When I first learned about Eugene Levy’s role on the Schitt’s Creek cast (before I knew he had also co-created the Emmy-winning sitcom with his son and co-star Daniel Levy), the only other title I really knew him from American Pie, as well as its many sequels and spin-offs. Little did I realize what an extensive and influential career the Canadian actor, writer, and filmmaker has led over the past few decades.
If there are any fans missing the Schitt’s Creek cast who want to explore more of the best Eugene Levy movies and TV shows they might have missed out on (or, perhaps, didn’t even realize he was in at the time), look no further. The following are our picks for the actor’s greatest hits available on streaming or other forms of media, starting with one of his most prolific film roles.
The American Pie Movies (Amazon Rental)
The uproarious and romantic misadventures of a group of friends include conspiring to lose their virginities on prom night, recapturing the glory days of high school while on break from college, planning one’s bachelor party, and catching up during their high school reunion.
Why they are worth checking out if you like Eugene Levy: Even among all the more youthful faces on the American Pie cast in 1999, Eugene Levy would essentially become the face of the franchise from his brilliant, scene-stealing turn as Mr. Levenstein, whom he would thankfully reprise to the same effect in American Pie 2 in 2000, 2003’s American Wedding, and one last time with American Reunion in 2012.
Rent/Buy American Pie on Amazon.
Rent/Buy American Pie 2 on Amazon.
Rent/Buy American Wedding on Amazon.
Rent/Buy American Reunion on Amazon.
SCTV (DVD)
The members of the Canada-based comedy troupe known as Second City perform classic, groundbreaking sketches that poke fun at pop culture, culture in the Great White North, and more.
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Eugene Levy: Eugene Levy’s notoriety really began in the late 1970s and early 1980s as a writer and performer of SCTV, which also saw the beginning of his professional relationships with the likes of Schitt’s Creek’s Catherine O’Hara, the late, great John Candy, the late, great Harold Ramis, and plenty more.
Heavy Metal (Amazon Rental)
An astronaut gives his daughter a glowing green orb that ends up terrorizing the little girl by showing her a series of bizarre stories involving sex, drugs, and rock ’n roll - all of which takes place in the deeper reaches of outer space
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Eugene Levy: Speaking of Harold Ramis, one of his performances you might have forgotten about is the stoner alien trucker Zeke in 1981’s classic, hilarious, animated sci-fi anthology film Heavy Metal, which also starred several other SCTV performers, including Eugene Levy as the voice of Zeke’s fellow dazed extra-terrestrial companion, Edsel.
Rent/Buy Heavy Metal on Amazon.
Finding Dory (Disney+)
A Royal Blue Tang with short-term memory loss (Ellen DeGeneres) is suddenly reminded of the mother and father she accidentally became separated from in her youth and goes on a life-changing journey in hopes to reunite with them.
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Eugene Levy: One of Eugene Levy’s more recent and family-friendly voice acting roles was the long lost father of Ellen DeGeneres’ titular forgetful fish in 2016’s Finding Dory - the heartwarming sequel to Pixar’s beloved underwater adventure Finding Nemo 13 years in the making.
Stream Finding Dory on Disney+.
Rent/Buy Finding Dory on Amazon.
Splash (Disney+)
The co-owner of a New York City produce business (Tom Hanks) falls for a beautiful woman (Daryl Hannah) whom he discovers is really a mermaid he first saw during a visit to Cape Cod when he was 8 years old.
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Eugene Levy: One of Eugene Levy’s earlier roles in a (partially) underwater only slightly less family friendly adventure and was on the Splash cast as the eccentric Dr. Walter Kornbluth, who tries to expose that Daryl Hannah’s character is secretly a mermaid in the fun, romantic fantasy comedy from director Ron Howard that also stars John Candy.
Stream Splash on Disney+.
Rent/Buy Splash on Amazon.
National Lampoon’s Vacation (HBO Max)
A food additives and preservatives expert (Chevy Chase) takes his wife (Beverly D’Angelo), son (Anthony Michael Hall), and daughter (Dana Barron) on a cross-country road trip to a famed amusement park that proves to be amusing in all of the wrong ways.
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Eugene Levy: Two years after they both played aliens not worth trusting behind the wheel, director Harold Ramis cast Eugene Levy in a brief, but memorable, role as the car salesman not worth trusting with a deal in National Lampoon’s Vacation - the first and, arguably, best of the iconic franchise of family disaster comedies from writer John Hughes which also features a classic John Candy appearance.
Stream National Lampoon’s Vacation on HBO Max.
Rent/Buy National Lampoon’s Vacation on Amazon.
