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
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.
I'll tell you why you're going to do what you're going to do today is because you're my bitch.
I like that there is no jeopardy when I work on a film with Chris, ... Castle Rock (Entertainment) just gives us around $8 million and we are left alone with no interference. I like the control of getting to do what is close to your sensibility.
I'm kind of a character actor, which lends itself more to supporting roles. Being front and center, you can't really duck down and hide behind somebody else's shoulder.
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 really enjoyed working on 'Dumb & Dumberer' with Cheri Oteri, maybe because we are both into improvisations. We were meant to act together.
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.
It's improvisation, you're learning to think on your feet, you're learning to write, you're doing a different kind of character in every scene you're doing on the stage,
It was the end of his speech that they cut to. I said, 'We have to hear what it is that's important to him in his work and in his life,' ... So I got together with my dentist. He gave me some stuff to work with. When he puts a crown or cap or something, he just talks about, 'This is the best cap or crown design. This is it.'
It's very easy to sit down and work on a script with Chris, ... We make each other laugh.
And I'm doing a pilot for TV Land, called 'I Did Not Know That.' It's co-produced by Paul Reiser.
I'm in Christopher Guest's new film, 'For Your Consideration,' which starts shooting in October,
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.