By Denny Patterson 

Dan Levy, who is best known for creating Schitt’s Creek alongside his father and playing the iconic role of David Rose, is no stranger to the world of entertainment. However, Netflix’s new film, Good Grief, is a major first for the four-time Emmy winner.

Not only is this Levy’s feature directorial debut, but it is also the first time the actor has handled much more sensitive material and played a character in a more emotionally difficult situation.

“This was a very meaningful project,” he says. “I never thought I would make a movie, and when this idea came to me, it felt significant enough to explore, write, and then to make.”

Starring Levy as Marc, his world is shattered when his husband Oliver (Luke Evans) unexpectedly dies. Accompanied by a painful revelation, Marc and his two best friends, Sophie (Ruth Negga) and Thomas (Himesh Patel), take a soul-searching trip to Paris that cracks open several hard truths they each needed to face.

“I have been lucky enough to not have a lot of grief in my life, so when I was confronted with grief, it felt very foreign and I didn’t know if I was doing it properly,” Levy explains. “Then I felt a tremendous amount of desire to honor, in my case, my grandmother, and all I felt like I could do was to write something that spoke to an experience that had nothing to do with her, but it had everything to do with how I was feeling. I guess I was trying to kind of build a bridge to let other people in on my experience, or at least comfort people. Hopefully, they’ll find elements of the movie relatable in a way that might make them feel less alone if they’re in the process of grieving. So, although this was an incredibly meaningful experience, it was also a fun one. We had a great time making it, and you can feel that joy balancing the grief all the way through.”

According to the actor, since audiences primarily know him for his Schitt’s Creek character, he says it was a bit challenging to step outside his comfort zone and show a different side to his acting skills.

“It was in the sense that I had to shake a bunch of bad habits and play someone completely different,” Levy recalls. “That’s the challenge of acting, ultimately. If we’re lucky, we get roles that are quite different from one another. So, it was a great challenge to step outside of a character that so many people have come to know me as.”

In addition to exploring the complicated dynamics within the trio and rediscovering who you are after a great loss, the film also introduces Marc to the possibility of new love in the form of Theo, played by French actor Arnaud Valois.

Co-star Patel hopes that audiences will feel less lonely after watching Good Grief. 

“Movies that touch on subjects like grief, I’ve found them to be very meaningful,” he says. “I feel less alone when someone articulates something you’re feeling and puts it up on a screen in a way that you never could imagine.”

Negga agrees.

“I just hope audiences have a nice time,” she exclaims. “When I was watching, I felt a very deep gratitude for my friends who understand my own particular madness. It’s about finding your people.”

Good Grief is now streaming on Netflix.