After meeting as up-and-coming comedians in the early ’70s, Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara brought their signature brand of humor to Hollywood and — over the next 40 years — became a beloved on-screen duo. They look back on four decades of friendship, collaboration, and kissing.
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LOS ANGELES — For the last 40 years, Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara have been friends, colleagues, and one of the most beloved comedy duos, thanks in particular to their work in Christopher Guest's improv-heavy films, like 2000's Best in Show and 2003's A Mighty Wind.
But on Feb. 11, their act will transition to television with Schitt's Creek, a new comedy coming to Pop (formerly TV Guide Network) where they play super-duper mega-rich (but also mega-brainless) couple Johnny and Moira Rose. Their entitled children, David and Alexis, are played by Levy's son Daniel, who co-created the series with his father, and Annie Murphy. After the Roses' fortune evaporates thanks to a shady accountant, the family is forced to move to Schitt's Creek, a podunk town Johnny purchased years ago as a gag gift for his son.
BuzzFeed News recently sat down with Levy and O'Hara — after he gallantly escorted her to her chair — to talk about their first meeting, the secret to their decades-spanning collaborations, and to see if they've figured out why audiences love seeing them paired up on-screen. (It might have something to do with the fact that, after working together for 40 years, the actors can — and often do — finish each other's sentences.)
Annie Murphy, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, and Daniel Levy as Alexis, Moira, Johnny, and David Rose in Schitt's Creek
Pop
Eugene, at what point in the planning process did Catherine's name come up to play Moira?
Catherine O'Hara: Yeah, how many people said no?
Eugene Levy: She was the very first. We had nobody else in mind besides Catherine. The thing was, Could we actually get her to do it?
CO: Because I'm lazy, not because I'm popular.
EL: No! You're very, very, very picky about what you do, you know? You're very selective... And then, in actual fact, you said, "No, I can't do it." Then I had to go and call somebody else, and they said yes, and then I heard from Catherine saying...
CO: No! You called me! You said, "I know you're not sure you want to do this series, but will you do the pilot presentation please?" He knew what he was doing. He knew I'd be in.
EL: Right. And then I said, "Listen, there's no ties at all. Come and do the pilot and even if this thing goes, you're fine. There's no commitment." And she said OK.
Catherine, you haven't done much television over the years. What kept you from committing to a series before?
CO: I have avoided series because you're in the hands of strangers. At least with most of the series I've been offered. Even if you've seen their other work, you never know what it's going to be like. And I'm so spoiled from work that Eugene and I have done together where I could collaborate and I could be heard and have a say in what I was doing and how I was serving the project.
EL: I think you've had a lot of creative input. Usually movies are quite collaborative, particularly comedies. They will listen to what you have to say. Sometimes in the process of a television series... What was the question?
CO: About avoiding a series.
EL: Yeah! So that's why I'm glad we got Catherine. And then, of course when this thing actually happened again, when I found it was going [to series], I had to kind of go back and beg...
CO: No, you didn't! You didn't beg at all.
Let's take a step back. Catherine, what do you remember about the first time you met Eugene?
CO: I was a waitress at Second City ... and Eugene was in the cast, and I auditioned for the cast. At that time, Joe Flaherty, who was directing, said, "I heard you auditioned. Keep up the day job. Keep up the waitressing." But even waitressing at Second City was a cool job. My sister was a waitress there, my brother was a waiter there, and Eugene was in the cast, so I, of course, remember Eugene because I saw him on stage.
EL: I remember the audition, and it was a really good audition, and I think the general feeling was she was just a little young.
CO: Yeah...
EL: A lot of good potential. Anyway. Less than six months later, you were in the cast. You replaced Gilda Radner.
CO: God bless her.
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