James Franco and Seth Rogen spent almost a decade not working together after Freaks & Geeks

After a friendship spanning 20 years, James Franco and Seth Rogen have each confirmed that they no longer speak and will not work together again.

The pair’s relationship goes all the way back to 1999, when Rogen was 17 and Franco was 21, as they both starred in Freaks and Geeks.

They became good friends during production, with Franco saying of their friendship: “There was a period where Seth and I all went to Jason’s [Freaks and Geeks co-star Jason Segel] house, and they would sit at one end of the room and smoke weed.”

Despite this though, the pair would not work together for nine years after this, until Pineapple Express.

After that though they worked together in regular projects from This is The End to The Interview, culminating in their last film together, The Disaster Artist.

While Rogen’s more recent reasoning behind a split with Franco is to do with allegations against the actor, the huge gap in work for the pair has a different reason.

In an interview with CBS’ The Early Show, Rogen said: “We didn't have a falling out or anything; he just became very successful after Freaks and Geeks, and I just sat on my couch and researched this movie for two years.”

Franco appeared very briefly in a cameo in Knocked Up, however didn’t share the screen with Rogen.

Franco appeared in Knocked Up, but not opposite Rogen (Universal)

In another NY Times article Franco said of their split following Freaks and Geeks: “There was a point where most people on the show didn’t like me, because I took myself too seriously.

“I thought I was Marlon Brando or something. Then I pushed Busy [Philipps, a co-star on the show] over, by accident.

“So everybody didn’t like me, I think, except for Seth.”

Rogen responded saying: “When the show ended, I didn’t talk to you for years. We kind of went our separate ways, for a long time.”

Franco revealed it was producer and director Judd Apatow who convinced him to return to the realm of comedy as he was ‘unhappy’ as an actor.

Pineapple Express was their first film together in almost a decade (Sony)

Busy Philipps was one of many women to come forward to speak out against Franco, saying he pushed her to the ground and screamed at her. Philipps later said the actor had apologised to her.

In addition to this an ex-girlfriend of Franco’s claimed he forced her to perform oral sex on him, but he denied this account of events via lawyers.

After five members of Franco’s acting school came forward in 2018 claiming sexual misconduct, Rogen eventually revealed that he had cut ties and would not be working with the actor moving forward.

Franco was accused of creating the acting school to facilitate a ‘pipeline’ of young women to sleep with him. Though he rejected the idea of the ‘pipeline’ he admitted to sleeping with students.

In a recent Variety interview Franco said: “ I haven’t talked to Seth.

“I love Seth, we had 20 great years together, but I guess it’s over. And not for lack of trying. I’ve told him how much he’s meant to me.”

Rogen responded to this yesterday in an Esquire article for the first time, but it wasn’t exactly a full response.

The actor and writer said of Franco’s comments: “Honestly, I absorb so little media that it really wasn’t on my radar.”