Jay Baruchel

b. 1982 · Canadian actor, director, writer and producer

Biography

Jay Baruchel (born in Ottawa in 1982) is a Canadian actor, director, writer and producer whose career has moved between Canada and the United States. He started out on Canadian television in the mid-1990s and, since the early 2000s, has worked across comedy, drama and animation. His career has given him a distinctive place in recent North American comedy.

After early work in children's television, he reached the big screen with Almost Famous (2000), playing an obsessive Led Zeppelin fan. His performance caught the eye of Judd Apatow, who cast him in the lead of the Fox series Undeclared. Dramatic parts followed in Million Dollar Baby (2004), directed by Clint Eastwood, and in the comedies Knocked Up (2007) and Tropic Thunder (2008), where his supporting roles raised his profile.

Between 2009 and 2010 he headlined several releases, including The Sorcerer's Apprentice and She's Out of My League. He also voiced Hiccup in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise from DreamWorks Animation. In 2011 he wrote, produced and starred in Goon, which led to a sequel that he directed himself in 2017. His self-referential role in This Is the End (2013) won largely positive reviews.

As a director he has made two features, Goon: Last of the Enforcers and Random Acts of Violence, which drew mixed notices from critics. He has also hosted shows such as LOL: Last One Laughing Canada. His legacy rests on a steady, mid-level career rooted in comedy and Canadian film, given a boost in 2023 by his lead performance as Mike Lazaridis in BlackBerry, which earned him a Canadian award.

Key films

Almost Famous (2000): plays Vic Munoz, his first notable role in American cinema.
Million Dollar Baby (2004): plays the boxer Danger Barch in Clint Eastwood's drama.
Knocked Up (2007): a supporting part in Judd Apatow's comedy that brought him wider attention.
Tropic Thunder (2008): appears in Ben Stiller's satire of the action film industry.
How to Train Your Dragon (2010): voices Hiccup in the first film of DreamWorks' franchise.
This Is the End (2013): plays a fictionalised version of himself in the apocalyptic comedy alongside a cast of Hollywood actors.