Daniel Joseph LevyCM (born August 9, 1983)[1][2] is a Canadian actor and filmmaker. He began his career as a television host on MTV Canada. He received international prominence and critical acclaim for starring as David Rose in the CBC sitcom Schitt's Creek (2015–2020), which he co-created and co-starred in with his father, Eugene Levy.
Levy won Primetime Emmy Awards for producing, writing, directing, and acting in the final season of Schitt's Creek, and the series became the first to win a Primetime Emmy Award in all four major comedy acting categories in a single year.[3] His work on the show also earned him four Canadian Screen Awards, among other accolades.[4] Levy has since played a supporting role in the romantic comedy film Happiest Season (2020), and starred in, written and directed the drama Good Grief (2023).
Levy began his career as one of the original seven co-hosts on the now-defunct MTV Canada flagship series MTV Live. He gained prominence as co-host (with Jessi Cruickshank) of MTV Canada's The After Show and its various incarnations, such as The Hills: The After Show and The City: Live After Show.[11] The shows were occasionally broadcast in the United States as well.
Following The After Show's cancellation and Cruickshank's departure, Levy wrote, produced, and starred in his own Christmas special for MTV, Daniel Levy's Holi-Do's & Don'ts. He also co-hosted the MTV Movie Awards Red Carpet, the X-Factor pre-show, and national coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics for CTV.[12] He also ran a leg of the Olympic torch relay.[13] He left MTV Canada in 2011 after five years with the network.[14]
In 2015, Levy formed Not a Real Company Productions (with his father Eugene Levy and principals Andrew Barnsley and Fred Levy).[16] Their first project was a television pilot with CBC, which resulted in Schitt's Creek.[17] Levy starred in the series alongside his father, sister Sarah Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Annie Murphy, and Chris Elliott.[18][19]Schitt's Creek is Not a Real Company Productions' first television series.[20] Levy has spoken publicly about his character's portrayal of pansexuality, saying, "I think in certain parts of America, David's sexual ambiguity was a big question mark. (But) it was issues like that that I find quite exciting."[21]
For his work on Schitt's Creek, Levy has been nominated for numerous awards, including several Canadian Screen Awards for writing and acting, winning the awards for Best Comedy Series, Best Writing in a Comedy Program or Series in 2016, and Best Comedy Series in 2019.[22][23] In 2019, the series was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series.[24] In March 2019, Levy announced that the series was renewed for a sixth and final season, and said the decision to end the series after season six on their own creative terms was a "rare privilege".[25]
In July 2017, it was announced that Levy would host The Great Canadian Baking Show with Julia Chan, which had its premiere on November 1 on CBC.[26] On October 30, John Doyle of The Globe and Mail criticized the show's first episode in a review, including a critique of Levy's "feyness" while performing as host.[27] While acknowledging the importance of criticism in media, Levy called the use of the word feyness "offensive, irresponsible, and homophobic".[28][29]The Globe's public editor Sylvia Stead published a statement on November 9 explaining that "Mr. Doyle was not aware that Mr. Levy was gay and he used the term to mean preciousness". She also acknowledged that, despite the dictionary not defining "fey" as a slur, "we need to understand not just the context of words, but how they evolve and are viewed by communities that may be justly sensitive to a range of meanings."[30] Levy and Chan returned as hosts for the series' second season, which premiered in September 2018.[31] In March 2019, Levy announced via Twitter that he and Chan would not be returning as hosts for the series' third season, citing scheduling conflicts.[32]
In May 2019, he was the keynote speaker at The Infatuation's annual food festival, EEEEEATSCON.[33]
In January 2020, he and his father Eugene Levy were guest hosts of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, filling in for DeGeneres while she took a day off. They did many of the ordinary host activities including interviewing fellow Schitt's Creek cast members Catherine O'Hara and Annie Murphy.[36][37]
In August 2020, Levy enrolled in and began to promote the 12-week self-paced Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), "Indigenous Canada", hosted by Dr. Tracy Bear (Montreal Lake First Nation) and Dr. Paul Gareau (Métis and French Canadian) of the University of Alberta. Levy also hosted twelve livestream interviews with the course instructors and weekly guest speakers to discuss topics related to each of the 12 course modules.[42][non-primary source needed][43] Levy said in a tweet on November 15, 2020, that the weekly discussions were "nothing short of transformational".[44] Levy also encouraged followers of and participants in the course to donate to the University of Alberta's Faculty of Native Studies, the only faculty of its kind in North America, promising to match donations up to $25,000.[45]
In September 2019, Levy signed a three-year deal with ABC Signature.[49][50] In September 2021, it was announced that Levy had signed an overall deal with Netflix to write and produce scripted content across film and TV.[50] Levy later clarified that the film ended up being "a love story about friendship".[51]Good Grief, Levy's directorial debut, was released in limited theaters on December 29, 2023, and released on Netflix on January 5, 2024.[52] The film stars Levy, Ruth Negga, Luke Evans, Himesh Patel, Celia Imrie, David Bradley, and Arnaud Valois.[53]
Levy divides his time between Toronto and Los Angeles, while he has said that London is his "favourite city" after having lived there in 2005.[54]
He initially avoided labelling his sexual orientation publicly,[19] though in a 2015 interview with Flare he was called "a member of the LGBT community".[55] In a 2020 interview with Andy Cohen, Levy said that he is "obviously gay" and has been out since he was 18.[56]
^ abVerner, Amy (December 1, 2007). "The Dan of the hour". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2019. ...his high-school days at North Toronto Collegiate Institute.... First at York University and then at Ryerson, he took film production, which did not pan out.
^Brown, Emma (March 15, 2016). "Dan Levy's Family Tree". Interview. Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved October 15, 2018. At the time, Levy was studying film production at Ryerson University.