Armed And Dangerous (Amazon Rental)
A disgraced ex-cop (John Candy) and a former defense attorney (Eugene Levy) fall back on a career as security guards and team-up against their corrupt employers when they learn they were only hired to become the fall guys for a warehouse robbery.
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Eugene Levy: Speaking of John Candy, in 1986, he and Eugene Levy shared the spotlight as the bumbling heroes of Armed and Dangerous - an absolutely ridiculous and thoroughly entertaining send-up of cop dramas that Harold Ramis also helped co-write and produce.
Rent/Buy Armed And Dangerous on Amazon.
Best In Show And Other Christopher Guest Mockumentaries (Amazon Rental, HBO Max)
Midwesterners hoping to impress a respected art critic with an original musical (Waiting for Guffman), pet owners hoping to win a renowned dog show (Best in Show), eccentric folk musicians reuniting in honor of a friend’s passing (A Mighty Wind), and an indie film cast swept up in Oscar buzz (For Your Consideration) are the premises of co-writer, director, and star Christopher Guests’ four most acclaimed partially improvised, documentary-style comedies.
Why they are worth checking out if you like Eugene Levy: Eugene Levy not only gives some of his most hilarious performances in 1996’s Waiting for Guffman, 2000’s Best in Show, 2003’s A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration in 2006, but he also collaborated with Christopher Guest on the “scripts” for each of the uproarious mockumentaries - all of which are also some of the best Catherine O’Hara movies.
Buy/rent Waiting For Guffman digitally on Amazon.
Stream Best In Show on HBO Max.
Buy/rent Best In Show digitally on Amazon.
Stream A Mighty Wind on HBO Max.
Buy/rent A Mighty Wind digitally on Amazon.
Stream For Your Consideration on HBO Max.
Buy/rent For Your Consideration digitally on Amazon.
Bringing Down The House (Amazon Prime)
A divorced lawyer (Steve Martin) looking for a date online accidentally connects with a convict (Academy Award nominee Queen Latifah) who asks him to help prove her innocence and infiltrates his life in process.
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Eugene Levy: Another fellow comedy legend whom Eugene Levy has worked with a few times is Steve Martin, such as in 2003’s Bringing Down the House - director Adam Shankman’s fun comedy about culture clash in which Levy plays Martin’s friend and colleague who falls for Queen Latifah’s character.
Stream Bringing Down The House on Amazon Prime.
Rent/Buy Bringing Down The House on Amazon.
Multiplicity (Starz)
A construction worker (Michael Keaton) struggling to balance his job with completing tasks for his wife (Andie McDowell) and daughter (Katie Schlossberg) finds a solution in cloning himself, until it causes more problems.
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Eugene Levy: Eugene Levy starred in one of the best Michael Keaton movies, 1996’s Multiplicity - a fun and inventive sci-fi comedy, also directed by Harold Ramis, in which Levy plays Keaton’s most incompetent employee.
Stream Multiplicity on Starz.
Rent/Buy Multiplicity on Amazon.
Goon (Amazon Prime, Tubi, Pluto TV)
An aimless, Canadian bar bouncer (Seann William Scott) believes he may have found his calling in a position on a semi-pro hockey team, on which he uses his own violent tendencies to become the team’s secret weapon.
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Eugene Levy: In 2011, Eugene Levy would reunite with Seann William Scott outside of the American Pie movies to play his father in Goon - one of the funniest and, simply, best hockey movies, in recent memory.
Stream Goon on Amazon Prime.
Stream Goon on Tubi.
Stream Goon on Pluto TV.
Like Mike (Disney+, Amazon Prime)
A young orphan (Bow Wow) becomes a professional basketball star with the help of shoes that once belonged to Michael Jordan which, after a freak electrical accident, give him unbelievable athletic skills.
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Eugene Levy: One of Eugene Levy’s more family friendly, but still best, sports movies is Like Mike - a fun 2002 fantasy-comedy in which his character comes up with the idea to recruit Bow Wow’s (née Lil Bow Wow) character onto the fictional NBA team, the Los Angeles Knights, after seeing him in action on the basketball court.
Stream Like Mike on Disney+.
Stream Like Mike on Amazon Prime.
Rent/Buy Like Mike on Amazon.
More recently, since the series finale of Schitt’s Creek, Eugene Levy would appear in Kacey Musgraves' Paramount+-exclusive visual album Star-Crossed: The Film. He also lent his voice to the animated film Back Home Again, which also marked a reunion for him with frequent collaborator and friend Catherine O’Hara, in 2021.
