| Jay Baruchel | |
| Birth Name: | Jonathan Adam Saunders Baruchel |
| Birth Date: | 9 April 1982 |
| Birth Place: | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation: | Actor, producer, writer |
| Years Active: | 1995–present |
| Partner: | Alison Pill (2011–2013) |
Jonathan Adam Saunders Baruchel[1] (;[2] born April 9, 1982) is a Canadian actor and director. He is best known for his voice role as Hiccup Haddock in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, and for his lead roles in the comedies Fanboys (2009), She's Out of My League (2010), and This Is the End (2013). Baruchel was the co-lead in the Disney action-fantasy film The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010). Films in which Baruchel has had a starring role have grossed over $1.28 billion at the worldwide box office as of 2024.[3]
Baruchel has also had supporting roles in comedy movies such as Knocked Up (2007), Tropic Thunder (2008), Goon (2011), and The Art of the Steal (2013). In television, he had lead roles as Steven Karp in Judd Apatow's comedy series Undeclared (2001–2002) and Josh Greenberg in the FXX comedy series Man Seeking Woman (2015–2017), both of which received praise from critics.[4] [5]
Baruchel had a lead role as BlackBerry co-founder Mike Lazaridis in the film BlackBerry (2023). He has also had non-comedic lead roles in films such as Good Neighbours (2010), The Kindness of Strangers (2019), and Humane (2024), and supporting roles in Million Dollar Baby (2004), Cosmopolis (2012), and RoboCop (2014). Baruchel has directed the films (2017) and Random Acts of Violence (2019), which he both acted in.
Baruchel was born in Ottawa, Ontario,[6] the son of Robyne (née Ropell), a freelance writer, and Serge Baruchel, an antiques dealer.[7] [8] He grew up in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood of Montréal, Quebec,[9] and has a younger sister.[10] His father was born in Paris, France.[11] Baruchel is of one-quarter Jewish descent, with the rest of his ancestry being French and Irish-Catholic.[12] He has stated that he believes his Irish roots are from County Mayo.[13]
Baruchel got his first acting job when he was just 12. One of his first major acting roles was on the local television series My Hometown in 1996. From 1997 to 1998, he co-hosted Popular Mechanics for Kids with Elisha Cuthbert. After appearing briefly in Cameron Crowe's Oscar winning film Almost Famous, Baruchel won the role of Steven Karp on Judd Apatow's acclaimed yet short-lived television series Undeclared, where he starred alongside Seth Rogen, Carla Gallo, Charlie Hunnam, and Monica Keena. He then appeared with James Van Der Beek in Roger Avary's The Rules of Attraction.
In 2004, Baruchel played boxing hopeful Danger Barch in Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby. Baruchel then starred in Nemesis Game and Fetching Cody, before appearing opposite Don Johnson on the WB's Just Legal in 2005, and guest-starring on the CBS drama Numb3rs in 2006.
Baruchel appeared in the films Knocked Up (which reunited him with Judd Apatow, Jason Segel, and Seth Rogen), I'm Reed Fish, Just Buried, and the Ben Stiller-directed Tropic Thunder, alongside Jack Black, Nick Nolte, Steve Coogan, and Robert Downey Jr. He co-starred with Seth Rogen in the 2007 trailer for Jay and Seth versus the Apocalypse, created by Rogen and Evan Goldberg as a strategy to garner interest and funding for a similar, larger-scale project (later made in 2013 as This Is the End). In 2008, he appeared in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. He also made a brief appearance in .
In 2010, Baruchel starred in the films The Trotsky, DreamWorks' She's Out of My League (opposite Alice Eve),[14] and the live-action Disney adaptation of The Sorcerer's Apprentice. He also voiced the starring role in the acclaimed animated feature, How to Train Your Dragon, a role he has subsequently continued throughout the franchise, including its television series. Also in 2010, he played two supporting characters in the Canadian comedy series The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Fun Time Hour.[15] He developed the screenplay for Goon, with Evan Goldberg, playing Johnny Klutz, a character of his own creation.[16] Goon co-stars Seann William Scott and fellow Canadian actor Eugene Levy.[17]
Baruchel also appeared in the 2010 Adidas Originals ad campaign, "Cantina", in conjunction with the FIFA World Cup and in video clips for Canadian prog-rockers Rush's 2012–13 Clockwork Angels tour.In July 2012, he appeared in the music video for the song "Toxsik Waltz" by rapper Necro. In the summer of 2013, he starred in the hit apocalyptic comedy This Is the End and in 2014, he appeared in the RoboCop remake and reprised his role as Hiccup in How to Train Your Dragon 2.
