Seth Rogen Tried to Make Kim Jong-un ‘Adorable’ in ‘The Interview’

Star and cowriter of the controversial film also admits he considered changing the North Korean dictator’s name

Seth Rogen visited Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” on Monday and opened up about the making of his controversial assassination comedy, “The Interview.” He told host Stephen Colbert he had considered changing the name of antagonist Kim Jong-un before ultimately deciding against it.

“Whose feelings are we trying to spare by doing that?” Rogen asked. “Kim Jong-un’s?”

“We did not think they would love the concept of the movie, to be totally honest,” Rogen, who is the film’s star and cowriter, added.

Colbert then asked Rogen whether joking about real people is fair game.

“I personally think it is appropriate,” Rogen responded.

Rogen then spoke about the research that went into making the film, including reading up on the country and interviewing people who had met the dictator. He said their accounts let him to believe that the North Korean leader was actually quite unassuming in person.

“When you’re in a room with him, it’s not like you’re always aware of where he is,” Rogen explained. “We honestly tried to make him — for lack of a better word — adorable.”

Colbert did not ask Rogen about the crippling Sony hacks which have plagued the backing studio in recent weeks, which have lead to leaks of private information and threat against the families of Sony employees. But he did imply Rogen’s own safety could be in jeopardy.

“You know you can’t go to North Korea now,” Colbert told him.

“I do know that, yes,” Rogen replied, before adding he was going to also avoid Korean BBQ just to be safe.

Watch “The Colbert Report” clip here.

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