Eugene Levy has been acting for literally half a century now. The beloved American Pie actor has been in roles both big and small during his career in movies and television. Besides his acting accolades, Levy has also written, directed, and done his fair share of voice acting. For the first few decades of his career, it would be likely you’d know him as a key role player you’d regularly see in some of your favorite flicks like National Lampoon's Vacation as a car salesman or as an interesting character actor who made each scene he was in better. However, with shows like Schitt’s Creek becoming both a fan and critic-favorite in recent years, Levy’s star status has only risen.
Levy’s comedic timing is usually fairly subtle while portraying sometimes unconventional characters. Levy’s known for improvising numerous lines in Christopher Guest films, as outlined by The AV Club, like Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration. Levy has also certainly held his own alongside amazing talents such as John Candy, Harold Ramis, Steve Martin, and Catherine O’ Hara, who've been both co-stars and friends. Now that Levy’s son Dan is a star in his own right, his influence is crossing over to new generations of fans. So, how do you sum up the best performances of someone who’s still making a significant impact in the industry? It’s not an easy task to do for anyone as prolific in their work ethic as Levy. That said, here are Eugene Levy’s best and most iconic performances, ranked.
6 SCTV
SCTV, also known as Second City Television, was a big part of Eugene Levy’s early career and set the groundwork for what was to come. This Canadian-based comedy sketch show launched the careers of numerous actors and comedians such as Martin Short, Rick Moranis, and the previously mentioned John Candy, Harold Ramis, and Catherine O’Hara. The show ran in various forms for 8 years, between 1976 and 1984, of which Levy was part throughout. During its later years, the show made its way into the U.S. and has most often been compared to Saturday Night Live, which was still in its heyday at the time. Skits often included parodies of other popular shows as well as parodies of low-budget late-night TV ads. Other popular sketches included "Mailbag" (a viewer mail skit), "Farm Film Report" aka "Farm Film Celebrity Blow-Up" (supposed celebrity interviews where the guests would be blown up), "The Days of the Week" (a soap opera parody of “Days of Our Lives”), among many others.
5 Splash
The Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah hit 80s film Splash included a memorable role from Eugene Levy as Dr. Walter Kornbluth, the film’s main villain. His goal was to prove Madison (Hannah) was a mermaid. Kornbluth eventually succeeds at this, but later regrets his actions when she is subject to be dissected in a lab. This leads to a change of heart and Kornbluth helps her escape back to the sea. The popular movie arrived around the time Levy's stint on SCTV was coming to an end. The film also had a highly respected director in Ron Howard.
4 A Mighty Wind
The mockumentary movie A Mighty Wind is about a fictional folk music reunion festival and the merry band of almost-famous musicians coming out of the woodwork to be part of it as a tribute to their producer who passed away. Levy plays Mickey, a hippie-stoner type who still looks the part. However, the film doubles as an opportunity for its main actors to show off their singing chops over the course of the movie, with Levy singing an impressive duet with Catherine O’Hara. As a matter of fact, all the music in the project was performed live by the actors during the making of the film.
3 Best in Show
With the excitement of hundreds of contestants competing in the Mayflower Dog Show, the canines and their diverse group of owners make up the focus of Best in Show. The movie specifically follows the journey of five entrants in particular for the Nationally prestigious competition. The over-the-top dog owners all have various ambitions which poke fun at the real dog shows this mockumentary is based upon. This is one of the four heavily improvised Christopher Guest films of which Eugene Levy has been part. Levy plays Gerry Fleck, a Florida-based husband with two left feet, literally. Gerry is forced to take over for his wife Cookie when she comes down with an injury. Yet the couple’s terrier Winky also steps up big and takes home the annual honors in the process.
2 Schitt’s Creek
A once-wealthy couple named John and Moira Rose lose everything and are forced to move to a small town they previously purchased as a joke, named Schitt’s Creek. Created by Eugene Levy’s son Dan, the elder Levy was an obvious choice to star in his son’s now-breakout series. Recently completing six seasons, the show won an impressive amount of awards over the past few years, with numerous history-making Primetime Emmys, Golden Globe Awards, and much more bestowed upon it. The show does many things right, including normalizing the LGBTQ+ community without pandering to it either. Perhaps this is a reason the show finds a path to becoming wholesome in its own way. Moira (Catherine O’Hara) regularly shines with her incredibly bold fashion choices and attitude. There are also various inside jokes regular fans will start to pick up on as they continue to watch the popular series.
1 American Pie
Eugene Levy pulls off his best role in American Pie, despite the majority of the movie’s focus put upon the film’s all-star cast of high school-aged young adults and the wild antics they get up to. Levy plays Mr. Levenstein, the loving and accepting father of his misguided son, Jim. What makes Levy’s role special here is while he is extremely funny in the embarrassing circumstances his son Jim gets himself into, he never comes off judgmental. Instead, he just wants to help, which sometimes further adds to Jim’s embarrassment. As society has changed in many ways over the past two decades, raunchy films like American Pie are currently not in favor. That being said, Levy’s role in particular still holds up well. Levy has reprised Mr. Levenstein for all but one of the franchise’s many sequels, and he became the face of the franchise in later films after the original stars moved on to other roles. While Levy completed dozens of enjoyable projects before this film, this was the movie that brought his career to even greater comedic heights.