Comedian Dan Levy admits he enjoys gossip. Asked if there is something wrong with the world when an article about Russian president Vladimir Putin gets little engagement or reaction, while an article about whoever Leonardo DiCaprio is dating gets a huge one, he said the answer is simple.
“That’s because Leo is so damn hot,” Levy told the Journal. “I think if Putin worked on getting hotter, more people would pay attention to him.”
Levy, who married actress Rachel Specter in 2010, said he is excited to perform at the Chosen Comedy Festival at The Orpheum Theater on February 14, hosted by Elon Gold and Modi Rosenfeld.
“It’s gonna be a fun time,” Levy said. “I love all the comedians performing.”
The Emerson College graduate, who moved from Connecticut to Los Angeles for a career in comedy, created the 2020 NBC series “Indebted” starring Fran Drescher and Steven Weber. The show focuses on parents who move in with their kids.
“She was really nice and made us chopped liver,” Levy said of Drescher.
Levy has also written several episodes of the ABC show “The Goldbergs” featuring Jeff Garlin as Murray. Garlin, who also is known as Jeff Greene on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is performing at the festival along with Moshe Kasher and his wife, Natasha Leggero. Leggero and Levy co-hosted an HGTV show called “House Hunters: Comedians on Couches.” On the fourth episode, they were joined by JB Smoove, who plays Leon on “Curb,” to watch the show about homes and provide commentary. Levy noted the absurdity of a man named Dane telling his wife he needed to build a cat tube for whatever house they selected. “The biggest question is who gets the cats when this couple splits in 25 minutes,’ Levy joked in the episode.
Levy recently returned from a tour with comedian John Mulaney, including this past summer when they performed at the Hollywood Bowl as part of the “Netflix is a Joke” festival. He said his parents were supportive of his decision to be a comedian and even came to see him perform in Honolulu.
During an appearance on “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” Levy joked that he drinks coffee like a homicide detective. He also said he has been friends with the “Schitt’s Creek” actor who shares his name” for about 15 years. And he recalled a time where his roommate accidentally ate pot cookies, thinking they were regular cookies and then thought he was having a psychotic break. As most can relate to family members who don’t listen to instructions, he said when his family thought they were going on a mild boat ride, it turned out to be whitewater rafting. His father fell out into the water and did the opposite of what they were told to do.
“He totally didn’t listen, but he was okay,” Levy said. “He had a life vest.”
His special, “Dan Levy: Lion,” on Amazon, gets its name from his personal trainer asking him if he is a zebra or a lion. He says his son’s name is Abe, in case you didn’t know he was Jewish. He also explains to the crowd what a bris is, and says it was odd that the mohel was killing it with his jokes, saying: “’Don’t stand too close, you’ll get snipped too. Who wants bagels?..’ He was crushing. My aunt Phyllis choked on whitefish. It was crazy.”
With the talent that will be on stage, the comedians won’t have to fish for laughs.
Levy, who is a big fan of challah and has three children, said on stage, he mostly stays away from politics.
“I will not be making any jokes about (President Joe ) Biden’s State of The Union Address,” Levy said.
