Vancouver’s Seth Rogen wins best lead actor Emmy for cringe comedy ‘The Studio’

This image released by Apple TV+ shows Seth Rogen, left, and Catherine O'Hara in a scene from "The Studio." (Apple TV+ via AP)

After making a career of playing lovable underachievers, Seth Rogen is officially an overachiever: the Vancouver actor has won an Emmy for best lead actor in a comedy for his series “The Studio.”

Rogen stars in the AppleTV Plus cringe comedy as the frazzled boss of a struggling Hollywood studio, juggling corporate pressures with his dream of making genuinely good movies.

“I still could not wrap my head around this happening, so I’ve literally prepared nothing. I’ve never won anything in my life,” Rogen said Sunday while accepting the award at a star-studded bash in Los Angeles.

“When I was a kid I bought a used bowling trophy at an estate sale, and my parents were like, ‘Yeah, that’s a good idea.’”

Rogen created, directed and wrote the series with longtime writing partner Evan Goldberg.

This year “The Studio” matched the record for a comedy with 23 nominations and already picked up nine Emmys at last weekend’s Creative Arts ceremony.

Rogen first broke out in 1999’s TV comedy “Freaks and Geeks,” which led to slacker-stoner roles in a string of Judd Apatow-produced comedies in the mid-2000s, including 2005’s “The 40-Year-Old-Virgin” and 2007’s “Superbad,” which he co-wrote with Goldberg.

Rogen was previously nominated for best supporting actor in a limited or anthology series for “Pam & Tommy” in 2022, and as an executive producer for “The Boys” in 2021.

The 77th Emmy Awards are being broadcast live from Los Angeles on CTV2.

This report by Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press, was first published Sept. 14, 2025.