Eugene Levy's Most Famous Role Led To Some Mortifying High School Moments For His Son Dan
For most high schoolers, having a father who stars in a popular teen flick would be a badge of honor — unless, of course, you're a young Dan Levy and the film in question is the coming-of-age sex "American Pie." Levy's father, Eugene Levy, played Noah Levenstein, the awkwardly good-intentioned father of leading man Jason Biggs' character, Jim. The effects on Dan's teen years were, well, not quite as sweet as apple pie.
Dan recalled how his father's role in the 1999 comedy only added to the expected cringe factor of high school while on a 2024 episode of "The Kelly Clarkson Show," admitting that many of his classmates assumed the movie was based on his own life. "Which is really unfortunate because I would've killed to have had a life that interesting," he joked.
To make things even more uncomfortable, the "Schitt's Creek" star was planning on watching the film's premiere with his parents until a friend back home in Toronto warned him of the movie's hypersexual, you-definitely-don't-watch-this-with-your-parents vibe.
Dan Levy was warned against going to the film's premiere with his parents
The 1999 film "American Pie" holds no punches when it comes to the clumsy, gawky sexual endeavors of five high school seniors eager to lose their virginity by their graduation. Even the movie's title is enough to make those who have watched it wince in secondhand embarrassment as they recall the scene where Jason Biggs' character masturbates with a warm apple pie only to be walked on in by his father, played by Eugene Levy.
Levy's real-life son, Dan Levy, was none the wiser to the content of this absurd comedy when he planned to watch the premiere with his parents. Luckily for Dan, he had been on the phone with a friend back home who had watched an advanced screening of the movie. "[They said,] 'Run in the opposite direction of wherever your parents are in relation to that film," Dan recounted to Kelly Clarkson. "And I did. And I have yet to see it with them."
Dan reiterated the differences between his high school experience and that of Jason Biggs' on-screen character while on a 2020 episode of "Hot Ones," saying, "I did not have sex with a pie, unfortunately." Still, remnants of the late '90s teen flick live on in the Levy bunch, including their relationship with Biggs, who Dan says is like an extended member of their family to this day.
Starring in the teen film disaffected Eugene Levy's life in some ways, too
Being closely associated with the 1999 teen sex comedy "American Pie" might've had its effects on a young Dan Levy's high school experience, but it also had its effect on his dad, Eugene Levy, who played an embarrassingly daft father who struggles to instill useful sex advice to his equally cringey teen son. In a March 2023 interview with The Guardian, Eugene talked about people's reactions to seeing him in public after the "American Pie" craze was fully baked into the pop culture zeitgeist.
"The 'American Pie' thing got a bit tedious," Eugene admitted to the outlet. "People would bring me apple pie every time I went into a restaurant or to a wedding. Which is kind of funny, but it did happen a lot." As for his son's connection to the film, Eugene told Kelly Clarkson while visiting her show with fellow "American Pie" alum Alyson Hannigan in October 2023 that he was relieved a then-15-year-old Dan didn't accompany him and his wife to the raunchy movie's premiere.
Embarrassing content or not, Eugene Levy's time with the "American Pie" franchise was hardly for naught, garnering him a 2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor in a Comedy. His son, Dan, revealed on "The Kelly Clarkson Show" that he has seen his dad's film franchise, but he has no plans for a father-son "American Pie" movie night anytime soon.