Biography for
Jay Baruchel More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

9 April 1982, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Birth Name

Jonathan Adam Saunders Baruchel

Height

5' 11½" (1.82 m)

Mini Biography

Jay Baruchel was raised in Montreal, QC Canada. He has a younger sister who also acts. He started acting in 1995 when he made his first of three appearances on the hit show "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" (1991). He was also in more localized shows such as "My Hometown" (1996) and "Popular Mechanics for Kids" (1997).

Baruchel had spent some downtime and finally got a chance to be in a classic film called Almost Famous (2000) in 2000. He played "Vic", a devout fan of Led Zeppelin. Judd Apatow soon had a show in the works and Baruchel played "Steven Karp" on "Undeclared" (2001). He also had the chance to star alongside actors such as Ian Somerhalder and James Van Der Beek as "Harry" in The Rules of Attraction (2002). Things began to slow down a bit after a couple more failed shows.

Soon enough, Baruchel came back as the courageous "Danger Barch" in Million Dollar Baby (2004). Bringing life to a role that could have been ruined so easily, Baruchel made "Danger" a well-loved character. The best part about this actor is his loyalty to his home country. He loves to be able to work in Canada as often as possible. He has been in many fantastic independent films such as Fetching Cody (2005), Just Buried (2007) and Real Time (2008). All three of those films appeal to sides of a person that are never known to exist until it's too late.

He was also in many successful American comedy films. He was the lead in She's Out of My League (2010) and played one of Seth Rogen's best friends (which he really is) in the movie Knocked Up (2007). He's also made his mark in family-friendly films such as How to Train Your Dragon (2010), playing the unlikely "Viking Hiccup" and also played the title role in The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010) alongside his newly-found kindred spirit, actor Nicolas Cage.

It is no secret that while he enjoys acting, it truly is a means to an end. He is currently living his dream as he works on the hockey comedy Goon (2011) and is working on many other films that are what he considers to be passion projects. Now he is making films that he has been preparing for all of his life and nothing can slow him down.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Kate Schum

Trade Mark

Lanky frame

Expressive eyes/eyebrows

Often plays awkward yet endearing characters

Trivia

He started taking acting classes at the age of 12

Played drums in Canadian rock group "Martin".

Attended the same high school as Christopher Plummer, William Shatner, Melissa Auf der Maur and Mitsou.

Speaks French fluently.

Is an avid fan of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team.

Resides in Montreal, Canada.

Is of French and Italian Sephardic Jewish descent on his father's side and Irish, Prussian and English descent on his mother's.

Has a red maple leaf the size of a golfball tatooed over the left side of his chest ( His heart).

Publicly announced his engagement to actress Alison Pill during his acceptance speech at the 2011 Genie awards for his work in The Trotsky (2009), held March 10, 2011.

Proposed to Alison Pill during the holidays in Montreal 2010.

Close friend of Seth Rogen.

Personal Quotes

The hockey I was raised on, the hockey I understand, the hockey that my dad taught me about when I was a boy was intrinsically connected with fighting. I grew up in a house where we revered tough guys.

I think sports makes for good drama because it has all the same ingredients as anything worth reading or listening to or watching. Conflict, desire, heartbreak - it's all there. People project their hopes, ambitions and failings onto their sports clubs. They become symbiotically connected with the fate of their favorite team. This is a deep blood oath connection to something ancient and tribal inside most if us and, as a result, it's universal.

[on being directed by David Cronenberg] That man has been one of my heroes since I was about thirteen. I adore his movies and his body of work is something that all Canadians can take proud ownership of. When I was asked if I'd be interested in doing two days on ['Cosmopolis'] I said 'Yes, yes, and yes' without having read the script. I would have picked up his dry cleaning if they'd asked me.

I am a proud Montrealer. Jobs will take me where they take me but nothing will ever be able to convince me to leave my home. If it were up to me every job would be somewhere in Canada.