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One of the sole adults in the film, Levy did the most with his limited screentime, stealing every scene he was in as Jim’s dad.
But Levy almost turned down the role—once offered to Bill Murray—admitting he found the script too vulgar. “When I first read the script, it scared me. I said, ‘No, I can’t do this movie,'” he explained. “My manager, at the time, said, ‘Well, you should go and take a meeting?,’ and I said, ‘Why? It’s just too out there for me. This is a kids’ movie. Why would I want to be in a movie I wouldn’t go see?'”
After meeting with the directors, he realized they were handling the subject matter in an adult way and signed on. He was also encouraged to improvise, something the Second City Sketch Comedy alum was happy to do.
“All the scenes in American Pie came out of an improvisation,” he told Huffington Post. “I wanted the character to be a real dad. Like a real, corny dad who cares about their children. I wanted to be the kind of parent that the kids didn’t want to hang with…[the original version] was a little creepy. So I made him more square.”
One of the only original stars to appear in all of the franchise’s films, the esteemed character actor went on to star alongside his son Dan Levy on their hit TV series Schitt’s Creek. The father-son duo swept the 2020 Emmys with their creation.
Next up, he’ll appear in season four of Only Murders in the Building.