Award-winning actor, author, and producer Eugene Levy has starred in numerous film and television projects, but his biggest fear is being himself in front of the camera. .
Levy, who stars in the new travel series “The Reluctant Traveler” on Apple TV Plus, said, “I’ve been working on characters all my life, which is scary, but the more they get away from me, the more comfortable I feel. I was there,” he said. Viewers follow him as he travels around the world as a self-described travel hater.
“‘Sitt’s Creek’ was about as close as I got to the characters, and it was terrifying to start with.
“I’m not a central person. I don’t like being in front of a lot of people, so I said, ‘Yeah, this is going to be a little scary.'”
Debuting Friday, the eight-part series sees the Emmy-winning comedian travel to eight locations, including Tokyo, Finland, Costa Rica and Utah.
At each destination, Levy is situated in a unique and luxurious hotel as the 76-year-old actor recounts his own discomfort with practices unfamiliar to him, such as noodle sipping and sumo wrestling.
When Apple TV Plus executives first pitched the show, Levy said, laughter erupted throughout the meeting, citing a number of reasons why he wasn’t the right fit for a travel show.
“For someone like me who’s really reluctant to travel, it gives the show a personality that makes it stand out,” he says. rice field.
“I mean, if it was up to me, I would have spent more time in the hotel.”
He notes that prior to his experience with “The Reluctant Traveler,” the idea of a travel show was much more modest and unappealing as a series.
“If you’re just sitting in a cafe and watching everything go by, reduce everything to nine tenths,” Levy says.
“When you’re off the beaten path, it’s usually very comfortable. Familiarity is more comfortable, so you stay off the beaten path.”
Each episode sees Levy express these fears, whether it’s the hygiene of his socks when adhering to the no-shoes custom in Tokyo or the animal sounds that keep him awake in the South African savannah. to start.
Levy said he enjoyed the personalities he encountered during his travels, despite the fact that they still have great trepidation for the 76-year-old actor.
“The people I worked with, talked with, and learned with were an eye opener for me because through them I really learned to enjoy it,” says Utah with members of the Navajo tribe. says Levi, who fondly recalls the time spent in There he spent the night stargazing with a young man and his family.
“They provided some great memories, so that was a real gift of the show. It was really inspiring for me.”
This report by the Canadian Press was first published on February 24, 2023.
