Victor Moreno
Having a travel program, through which you can see different parts of the world, stay in luxurious hotels and visit famous attractions, can seem like a dream job for many people. But not for Canadian actor and comedian Eugene Levy, 76.
After finishing the successful “Schitt’s Creek”, for which he took the Emmy for comedy actor in 2020, he could, in theory, choose what he wanted to do next. But he decided to bet precisely on something he had no desire for. The result is the documentary series “The Reluctant Traveler”, which premieres this Friday (24) on the Apple TV+ streaming service.
“I only accepted the invitation when they changed the program’s concept”, reveals Levy in a chat with the press, from which the F5 participated. “Initially, it was going to go around the world visiting different luxury hotels, which must sound amazing to anyone else. But I was the wrong person.”
The actor defines himself as “a terrible traveller”. “I don’t like it very much,” he explains. “It’s not that I hate it, but I don’t love it. I don’t have an innate curiosity or sense of adventure, so I turned it down.”
However, the producers suggested changing the premise, which — let’s face it — wasn’t that original. “Talking to me and realizing my reluctance, they found it so funny that they changed the program, asked if I would do it if it was a program about me not wanting to travel. I ended up accepting it because I understood that, in that way, I could be myself.”
And that’s how this kind of anti-tour guide was born, in which not everything is always well and where the presenter eventually comments that he’d rather stay in bed than know some attraction proposed by the production. Among the places visited in the first season are Venice, Lisbon, Tokyo and Maldives.
Known for his good humor, Levy guarantees that he is not forcing himself to appear more grumpy than he really is. “I didn’t create a persona, to be honest with you,” he says. “I’m not playing a role. All you see is me trying to be as honest as I can without offending the people I’m dealing with or the experiences I’m going through.”
It has to be said that, despite the supposed lack of will, the veteran does not shy away from taking any walk, no matter how uninviting it may seem. In Finland, he takes a dip in icy water; in Costa Rica, he takes a nocturnal trail through a forest with snakes; in the US state of Utah, he rides in a helicopter (even though he has a panic of heights); and, in South Africa, he helps perform a digital rectal exam on an elephant.
“I kind of embraced it because that was the nature of the show,” says the actor. “These are experiences that I would never have chosen to do in my life, but I opened myself up to it. And it was a big step for me, because before I would just turn down a lot of these things. /h over an icy lake? Exciting as that is, thanks, but I don’t want to do it again.”
On the other hand, Levy appreciated the recordings in which he was taken to know the stories of residents of the cities he visited — even saying he is not very talkative. “I took off my armor a little bit, which, at this point in life, I see as a positive thing,” he says.
“I’ve always been a rather shy person, I’ve had a lot of insecurity running through my veins at times, I’ve never had a sociable personality in terms of bringing up conversations with people,” he reports. “Talking to these people and experiencing these cultures through them was eye-opening for me. I’m happy to take that with me.”
What he didn’t expect was, in one of these meetings, to be recognized by a family of fans of the “American Pie” franchise, in which he played the character Noah Levenstein, the protagonist’s unintentionally embarrassing father. “I think that was the biggest surprise of all, because it was the last thing I expected to hear at that table,” he jokes.
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