Eugene Levy, considered “Canada’s National Treasure,” is also one of Hollywood’s most popular comedic actors. He has appeared in over 60 television shows and motion pictures, including Schitt’s Creek, Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman, For Your Consideration, A Mighty Wind, Finding Dory, Splash, Armed and Dangerous, and countless others. He won a New York Film Critics Circle Award and Grammy Award® for A Mighty Wind and a Golden Globe® nomination for Best In Show. Schitt’s Creek swept the Canadian Screen Awards, winning nine of ten categories. From the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, Levy received the prestigious Legacy Award (along with co-star and long-time collaborator Catherine O’Hara). He won two Emmys® as a writer for SCTV.
Up until three years ago, award-winning actor/writer/producer Eugene Levy avoided travel, which he considered beyond his comfort zone. “My life was steady, predictable, and reassuringly repetitive,” he says. Yet, in 2023, he agreed to host an original travel show, The Reluctant Traveler, for Apple TV+, which turned out to be a life-changing decision. Says Levy, “Even though the experiences were often uncomfortable, travel transformed me.” Eugene Levy is currently starring in the third season of The Reluctant Traveler, eight episodes that send the iconic comedian to Austria, Canada, England, India, Ireland, Mexico, South Korea, and the United States.
Levy says, “The tough thing about starting this show was I had to be myself, and I’m not really an open person, so it was an emotional experience. But now that I’m considered something of a traveler, I’ve challenged myself to complete my own bucket list before actually kicking the bucket.” His famous black eyebrows shoot up as he continues, “I did a lot of research, kept an open mind, and came up with a list of my own. I’d be a liar to say these experiences have not made my life richer, because you’re only passing through once. I’m inching closer to being a more seasoned traveler, but I’m not there yet. However, my enjoyment in discovering and appreciating different countries and cultures has grown considerably.”
Eugene Travels the world in Season 3 on Apple TV+
Levy begins the new season of The Reluctant Traveler with a bucket-list journey to Mexico, a country visited by more Americans than anywhere else on the planet. He is not there to visit the typical touristy places such as Acapulco or Cabo San Lucas. He has arrived in Oaxaca to immerse himself in Mexico’s Day of the Dead, a yearly festival which dates back to the Aztecs and embraces death as part of celebrating life. Along the way, he meets Rosario, the first female Mezcal maker to make the spirit the old-fashioned way: chopping up the agave plant, roasting it, pounding out the liquid, then adding spices, fruits, and a raw chicken. Levy makes a disgusted face and says, “Chicken is an ingredient in an alcoholic beverage? I prefer it Southern fried.” Later, as he tastes the Mezcal,