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Did you write the role of Jeff for Seth? "No, not at all." Jeff was originally written as a guy from the Midwest, and as Lauren was auditioning guys for the part, she decided to go a different direction. "We were in Canada at the time…literally brushing our teeth one night, I was like, 'W hat if Jeff was Canadian?'" she asks Seth. "'Cause I love a Canadian, so I like to make fun of them… And he literally went, 'I'm not going on the cruise ship.' A few days later he was like, 'Well, I've never played an actual Canadian before, maybe it'd be funny.'" And this is how Seth ended up on the cruise ship, along with his parents, the cast, and crew. "I love Seth in those roles, to me, it's more true to who he is as a person. I mean yes, he's very funny, very fun guy, but actually like, very sweet. So, I love seeing him in those roles," she swoons. WRITING VS. ACTING "Writing is easier, 'cause I can sit home all day and write. I can't really sit home and act with myself all day. And auditions are brutal, and I can't just be like, 'I'm going to go out and act today.' I can write whenever I want. But when the opportunity comes up to do something fun as an actor, obviously, it's so great, so fun, and hopefully, I'll do more of all of it." While the main aspects of Like Father's story –runaway groom, estranged dad, cruise—were foreign to Lauren, what ultimately motivates Harry's actions is a condition this writer is very familiar with. Alzheimer's disease is among the driving forces in Harry's narrative, chiefly because it's a disease that Lauren's mother, grandmother, and grandfather have all been diagnosed with. "Having seen what my dad has gone through, knowing a lot of caregivers and their stories…the type of place that a character would be in at the end of that journey, perhaps he would make a choice to go back and fix some of the things he had done wrong in his life," she says of Harry's motives. Lauren has made it her mission to make this terrible disease a part of the conversation – pointing out that we're more familiar with diseases like cancer and HIV because they've been highlighted in TV and movies. Until speaking with Lauren, I had no idea that Alzheimer's is a fatal disease that cannot be prevented, slowed, or cured. "Your body forgets that you're supposed to chew, that you're supposed to swallow. You literally forget how to be a person and I think that a lot of people, unless they've been touched by it, don't quite understand what it truly means to lose your memory… You become a shell of yourself," she shares somberly. To raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer's research and care, Lauren and Seth founded Hilarity for Charity in 2012, and have raised over $7 million so far. Over the thirteen years Lauren and Seth have been together ["We just had our bar mitzvah," Lauren laughs.], they've collaborated on several projects —confirming that they make a fantastic team. So, what's the secret to your longevity? "We like each other. I always say, I feel like he still feels like my new boyfriend sometimes. Like, I don't know, I just feel like we got very lucky. We met each other and we're very compatible. We like to do a lot of the same things. Our parents, I think, raised us in a similar way…We just happen to be fortunate in that we met each other and just clicked, and it just always felt right and easy and, knock on wood [which she does], still does." She adds that they do work hard at their relationship, and have a rule to not go more than two weeks apart. This past year, they spent a lot of time traveling cross- country to see each other for as little as two days. But it's all worth it, she tells me. Since the film wrapped, Seth and her plan to "do a crazy thing and take a vacation for a week, which we don't do that often." The other love of Lauren's life is their dog, Zelda, who is plastered all over her Instagram. #Zeldaface. I saw the sweatshirt your mother-in- law made you, which reads: I heart Seth & Zelda. "I know," she laughs. I hope you wear that often. "I wear it all the time. He gets mad when I try to wear it when I'm around him, but I'm like, 'I don't care, I love it so much.' No, I wear it a lot. Yeah. But it's true, I love them both," she says with a big smile. ML Keep up with Lauren on Instagram: @LaurenMillerRogen, Twitter: @IamLaurenMiller, and don't miss Like Father on Netflix August 3rd. For more on Hilarity for Charity and to support Lauren and Seth's mission, visit: HilarityforCharity.org.