How ‘The Reluctant Traveler’ Made Eugene Levy ‘a More Enlightened Person’
Reality TV has been called a lot of things. Enlightening is rarely one of them. Nevertheless, that’s what Eugene Levy called his experience filming The Reluctant Traveler. The travel show takes Levy to eight exotic locations around the world.
Showbiz Cheat Sheet attended a press conference with Levy in January. We’ll have more with him here at Cheat Sheet, but here’s how he said The Reluctant Traveler enlightened him. The Reluctant Traveler is now streaming on Apple TV+.
Eugene Levy became enlightened before ‘The Reluctant Traveler’
The Reluctant Traveler found Levy at just the right moment. After Schitt’s Creek ended, Levy was ready to try things he’d previously resisted.
“I’m 76 now and I’ve spent my life really saying no to a lot of things,” Levy said. “No, I don’t want to go there. No, I’d rather not do that and I’m finding through this show that it’s actually making me a better person, that I’m becoming a more enlightened, more interesting, I guess, person. So don’t get caught being stuck in your ways. Don’t be in that shell that you just don’t want to get out of because I’m glad at this point in my life that I had this vehicle where I’m actually doing things, going places, talking to people that I never would have done had I not had the show. So never say never.”
Eugene Levy hopes ‘The Reluctant Traveler’ can enlighten others
The point of The Reluctant Traveler is for viewers to live vicariously through Levy’s experiences. Perhaps it will inspire other reluctant travelers out there.
People who don’t really travel that much, if they’re watching the show as a pleasurable experience, that’s what I hope happens. I hope they’re going to be seeing a kindred spirit up there. What I’m saying and what I’m thinking on the show, I’m sure will echo what they’re thinking and what they would be talking about if they were also in my shows. So I’m hoping that they learn what I’m learning on the show, enough to the point where they say, ‘You know what? Why don’t we give it a go? Why don’t we try traveling to this location that we never thought we’d ever want to travel to?’ That would be great if that happens because it is a good thing.
Eugene Levy press conference, 1/19/22
It only takes a small step
What Levy learned from doing The Reluctant Traveler is that it doesn’t take much to change your ways. Granted, Levy had all the resources of Apple behind him to travel to the most exotic places, but anyone can become a less reluctant traveler.
“Easy, just do it,” Levy advised. “Make the decision that you’re just going to do it. That’s all it takes and that’s what I’m learning on this show. You may not love everything that you try but at least you can say you did it and it’s a lot better than just putting that brick wall and saying, ‘No, I’m not going over there. I’m staying here.’ It’s not a good thing. I’m learning it’s a good thing to actually try the things that you never would’ve tried. That’s a positive thing.”