In July 2014, it was announced that Baruchel would be starring in the FXX comedy Man Seeking Woman which premiered in January 2015.[18] He also appeared in the 2015 music video for the song "Every Little Means Trust" by Idlewild.[19]
Baruchel was also involved in writing the Chapterhouse comic book series Captain Canuck.[20]
Baruchel wrote, directed, and starred in the 2017 sports comedy film , the sequel to the 2011 film Goon.
In 2018, he made his debut as an author, with Born Into It: A Fan's Life, released on Harper Collins. The book explored his love of the Montreal Canadiens with anecdotes, childhood memories, and heartfelt tales about his life as a fan of the team.
After the release of , 2019 saw Baruchel star in the Danish film The Kindness of Strangers and the Canadian horror film Random Acts of Violence, which was his second film as a director.[21]
In 2021, Baruchel hosted the original audio podcast documentary series for Audible.ca, Highly Legal, that explored the political and economic history and aftermath of Canada's legalization of marijuana.[22] In the same year, Baruchel and his wife, Rebecca-Jo Dunham, both appeared in the music video for "Ouch", the lead single from The Tragically Hip's archival EP Saskadelphia.[23] He was also named host of LOL: Last One Laughing Canada, which premiered on February 18, 2022 on Amazon Prime Video.[24] He appears in the seventh episode of The Kids in the Hall revival.[25]
In 2022, Baruchel hosted the Crave original series We're All Gonna Die (Even Jay Baruchel), a six-episode docuseries about the end of the world that explored potential world-ending risks. Baruchel, as host, met with scientists and other experts to discuss the feasibility of the risks and the potential solutions and innovations to counter the issues.[26]
Baruchel had a lead role as BlackBerry co-founder Mike Lazaridis in the biographical comedy-drama film BlackBerry (2023), for which he won a Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Performance in a Comedy Film.
In November 2024, Baruchel joined the cast of the romcom film Mile End Kicks.[27] He is also set to play Ken Carter in The Stunt Driver, a comedy film about the Canadian stunt driver's exploits.[28]
Baruchel was engaged to actress Alison Pill from 2011 to 2013. He alluded to their break-up in a Twitter post on February 16, 2013.[29] In May 2018, Baruchel announced his engagement to his girlfriend Rebecca-Jo Dunham.[30] They were married on September 21, 2019, in Portugal.[31] Baruchel has said that he is "probably agnostic".[32] [33]
Baruchel has several tattoos: a Celtic cross (on his upper right arm) to honour his Irish heritage,[34] and a red maple leaf on his left pectoral.[35]
Baruchel is a supporter of Scottish football club Celtic since the early 2000s; in 2016, he co-produced a documentary detailing his journey towards falling in love with the club.[36]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Running Home | Kid #2 | ||
| Who Gets the House? | Jonathan | |||
| 2000 | Almost Famous | Vic Munoz | ||
| 2002 | Edgar and Jane | Short film; Director, writer and producer only | ||
| data-sort-value="Rules of Attraction, The" | The Rules of Attraction | Harry | ||
| 2003 | Nemesis Game | Jeremy Curran | ||
| 2004 | Million Dollar Baby | Danger Barch | ||
| 2005 | Fetching Cody | Art Frankel | ||
| 2006 | I'm Reed Fish | Reed Fish | ||
| 2007 | Knocked Up | Jay | ||
| Jay and Seth versus the Apocalypse | Himself | Short film; Also writer | ||
| Just Buried | Oliver Whynacht | |||
| 2008 | Real Time | Andy Hayes | ||
| Tropic Thunder | Kevin Sandusky | |||
| Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist | Tal Hanson | |||
| 2009 | Fanboys | Windows | ||
| Sailor Joey Motorola | ||||
| data-sort-value="Trotsky, The" | The Trotsky | Leon | ||
| 2010 | She's Out of My League | Kirk Kettner | ||
| How to Train Your Dragon | Hiccup (voice) | |||
| data-sort-value="Sorcerer's Apprentice, The" | The Sorcerer's Apprentice | Dave Stutler | ||
| Good Neighbours | Victor | |||
| Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon | Hiccup (voice) | Short film | ||
