Dan Levy Faced An “Unfortunate” American Pie Misconception In High School

In 1999, Eugene Levy emerged from the raunchy teen comedy American Pie as America’s most sex-positive dad. His character, Mr. Levenstein, memorably tried to help guide his son, Jim (Jason Biggs), through his sexual coming of age without shaming him. For his real-life son, Dan Levy, however, his famous role had a very “unfortunate” impact: Dan’s classmates thought he was the inspiration for the movie.

The “Unfortunate” Misconception

Dan looked back on the awkwardness of being a teenager when American Pie came out during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Jan. 12. “For most of my high school life, people thought the movie was, like, a biography of my life,” he said. When Clarkson replied that it was an “unfortunate” misconception, Dan agreed — but perhaps not for the reason she and fans expected. “[It] is really unfortunate, because I would have killed to have had a life that interesting,” he quipped.

Dan did set the record straight on one particularly blush-inducing scene, though, and not surprisingly, it was the one with Jim’s intimate apple pie encounter. There were “no pies” in his teen years, he clarified. “I don’t even know about the ingredients of an apple pie, but that’s a whole other conversation.”

“No” To Family Movie Night

Clarkson also asked Dan about skipping the American Pie premiere when it came out, as Eugene had told her in May 2020 that Dan opted out at the last minute. He said he’d planned for Dan to join him and his wife, but one of Dan’s friends advised him not to watch it with his parents. Initially, Eugene thought it was a shame that Dan was missing the “big night,” but afterward he was “so glad he wasn’t there.”

With almost 25 years of hindsight, Dan stands by his decision. He told Clarkson that they’ve still never watched American Pie together and his dynamic with his dad is different than Jim’s. “It’s a weird thing to grow up watching your dad just hand out porn to some other kid,” he joked.

A Different Kind Of Dad

Funnily enough, many of Eugene’s scenes were improvised. He explained on The Graham Norton Show in February 2023 that he initially turned down the role because he didn’t like the movie’s raunchy humor and the “nudge-nudge-wink-wink” way Mr. Levenstein was originally written. He didn’t sign on until he got to try his own spin.

“I said, ‘I don’t want to play that,’” he recalled. “I think a dad should be the kind of dad that nobody wants to hang around with … when they’re a kid. Just a square dad, trying to do the right thing.”

And in that way at least, maybe Jim and Dan’s dads weren’t so different. That does sound like the kind of dad whose 15-year-old son would want to skip his R-rated movie premiere, after all.