Interview with “Stunt Driver” Writer/Director Michael Dowse and Star Jay Baruchel

A Canadian Film for a Canadian Legend

The Stunt Driver is now playing in theaters, fresh off its world premiere at TIFF. We got a chance to not only catch the film at the fest, but also sit down with both Jay Baruchel and writer/director Michael Dowse to talk about their new collaboration. Reteaming after their critical darling Goon, the pair tackle Canadian Stunt Driver Ken Carter, also known as the Mad Canadian. Though Carter’s life does end in tragedy, the duo bring a healthy dose of humor to the story.

We asked Michael and Jay why they wanted to bring this story to life on the big screen and turn a well known documentary into a feature film. For Michael:

When you see the jump and you see the circumstances, you’re immediately drawn to it…you see how impossible this dream looks like. It’s completely engaging and you wanna know can he do it? Will he pull it off?…But it’s really Ken himself that I thought, him driving the story it’s classic. The story itself has so many twists, it had the markings of a great story…and I think a lot of people will relate.

We were curious as to what brough Jay to Ken and why he wanted to portray the Mad Canadian. For Jay:

It’s an actor’s dream to play a guy like that. Regardless of any points of connectivity I had with him and the source material, I come from the neighborhoods that he grew up in. So when I looked around there were still guys that looked and sounded like Ken. I knew him; when I saw that documentary I knew that world…and he’s just profoundly charismatic.

There’s a grassroots connection Jay had to the character and a true fascination for not just how magnetic Ken was and how easy it was to get wrapped up in his impossible dream, but also an undeniable spirit and self belief that comes through in both Jay’s portrayal and read of the character:

When you’re born with basically zero advantages, your punches have to land harder and you have to make the most out of the moments you get. [Ken] just found a thing that he could do and he just found a way to screw up the courage and had massive f***ing balls…when you have less resources, you can do harder shit.

The Stunt Driver has a well balanced mix of heart and humor, something that can prove tricky for a film that doesn’t necessarily end well. But it’s the humor that really sells the film and the character, and Michael had some really great things to say about approaching the film with this mix:

One feeds into the other beautifully in terms of getting people to like the characters, fall in love with them and care about them if you get people laughing about the character. It’s a huge step to their likability, so when you pull the rug out from under them there’s a care about a loss or something bad happening. It’s part of the recipe of how I approach a lot of my movies.

We talked more about Ken himself, blending of documentary footage, improv moments vs scripted humor and much more! You can check out our full interview below and read our review here.