Dan Levy quickly shot to stardom as creator and star of the TV show Schitt’s Creek and, more recently, his foray into the kitchen with The Great Canadian Baking Show alongside co-host Julia Chan. And while he’s added an MTV Movie Award nomination to his long roster of accomplishments, the star also seems to have a hidden talent: bagel aficionado. “I’ll take a carb any day of the week, but if I’m being pressed, then I’m sort of into the standard bagel,” he told Hello! Canada while chatting about his partnership with McCafé Bagels. “An everything bagel with herb and garlic cream cheese.”
His relatability is one of many things fans adore about Dan, both off screen and as a quality he brings even to Schitt’s Creek’s high-maintenance rich kid David Rose. The Toronto native’s down-to-earth demeanour – and, of course, bagel preference – speaks volumes to his character. When it comes to his talented Baking Show co-host, Julia, it’s a different story. “She’s spicier,” he reveals, so if she were a bagel he’d cast her as something full of flavour. “I’m gonna go with cinnamon raisin. Cinnamon raisin with a lovely cream cheese.”
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But Dan has a lot more on his plate than just bagels. The former co-host of MTV Canada’s wildly popular After Show is up for his first MTV Movie Award for best comedic performance, nominated alongside Hollywood heavyweights like Amy Schumer, Jack Black, Tiffany Haddish and Kate McKinnon. “I think it’s a full-circle moment because I started at MTV and actually hosted the red carpet for the awards way back when,” he shared. “[I] realized I just wasn’t very good at it, being perfectly honest, and that’s what set me off on my trajectory to leave television hosting. So, the idea that this moment of really stumbling on a red carpet to now walking it as a guest is a very strange and surreal thing.”
And much like his preferred breakfast food, he likes to keep things simple when it comes to gearing up for a big red carpet. “I like to have maybe a lovely glass of wine, perhaps my everything bagel. You got to eat right, you got to drink up and you know, really soak in the experience,” he shared, adding that these moments don’t come often for small shows like Schitt’s Creek. “They come so infrequently that if you don’t have fun and sort of soak it up, then what are you doing?”
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When his schedule allows for some down time ( Schitt’s Creek is currently filming its fifth season for CBC), Dan loves to eat with friends, and though he’d rather play guest than host, he has a secret weapon for entertaining: Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbook. “In the rare occasion that I would invite someone over to my house and cook for them? [She] does a really mean turkey Bolognese,” he said. “It’s very easy to make and very impressive if you have a guest over!”