “He didn’t seem to give a f— about anything. He was antagonizing people, bothering people. He saw it as funny.”
It was this bizarre attitude that helped them round out their characters in Superbad. Throughout the movie, Officer Michaels and Officer Slater fumble their way through nearly every interaction with the kind of awkward carelessness that plagues the incredibly stupid.
They are the kind of cops who ask the wrong questions during witness testimony, chug beers at the bar while on the clock, and bungle the arrest of a couple of underage drinkers. One particularly iconic scene which highlights their complete incompetence features Officer Slater recklessly doing donuts in a cop car while Officer Michaels and McLovin’ squeal in delight.
“I didn’t enjoy spinning that car around,” Hader confesses. “It was in this school parking lot in Northridge, and there were all these light poles everywhere. And every time, you thought you were going to smash into one.” The scene ends with the duo setting the car ablaze then encouraging McLovin’, played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, to shoot at it with their firearms.
For some reason, ‘Superbad’ has inspired multiple people to become cops
The insanely hilarious cop antics in Superbad are meant to make us laugh. Perhaps that’s why Rogen is always shocked to realize that people actually look up to these crazy characters in real life. He says,
“What’s horrifying is a comment I get a lot where cops come up to me and say, ‘I became a cop because of Superbad.’ That has been said to me on numerous occasions. And when they say that to me, I say, ‘That is f—– up. You did not understand the movie.”
Despite being highly irresponsible and deeply problematic figures of authority, the cops of Superbad come off as two loveable goofballs thanks to the comedic genius of Rogen and Hader. As two absurd adults desperate to befriend a random teenager, Officer Michaels and Officer Slater are two of the many true-to-life characters that have contributed to making Superbad one of the greatest teen movies ever made.
