Seth Rogen Reveals Why Anne Hathaway Left Knocked Up Before Filming

Seth Rogen says he finally remembers why Anne Hathaway walked away from Knocked Up and was ultimately replaced by Katherine Heigl—and the explanation centers on a very specific pregnancy-related moment in the 2007 romcom.

Release and cast context

Knocked Up is a widely loved romcom from 2007 in which Katherine Heigl plays Alison Scott, who ends up pregnant after a one-night encounter with Seth Rogen’s slacker stoner character. In the film’s original plan, Alison Scott was set to be played by Anne Hathaway—known for The Devil Wears Prada—before Hathaway dropped out.

Rogen discussed the situation on The A24 Podcast, explaining that Hathaway stepped away due to the “crowning” scene. That moment, which depicts Scott giving birth, was apparently the sticking point.

“Yeah, I mean… it could have been a hundred million things. That was what I remember being told,” Rogen said. “She didn’t want the crowning of the baby to be visually representative, which I respect.”

Rogen added that, in his view, the scene didn’t create any misunderstanding for viewers. “There was no confusion. After it happened in the movie no-one was like… because it was a baby coming out of it. And so, no level… Daniel Day Lewis wouldn’t do that! That’s a level of acting that… It’s obviously not real.”

He also suggested the rehearsal process may have influenced her decision. “We had started rehearsing the movie… and part of me was just… 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.”

To close out his recollection, Rogen noted that Hathaway has often been right about her instincts. “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. She knew what was right for her, yes. And then Heigl was great. Katie Heigl was great.”

Hathaway has previously spoken about the matter as well. Back in 2008, she told Marie Claire that she declined the role because it would involve showing a vagina—though not her own. She also said she didn’t think it was genuinely required for the story.

As Rogen’s comments imply, Knocked Up wouldn’t have featured Hathaway’s own nudity. Instead, the film’s nudity in question would have been another person’s body as part of the scene.

Hathaway has also pushed back on the idea that she has a “perfect” or squeaky-clean image. Profile interviews have claimed she’s comfortable going topless on camera, pointing out that she did so in Havoc and Brokeback Mountain before Knocked Up was released.

“I don’t actively search for [films] that I can get naked in,” she told Marie Claire. “But nor is it something that I would ever not do a job because of. It is what it is. Some people choose not to do it on moral grounds; I think that’s a shoddy argument.”