By the time he was 24, Seth Green already had more than 30 TV and film roles under his belt — but there was something special to him about Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont’s script for Can’t Hardly Wait. “I read it and knew that Kenny Fisher could be a breakout character if I worked my ass off,” says Green. “He’s such a great character because he’s so deeply insecure. It was a role I really wanted, and when I got the job, I was like, I’m going to kill this part.” Sure enough, the film, which featured Green alongside Jennifer Love Hewitt, Lauren Ambrose, and Ethan Embry, became a cultural touchstone upon its premiere in 1998. It brought in $25 million at the box office and has enjoyed teen-classic status ever since.
Shortly after the release of his Robot Chicken: Self-Discovery Special, Green joined us for an episode of our series Role Call to look back on playing Kenny, a nerdy high-school virgin obsessed with hip-hop culture who embarks on a desperate quest to have sex for the first time. Despite the character’s brief screen time, he has become a fan favorite; the indelible image of the film is Green in voluminous jeans and, curiously, ski goggles. “I said to the costume designer, ‘This kid had to realistically choose these clothes. He had to pick these pants; he had to pick these shoes,’” Green recalls. “He spent hours, days, years thinking about this moment: This is the night I’m going to have sex. His confidence behind his outfit choices is unparalleled. He’s like, This is going to fucking work.”
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