Seth Rogen describes the moment he turned down Paul Ryan's request for a photo
'My whole body puckered, as it were. I tensed up and didn’t know what to do'
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Your support makes all the difference.Seth Rogen found himself in a rather awkward encounter with House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Appearing on The Late Show, Rogen told Stephen Colbert that he'd been approached by two teenage boys, who were fans of the actor, and had asked to take a picture with him. But there was a twist up their sleeve.
“They said, 'Our dad wants to meet you,'" Rogen described. "I turned around and Paul Ryan was walking towards me. My whole body puckered, as it were. I tensed up and didn’t know what to do. He came over, just grabbed my hand and I’m shaking his hand."
"He goes, 'Can I have a picture with you?' I look over and his kids are standing right there, expectantly, clearly fans of mine, and I said: 'No way, man!' I couldn't stop, and I said: 'Furthermore, I hate what you’re doing to the country at this moment and I count the days until you no longer have one iota of the power that you currently have.'"
Rogen admitted he felt conflicted about refusing Ryan in front of his children, but added: "It’s not their fault, but at the same time they should probably learn that if they like a movie or song, the person who made that probably doesn’t like their dad that much. Unless they’re watching Roseanne reruns."
The actor said the encounter took place at Mitt Romney's annual summit, at which speakers of all political dispositions focus on one particular topic. Rogen was invited to speak on the subject of "brain health", having co-founded an Alzheimer's charity.
Romney personally called Rogen to invite him to the event. "Which was a weird call to get," he said. "And when you're talking to him, you realise the name Mitt is a weird name... it must be short for Mittens."
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