Dan Levy has opened up about hiding his sexuality at the start of his career.
Before earning universal praise for his role as David Rose in Schitt’s Creek, Levy started his career as an on-air host for MTV Canada.
During his time with the network, the Big Brunch star co-hosted the network’s flagship series MTV Live and The After Show alongside with Jessi Cruickshank.
While Levy has led a successful career since leaving MTV, his time working for the music network was a stressful experience.
On the first episode of Cruickshank’s podcast Phone a Friend with Jessi Cruckskank, Levy reflected on his MTV days and the pressure he faced to hide his sexuality.
“I didn’t feel particularly free. It was kind of like, ‘Conform to the culture of the workplace or sit it out,'” he explained.
Levy went on to open up about a situation where a colleague insinuated that he wasn’t “a real man.”
“I remember walking into work one day, and someone asked me what I did on the weekend. I said, ‘Well, I installed a dimmer switch in my apartment.’
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“And that person said, ‘Wow, it’s almost like you’re a real man. And I thought, ‘This isn’t right.’ But at the time, there was no sensitivity, and there was nobody to go to because it was a different time.”
Towards the end of the episode, Levy reflected on the lack of openly LGBTQ+ actors and on-air talent at the time – which he attributed to the rise of bloggers outing people without their consent.
“Many gossip bloggers [made] it their job… like it was some kind of news responsibility,” he said.
“We didn’t have the sensitivity, I think, that we do now, at least around people’s coming out and the fact that it’s an incredibly personal experience. I mean, I think we all knew it at the time.
“So, when you do feel like there’s this hunt to out gay people of note in culture, it almost makes you want to hide even more because you don’t want to draw any attention to yourself.”
Despite his rough career beginnings, the Golden Globe winner has gone on to cultivate a successful film and TV catalogue as an openly gay actor.
In addition to his critically acclaimed role in Schitt’s Creek, Levy has starred in the Hulu holiday film Happiest Season – which earned a certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Admission star also has an array of high-profile projects lined up – including a romantic comedy with Luke Evans, Disney’s Haunted Mansion reboot and an upcoming role in Netflix’s Sex Education.
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