A closer look at Daniel Levy’s sexuality
Daniel Joseph Levy is a Canadian actor who rose to fame for playing David Rose in the CBC sitcom Schitt’s Creek. Levy created and co-starred in the series alongside his famous father Eugene Levy. Daniel Levy became the first person to win a Primetime Emmy Award in all four major disciplines in a single year for his producing, writing, directing, and acting in the final season of Schitt’s Creek.
Before starring in Schitt’s Creek, Levy was one of the original co-hosts of MTV Canada’s flagship series MTV Live. After leaving MTV, Daniel appeared in four episodes of Degrassi: The Next Generation.
Daniel’s parents knew that he was gay before he came out to them aged 18
When Daniel was a boy, he struggled with anxiety so much that he couldn’t attend birthday parties. The anxiety manifested physically as iritis, an eye inflammation that threatened to take away his sight.
As puberty drew in, Daniel’s anxiety heightened, this time because he knew he was gay. “I think that came from a deep-rooted fear of knowing that I was gay and not being able to be free,” Levy told Bustle. In his head, he knew that he was gay, but he hid it, fearing how people would react.
He found solace in theatre, a place where he could embody another persona and temporarily escape reality. “It was like a decoy version of myself that I was putting out there to not have to live with the reality that when the bullying was happening – if someone was calling me a faggot or whatever it was – they were speaking the truth,” Daniel said.
Fear held Daniel back, but in his defense, queer people were largely viewed as outcasts at the time. They faced ridicule, and at times, physical abuse. Daniel explained:
“Fear of being ridiculed. Fear of being othered. Fear of exposing something that I think a lot of high school students at the time didn’t have the tools to process properly, to make it comfortable for me.”
Daniel came out as gay aged 18 after his mother took him out for lunch and invited him to come out. Eugene Levy told Andy Cohen that he and Daniel’s mom knew that their son was gay, but Daniel’s mom couldn’t wait any longer for the coming out moment.
“My mom asked me over for lunch one day and I said, ‘Yes,’ Daniel told Andy Cohen. “She almost knew. My mom and I have a very close relationship in that sense and it almost felt like she knew that I was ready.”
Daniel momentarily stopped dating to focus on Schitt’s Creek
Levy started dating after heading out to college. However, he wasn’t in the right place for a relationship. “You then get into these habits where you’re dating people who are totally wrong for you because they are seeking out people who are a bit damaged,” he told Bustle.
“And you’re seeking out people who have one foot out the door so that you don’t actually give yourself over in any kind of way.” Dating in college was, therefore, largely unsuccessful. In 2015, he told Out Magazine that his priority was Schitt’s Creek, and he would resume dating after the show ended.
“I’m single right now… I hope that I can find someone when it’s all done or when things are a little bit more smooth,” he said. “When the time comes and all the stars are aligned, someone else will come in, and hopefully, we’ll call it a day in the love department.”
Daniel told Bustle that he would love to date more, but at the moment, all signs suggest that Daniel Levy is single. The only love in his life right now is his dog, Redmond. Levy described him Redmond the ‘greatest thing that ever happened to him’ via a tweet posted on 18th August 2019.
Levy offered the following reply when Vanity Fair asked him what or who is the greatest love of his life: “I don’t think I’ve met him yet so I’m going to say my dog, Redmond.”