Anne Hathaway Quit ‘Knocked Up’ Over Graphic Birthing Scene, Says Seth Rogen: ‘She Felt That It Was Not Her Brand’

Seth Rogen appeared on “The A24 Podcast” alongside his “The Invite” director and co-star Olivia Wilde and remembered when Anne Hathaway quit “Knocked Up,” Judd Apatow’s classic 2007 comedy in which Rogen and Katherine Heigl starred as a mismatched couple having a baby together. Wilde auditioned for the female lead but didn’t get the part.

“It was Anne Hathaway who quit the movie,” Rogen said, to which Wilde asked a bit about industry lore: “Because of the crowning right? Is that real?”

“Yeah, I mean… it could have been a hundred million things. That was what I remember being told,” Rogen replied. “Crowning is a tough one. She didn’t want the crowning of the baby to be visually representative. Even though it wasn’t going to be hers… It’s obviously not real. But she didn’t even want…she felt that it was not her brand. Part of me also… we had started rehearsing the movie… maybe she was just like, ‘I don’t know if this is for me.’ I don’t know. I will take what she said at face value, which was the crowning.”

“She had a sense, and she knew it was not for her,” Rogen continued. . “And history will tell… she has been right about a lot more things than I have over the years. So I think she was probably right. [Heigl] knew what was right for her, yes. And then Heigl was great. Katie Heigl was great.”

Variety has reached out to Hathaway’s representative for comment.

“Knocked Up” opened in summer 2007 and was a critical and commercial success. The comedy grossed $219 million worldwide on a reported $25 million production budget, making it a big win for Apatow and Universal Pictures. A semi-sequel, “This Is 40,” opened in December 2012.

Watch Wilde and Rogen’s full discussion on “The A24 Podcast” in the video below.