It takes a brave man to admit to watching tons of porn these days. Wait, no. It takes an average, normal man to admit to watching tons of porn these days. And that’s pretty much the reputation upon which Seth Rogen has built his career: the average guy who’s funnier than most. Rogen is starring in Kevin Smith’s upcoming film “Zack and Miri Make a Porno.” It’s about two best friends who decide to make a porn film in order to pay down their debts. Rogen says he was into the film from the moment he got an email from Kevin Smith; not just because of the chance to work with his icon, but because… what guy doesn’t love a film about porn?

Smith wrote the script with Rogen in mind, having seen the actor in the acclaimed short-lived TV series “Freaks and Geeks” and later in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.” By the time Smith finished the script in spring 2007, Rogen was the cusp of leading-man stardom with “Knocked Up.”

“I started seeing billboards going up with his face on them and I was like, we lost this guy,” Smith said. “This dude was like a supporting actor in `40-Year-Old Virgin’ and he’s just waiting for somebody to give him his own movie.” But Smith said that when he sent an e-mail to Rogen asking if he would read the screenplay, the actor shot back an answer within 2 minutes. Rogen read “Zack and Miri” on the beach in Australia while doing press for “Knocked Up” and was eager to sign on from the start.

The comedic sex depicted in “Zack and Miri” is tame by hardcore pornography standards, and the subject matter never gave Rogen a moment’s pause. “I love porn. I watch tons of porn. The Internet speeds have evolved directly with my sexual drive,” Rogen said. “I almost did it purely based on the title.”

[From the Huffington Post]

Something tells me that if Rogen is anything like most guys his age, he’s been researching this movie role religiously for at least the last ten years. Kevin Smith does movies that you either love or hate; there doesn’t really seem to be much middle ground. But this film seems like it could cross over into a larger audience, if for no other reason than the title alone. I’m pretty sure 99% of the guys that go to see it are going to end up pretty disappointed by the relatively tame sex scenes. Well, tame compared to all the aforementioned porn.

Here’s Seth and costar Elizabeth Banks at Comic Con on July 25th. Images thanks to PR Photos.