Once, twice, three times a dad
Eugene Levy on Finding Dory, Schitt’s Creek
Eugene Levy is a Canadian comic gem who s hined bright with the SCTV ensemble before heading out on a successful solo career as an actor for hire.
Most notably, he was the American Pie patriarch in a series of popular R- rated flicks. Now he’s featured as another kind of father figure on the award- winning Canuck sitcom Schitt’s Creek opposite SCTV buddy Catherine O’Hara and his son Daniel.
In fact, he’s a dad once more but this time in the animated sequel Finding Dory.
In the new movie, Dory ( Ellen DeGeneres), the blue tang fish with short- term memory l oss, heads out on a journey with Marlin ( Albert Brooks) and son Nemo ( Hayden Rolence) to find Dory’s parents, Charlie ( Levy) and Jenny ( Diane Keaton).
The 69- year- old took a break from filming an episode of Schitt’s Creek north of Toronto recently to offer his considered opinion:
On why he said ‘ yes’ to the Finding Dory voice role with
out seeing the script “First of all, I knew it was Disney-Pixar, so no matter what it was going to be it was going to be good, because nobody does it better,” Levy says. “And it was a sequel to Finding Nemo.”
On the essence of his
part “They were looking for the supportive kind of dad,” he says. “I had to establish a nurturing tone in a very short period of time to make Dory’s quest make sense.”
On his nice father qualifica
tions “I guess I could look at American Pie,” Levy says. “Maybe that understanding dad came into play.”
On working with Diane Kea
ton “She’s quite amazing,” he says. “We had one session together. I was in Toronto and she was in Los Angeles, and they hooked us up on monitors to do some scenes together.”
On the dynamic of the set
ting “I couldn’t take my eyes off of the monitor,” Levy says. “I had to remind myself I was doing a scene with her, not just stare at, you know, Annie Hall.”
On screening the finished
Finding Dory “I was very impressed but not surprised,” Levy says.
On the film’s mix of comedy
and tenderness “They have the ability to mine things for comedy and then weave emotional anchors throughout,” he says. “I love that kind of comedy where the audience is on this roller coaster ride from comedy to deep emotion.”
On the similar style in his sit
com “We try that on Schitt’s Creek, too, where we try to make it funny but we want the characters to be real enough that the audience will want to know where they are going.”
On working with hi s son Daniel on the show they co
created “I was excited when he wanted me to work on (Schitt’s Creek),” says Levy.
On his initial apprehension “I did have a fear in the first few days, ‘ What if he doesn’t have it?’ ” says Levy. “I had a couple of sleepless nights but it only took a few days for me to realize he is so far ahead.”
On Daniel following in his father’s footsteps despite growing up outside of Holly
wood “There may be some showbiz vibe that seeped in there,” says Levy of Daniel. “That’s even though our choice was to raise our kids in Toronto to give them a level playing field.”