The famous joke Seth Rogen regrets from The 40-year-old Virgin

Seth Rogen: "I've had people come up to me and be like, 'That made me feel like s**t'." Photo / Getty Images

It was the movie that shot him to stardom, but Seth Rogen has one regret about starring in The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

In the 2005 comedy Rogen played the stoner friend of main character Andy (played by Steve Carrell).

The supporting role led to Rogen going on to play a series of similar stoner characters in Pineapple Express and Superbad.

Speaking to GQ, Rogen said he regrets a scene in The 40-Year-Old Virgin where his character and David (Paul Rudd) try to sledge each other while playing video games by joking about how they know the other one is gay.

"I've had people come up to me and be like, 'That made me feel like s**t when I was in the movie theatre and everyone was laughing about that'," Rogen said.

"I don't want anyone to have that experience watching our movies."

One thing Rogen doesn't regret is his "stoner" persona, which he explained gave him a connection to fans.

"What's nice is when I meet those guys … I don't feel like I've lied to those people," he said. "That's probably one of the reasons that they like me, is that they don't feel I've lied to them. That's a dynamic I like.

"When it comes to me being a person out there in the world, I don't care if people think I'm f**king smart or some genius or how hardworking they think I am — the fact that they don't think I'm lying to them to get them to go see my movies is something I appreciate."

Two years after The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Rogen starred in Knocked Up alongside Katherine Heigl.

The Judd Apatow-directed comedy had Rogen playing an unemployed stoner who gets TV presenter (Heigl) pregnant after a one-night stand.

While it gave a considerable boost to both Rogen and Heigl's careers, the Grey's Anatomy actress later slammed the movie.

"It was a little sexist," Heigl told Vanity Fair in 2008.

"It paints the women as shrews, as humourless and uptight, and it paints the men as loveable, goofy, fun-loving guys. It exaggerated the characters, and I had a hard time with it, on some days. I'm playing such a bitch; why is she being such a killjoy?

"Why is this how you're portraying women? Ninety-eight per cent of the time it was an amazing experience, but it was hard for me to love the movie."

Rogen later told The Howard Stern Show he felt "somewhat betrayed" by her comments he didn't hold the comments against her, especially as Heigl says she now regrets making them.

"I respect the fact that perhaps she realises that it has hurt her career, and I don't want that to have happened to her at all because I've said a thousand stupid things and I really like her," Rogen said.

"The only people who in this situation should in any way take anything from it is me and Judd because we're the ones she was talking about. For other people to not work with her because she didn't like her experience with us is — I think is crazy."