| 2011 | Goon | Pat | Writer; Also producer | |
| Book of Dragons | Hiccup (voice) | Short film | ||
| Gift of the Night Fury | ||||
| 2012 | Cosmopolis | Shiner | ||
| The Watchmaker | Tax man | Short film | ||
| 2013 | This Is the End | Himself | Co-producer | |
| data-sort-value="Art of the Steal, The" | The Art of the Steal | Francie | ||
| 2014 | RoboCop | Tom Pope | ||
| Don Peyote | Bates | |||
| How to Train Your Dragon 2 | Hiccup (voice) | |||
| Dawn of the Dragon Racers | Short film | |||
| 2016 | Lovesick | Mark | ||
| 2017 | Pat | Director; writer | ||
| 2019 | data-sort-value="Kindness of Strangers, The" | The Kindness of Strangers | John | |
| Random Acts of Violence | Ezra | Director; Also writer and producer | ||
| Hiccup (voice) | ||||
| 2023 | BlackBerry | Mike Lazaridis | ||
| 2024 | Humane | Jared York | ||
| Mile End Kicks |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995, 1999–2000 | Are You Afraid of the Dark? | Joe / Alex / Ross Doyle / Jason Midas | 4 episodes | |
| 1996–1998 | My Hometown | Thomas Thompson | Main role | |
| 1997–2001 | Popular Mechanics for Kids | Himself | ||
| 1998 | data-sort-value="Worst Witch, The" | The Worst Witch | Bean Pole | Episode: "The Great Outdoors" |
| 2001–2002 | Undeclared | Steven Karp | Main role | |
| 2002 | Matthew Blackheart: Monster Smasher | Jimmy Fleming | Television film | |
| 2004 | data-sort-value="Stones, The" | The Stones | Winston Stone | 6 episodes |
| 2005–2006 | Just Legal | Skip Ross | 8 episodes | |
| 2006–2007 | Numb3rs | Oswald Kittner | 2 episodes | |
| 2011 | data-sort-value="Drunk and On Drugs Happy Fun Time Hour, The" | The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Fun Time Hour | Private Prosciutto / Falcon | 2 episodes |
| 2012–2018 | DreamWorks Dragons | Hiccup (voice) | Main role | |
| 2012 | Being Human | Stu | Episode: "When I Think About You I Shred Myself" | |
| 2014 | Trailer Park Boys | Directed Episode: "Crawling Through the Shitpipe" | ||
| 2015–2017 | Man Seeking Woman[37] | Josh Greenberg | Main role | |
| 2018 | Letterkenny | "Hard Right" Jay | 2 episodes | |
| data-sort-value="Magic School Bus Rides Again, The" | The Magic School Bus Rides Again | Dr. Tillage (voice) | Episode: "Ghost Farm" | |
| 2019 | data-sort-value="Moodys, The" | The Moodys | Sean Moody Jr. | Main role |
| Hiccup (voice) | Short film | |||
| 2019–20 | Fucknel(voice) | 2 episodes | ||
| 2022 | LOL: Last One Laughing Canada | Host | ||
| Son of a Critch | Director only | |||
| data-sort-value="Kids in the Hall, The" | The Kids in the Hall | Smoker | Episode 7 | |
| We're All Gonna Die (Even Jay Baruchel) | Self | Main role | ||
| 2023 | Son of a Critch | Scott Howell | Episode "Pope Visit" | |
| 2023–present | FUBAR | Carter Perlmutter | Main role |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | US Comedy Arts Festival | Best Actor Award | I'm Reed Fish | |||
| 2010 | Canadian Comedy Awards | Best Performance by a Male – Film | data-sort-value="Trotsky, The" | The Trotsky | [39] | |
| 2011 | Annie Awards | Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production | How to Train Your Dragon | |||
| Genie Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role | The Trotsky | ||||
| Jutra Awards | Best Actor (Meilleur Acteur) | |||||
| Vancouver Film Critics Circle | Best Actor in a Canadian Film | |||||
| 2013 | Canadian Screen Awards | Adapted Screenplay | Goon | |||
| Vancouver Film Critics Circle | Best Supporting Actor in a Canadian Film | |||||
| 2014 | Canadian Screen Awards | Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role | data-sort-value="Art of the Steal, The" | The Art of the Steal | ||
| MTV Movie Awards | Best Musical Moment | This Is the End | ||||
| 2019 | ACTRA Award | Award of Excellence | [40] | |||
| Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program | Dragons: Race to the Edge Season 6 | ||||
| 2024 | Canadian Screen Awards | Best Lead Performance in a Comedy Film | BlackBerry | [41] | ||
| Canadian Screen Awards | Performance in a guest role in a comedy series | Son of a Critch |