Few comedic actors working today have had a comparable career to that of Eugene Levy. From his roots on SCTV to his collaborations with Christopher Guest to more recent work on Schitt’s Creek and a forthcoming turn in Only Murders in the Building, Levy brings a penchant for esoteric deadpan comedy to virtually all of his projects. It doesn’t hurt that he’s skilled at both verbal and physical comedy, nor is it an issue that he has something ineffable about his screen presence that’s suited him well for decades.
It’s hard to imagine comedy without Levy at this point. But, based on a recent interview he gave to The Independent‘s Annabel Nugent, it sounds like he’s considering when it might be time for him to step back from the spotlight. Levy told Nugent that he was “not ruling anything out.” He specified that that was “[i]ncluding retirement,” but clarified that “I think there’s still a few jobs in me left.”
“I’m not afraid of retirement,” he told Nugent. But for now, it sounds like he’s scaling back the work that he does without leaving the business altogether. That said, it sounds like he won’t be opting to take the lead role in another television show, as he did with Schitt’s Creek.
“I don’t think I’d get into another series where you’re working six days a week for five months straight,” he said.
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Why are the best music movies the ones that poke fun at the genre?The whole interview is well worth reading, and his response to another question — about certain SCTV sketches that haven’t aged well — gives a sense of why Levy is as beloved as he is. “Times have changed,” he told The Independent. “Humour has taken a different course.” It’s a rational, philosophical take on the way comedy evolves over time — and it’s emblematic of an attitude that helps explain Levy’s enduring career.
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