Dan Levy Talks Stress Of ‘Schitt’s Creek’: ‘The Anxiety In My Neck Was So Bad I Couldn’t Move It’

Creating a hit TV series can be anxiety-inducing.

This month, “Schitt’s Creek” co-creator and star Dan Levy is in the new issue of British GQ, and in it he opens up about everything from the show’s legacy to what’s next on his plate.

The 38-year-old also talks about his experience with private school as a kid, revealing, “I really didn’t like it.

“These kids were so overindulged that nothing resonated with them. They had actually become immune to experience. And money, in an attempt to adhere some sort of cohesion to the family dynamic, ended up stripping everyone of passion,” he says, adding that there is “a real sadness to hyper-privileged people.”

He explains that it was an experience “that went on to influence my whole life. A combination of reality TV and having grown up observing these people.”

Meanwhile, looking at his recent success with “Schitt’s Creek”, Levy admits that his responsibilities on the show led to levels of anxiety that began to have physical side effects by the sixth season.

“Because the anxiety in my neck was so bad I couldn’t move it,” he recalls. “At one point there was an acupuncturist and a chiropractor coming to set every day at lunch to work on my neck so that I could actually perform and not, you know, look like I needed a neck brace.”

But the stress had an upside, which is the the show’s legacy for LGBTQ+ kids.

Crying while reading an open letter from over 1,800 young people who were affected by the queer representation in the series, Levy says, “Wishing I had something like it as a kid, hoping it would be some kind of comfort for me growing up, it’s an incredibly emotional experience to know that I’ve done something that has helped lighten the load, or helped change the conversation within a family, or made someone feel empowered, because growing up that’s all I feel like I hoped for.”

As for what he’s doing next, Levy is set to write, star in, and direct a new gay romantic comedy.

“I’ve always wanted to make [a rom-com]. I’ve always wanted to be in one. And as a gay person, you don’t ever get that kind of opportunity,” the actor says. “You get to play the zany friend or Pepe the co-worker. So I’m really excited and honoured to have that opportunity: to put a gay person front and centre in a romcom.”