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TORONTO — Jay Baruchel says he’s happy to use the fame he’s won from Hollywood to boost the film industry at home.
“I’d rather just be here,” the Montreal-born actor said on the red carpet Friday ahead of the world premiere of “The Stunt Driver” at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“I’m a Canadian, and I live here, and I participate in this country, and I think it’s the best country the world’s come up with so far. And, selfishly, I just don’t want to leave.”
The movie sees Baruchel step into the shoes of Ken Carter, a real-life stuntman known as “The Mad Canadian,” who attempted to drive a rocket-powered car over the St. Lawrence River in the 1970s.
It’s billed as an underdog story as Carter attempts to pull off the mile-long jump to outdo his American rival Evel Knievel, and premieres at a time of tension between Canada and the United States.
Director Michael Dowse, known for “It’s All Gone Peter Tong” and “FUBAR,” says filming took place amid the Canada-U.S. trade war last year, and that conflict “added a bit of fuel” to the movie.
He says some lines improvised by Baruchel as his character spars with Knievel, played by actor Dan Bakkedahl, were born from that tension.
Baruchel, a fixture of the Canadian media landscape since he was a child host of “Popular Mechanics for Kids,” saw his fame take off thanks to American productions like “This is the End” and “How to Train Your Dragon.”
But the actor has consistently thrown his weight behind Canadian stories, recently starring in “BlackBerry” as the Canadian businessman who founded the cellphone and technology company, and appearing in “Mile End Kicks,” about the Montreal music scene.
“If me being a guy that people recognize from some American (movie), gets them to watch us, or gets the exhibitors to put their weight behind our stuff, good,” he said.
He also underscored the importance of telling Canadian stories as the country finds itself yet again in conflict with the United States, thanks to tariffs and threats of annexation.
“It’s good to remind people what we do up here,” he said. “At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, our sovereignty and way of life seems to be under constant threat. In my opinion, this country is based on compassion and reason, and that is in short supply elsewhere lately.”
American actor Ed Helms, who plays the engineering brain behind Carter’s rocket-powered car in “The Stunt Driver,” says geopolitical tension shouldn’t dampen cross-border collaboration in the film industry.
“Great stories, great artists, great craftsmanship that doesn’t know boundaries,” said Helms, who’s known for the “Hangover” movies. “We don’t have a monopoly on that in America, and by all means we got to be supporting each other.”
