Who is Jay Baruchel?
Jonathan Adam Saunders ‘Jay’ Baruchel was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on 9 April 1982 – his zodiac sign’s Aries, and he holds Canadian nationality. He’s an actor, comedian, filmscript writer and director, with more than 70 acting credits to his name, while he’s perhaps still known best for his portrayal of the lead character Pat in the 2011 sports comedy movie “Goon”, which he also wrote; the film co-starred Seann William Scott and Alison Pill, and follows a bouncer who’s begun coaching a semi-pro hockey team’; won one of the 14 awards for which it was nominated.
Early life and education
Jay was raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada alongside his younger sister, by their French father Serge Baruchel who is an antiques dealer, and their mother Robyne (nee Ropell) who was a freelance writer; Jay is of French, Irish-Catholic and Jewish descent.
He became interested in acting at a very early age, and was 12 when he appeared in his first theatre play. Jay was a member of his high school’s drama club, appeared in nearly all the plays performed at the school, and was 16 when he made his debut film appearance, playing Patient in the 1998 short drama “The Sickroom”. The same year saw him make his debut TV series appearance, with his portrayal of Bean Pole in the episode “The Great Outdoors” of the adventure comedy drama “The Worst Witch”.
Jay matriculated in 2000, and because he hasn’t spoken of his further education, it’s widely believed that he hasn’t attended college.
Roles in TV series
Between 1996 and 1998, Jay played the lead character Thomas Thompson in the romantic drama “My Hometown”, created by Jean Mercier, and which also starred Sarah Osman and Albert Rosos. It follows adolescent Thomas as he’s growing up in Maplewood, Quebec.
The following years saw him play supporting characters in a couple of popular series, such as the fantasy horror drama “Are You Afraid of the Dark?”, the comedy “Undeclared”, and the comedy drama “The Stones”.
In 2005 and 2006, he starred as Skip Ross in the comedy drama “Just Legal”, which co-starred Don Johnson and Jaime Lee Kirchner, and follows the lives of a young lawyer and his mentor.
The year 2011 saw Jay star as Private Prosciutto in all the episodes of the comedy “Drunk and on Drugs Happy Funtime Hour”, and between 2012 and 2014, he voiced Hiccup, the main character in the animated action adventure “DreamWorks Dragons”; the series also starred Christopher Mintz-Plasse and T. J. Miller, and follows the adventures of Hiccup and his human friends, as well as his dragon friends. It won seven awards, including a 2013 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation (Andy Bialk), while it was nominated for 16 other awards.
Three of Jay’s most recent roles in TV series have been in the 2020 episode “Well Boys, I Guess I Gotta Get Dead” of the animated comedy “Trailer Park Boys: The Animated Series” (voice role), 14 episodes of the comedy “The Moodys” between 2019 and 2021, and a 2022 episode of the comedy “The Kids in the Hall”.
Roles in movies
Jay portrayed Vic Munoz in the critically acclaimed 2000 adventure comedy drama “Almost Famous”, written and directed by Cameron Crowe, and which starred Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit and Kate Hudson. It follows a high school student as he’s writing a story about an up-and-coming rock ‘n’ roll band for the magazine “Rolling Stone”; the movie won 54 awards, including an Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, while it was nominated for 103 other awards.
A couple of Jay’s following roles were in the hit 2004 sports drama “Million Dollar Baby”, which won 71 awards including four Oscars, the 2005 romantic fantasy drama “Fetching Cody”, and the 2006 romantic comedy drama “I’m Reed Fish”.
He appeared in the popular 2007 romantic comedy “Knocked Up”, and the following year saw Jay portray Kevin Sandusky – Hot LZ in the critically acclaimed war action comedy “Tropic Thunder”, written and directed by Ben Stiller, who also starred in it alongside Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. It follows several actors who are filming a war movie, and have somehow ended up fighting in a real war; the movie won 10 of the 58 awards for which it was nominated, including an Oscar nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Robert Downey Jr.).
A couple of Jay’s following notable performances were in 2009 in the adventure crime comedy “Fanboys”, and the adventure family comedy “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian”, and the 2010 romantic comedy “She’s Out of My League”.
He voiced the lead character Hiccup in the critically acclaimed 2010 animated action adventure “How to Train Your Dragon”, written and directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders, and which also starred Gerard Butler and Christopher Mintz-Please. It tells the story of a young Viking who’s become the first person to pet and ride a dragon – the movie won 25 of the 90 awards for which it was nominated, including two Oscar nominations for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year, and Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score. Jay reprised the role in the 2014 sequel “How to Train Your Dragon 2”, and the 2019 sequel “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World”.
Three of his most recent film roles have been in the drama “The Kindness of Strangers”, the horror “Random Acts of Violence”, and the short animated action “How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming” (voice role) all in 2019; he’s currently filming the upcoming film “BlackBerry”.
Other credits
Jay wrote and performed the song “I’m Awesome” in the 2010 action adventure family movie “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”.
He has four writing, and six producing and directing credits; he wrote, produced and directed the 2002 short action movie “Edgar and Jane”, the 2011 sports comedy film “Goon”, and the 2019 horror movie “Random Acts of Violence”.
Jay’s received three special thanks, for the 2008 short comedy video “Tropic Thunder: Rain of Madness”, the 2013 short comedy movie “You Never Take Me Seriously”, and the 2021 mystery horror film “Séance”.
He’s made a guest appearance in numerous talk-shows, most recently in “Geek Insider Presents: Geek Speak”, “Conan” and “The Morning Show”.
Awards and nominations
Jay’s won five of the 19 awards for which he’s been nominated. Some of his wins include a 2010 Canadian Comedy Award for Best Performance by a Male – Film, for “The Trotsky”, a 2011 Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production, for his performance in “How to Train Your Dragon”, and a 2019 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance in an Animated Program, for “Dragons: Rise to the Edge”.
Love life and wife
Although Jay prefers to keep the details of his love life to himself, he’s still allowed his fans to have a glimpse into it. He began dating popular Canadian actress Alison Pill in either 2009 or 2010; she’s appeared in close to 100 movies and TV series, and is perhaps still known best for her portrayal of one of the lead characters Kim Pine in the hit 2010 fantasy comedy movie “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”. Jay and Alison became engaged in 2011, but split in February 2013.
He revealed in May 2018 that he had become engaged to his long-term girlfriend Rebecca-Jo Dunham, who’s a popular Canadian model; the two married in Portugal on 21 September 2019, in a private ceremony attended by some of their closest friends and family members.
Jay hasn’t mentioned any other women whom he’s perhaps been with, and as of August 2022, he’s married to Rebecca-Jo Dunham, and doesn’t have children.
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Hobbies and other interests
Jay’s highly active on Instagram, and seems to be enjoying the attention which he’s receiving from his more than 100,000 followers, while he’s uploaded over 200 pictures and videos, most of which have been taken during his everyday life.
He loves to travel, and his career’s taken him all around the world, visiting more than 15 US states and various European and Asian countries; his dream travel destination’s Paris, France.
Jay’s a dog-lover, and his two pet dogs can be seen featured in a couple of his Instagram pictures.
Summer’s his favorite season, mostly because he enjoys being close to the ocean, and playing beach sports.
Jay has his own favorite actors and actresses, some of whom are Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro and Scarlett Johansson, while some of his favorite moves include “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, “Troy” and the trilogy “The Godfather”.
Age, height and net worth
Jay’s age is 40. He has short brown hair and brown eyes, his height is 6ft (1.83m) and he weighs around 165lbs (75kgs).
As of August 2022, his net worth’s been estimated at more than $6 million.
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