Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy, CMis a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, director, musician and writer. He is the only actor to have appeared in all eight of the American Pie films, with his role as Noah Levenstein. He often plays nerdy, unconventional figures, with his humour often deriving from his excessive explanations of matters and the way in which he deals with sticky situations. Levy is a regular collaborator of actor-director Christopher Guest, appearing in four of his films, commencing with Waiting for...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth17 December 1946
CountryCanada
This was more of a cartoonish thing for me and it kind of took me back to SCTV, in a way, where the characters are just a little broader and you can have that kind of fun going a little over the edge.
In ten minutes, I'm thinking, 'OK, you know what? I love these guys. They're really smart, they're really good, they've got a good sense of comedy, under their guidance, I think maybe this could come out OK.' But I didn't like the part.
I think I'm the only actor in the history of film who got to slap Sam Jackson on the face and butt and lived to tell about it.
At the end of the day, the numbers that we're hearing are not going to be totally correct or not correct at all.
There is a similarity in the kinds of characters I gravitate to that goes back to my earliest years in the business on SCTV, ... I have more fun playing guys who are not the sharp pencils. I like the characters who are just average, if not a little below average, so the average person can look at my character on the screen and feel a little better about themselves.
You take more responsibility for the movie, and the movie kind of sits on your shoulders. I split that responsibility with Sam.
look at a truth in a situation, keep it real - don't try to get a laugh at the expense of your story.
I play an agent who used to be partners in a very large talent agency. My partner died and everybody left. Evidently he was the brains of the outfit, so now my setup couldn't be smaller. I have absolutely no clout in the business but still consider myself a player.
I'll tell you why you're going to do what you're going to do today is because you're my bitch.
I really enjoyed working on 'Dumb & Dumberer' with Cheri Oteri, maybe because we are both into improvisations. We were meant to act together.
In the early days, it was like Second City , or National Lampoon , that kind of created Saturday Night Live , and it seems now, for the most part, there are stand-ups who are hired and brought into the show because they have the ability to come up with the one-liner.
I didn't know whether Sam would come in and want to try to be funny or try to add to the comedy by creating a comedy version of the character people know him to play. He played it very straight, and that was his instinct and that was the right instinct.
I'm not in a situation where you get a thousand scripts. You want to make a living, you want to put your kids through school. I'd rather do three bad films that pay well than do one good film every three years that doesn't pay well. ... To me, if you can get a steady check in this business, you're doing okay.
I don't believe I've ever played a hip dude. I don't think I would have the wherewithal to do that.