
Eugene Levy has pondered on his legendary American Pie performance and revealed that he first turned it down.
The 76-year-old performer, who played dad Noah Levenstein in the raunchy adolescent comedy trilogy, originally appeared in the original 1999 film before returning for the sequel in 2001 and a number of subsequent direct-to-DVD spin-offs, had fans in fits of laughter.
Eugene, who has since thrilled audiences as Johnny Rose in the blockbuster Netflix sitcom Schitt’s Creek, almost turned down the job because the screenplay was’really vulgar,’ and he considered the coming-of-age comedy as something he’d personally avoid viewing.
He was won over by those behind the project, however, after they permitted him to change the persona.
Jim, the sexually inexperienced primary character, experiences different embarrassments as he struggles through his adolescence and into maturity, while Levenstein played the uncomfortable yet loving father.
‘The screenplay was incredibly vulgar, and I thought, “I honestly wouldn’t want to see this picture, so why would I want to be in it,” Eugene stated on The Graham Norton Show.

‘After we improvised the role and I suggested he should be the type of dad that no teenager would want to hang out with, I agreed to do it.’
The actor admitted he also tried to turn down his new Apple TV+ series The Reluctant Traveller, in which he visits exotic locations around the world.
He added: ‘I said no originally because what they didn’t know when they offered me the job is that I am not fond of travelling. I don’t hate it, but it is a pain.
‘By the time you get through airport security I am ready to go home. I am not a very adventurous person, but I did go to some amazing places, and it was a pretty nice gig.’
The Graham Norton Show airs on BBC One and iPlayer on Friday at 10.40pm.