Calgary comic Ryan Belleville has cleaned up his act. From stand-up bits about punching cats and porn moustaches to a raunchy role in teen flick Going the Distance (2004), the comedian’s material is not always kid-friendly.
Surprisingly Finn on the Fly — opening next week — is his second children’s movie role. The first was Disney’s made-for-TV film Stuck in the Suburbs.
“It’s funny ’cause, I am not a vulgar performer, but I am not a family performer either — I have done some very adult stuff. I would not recommend children see my standup,” says Belleville, 29, who grew up in Calgary but now lives in Los Angeles. “It’s nice to do a home-grown movie that’s shot in Regina that feels Canadian, but in the good way,” he says of Finn, in which he plays a frisbee-loving canine morphed into a human thanks to a botched science experiment by a neighbour (Ana Gasteyer).
The former Loose Moose Theatre regular prepared by studying Littlest Hobo reruns and his dogs. “They can sit and stare for hours, and then something happens and they are instantly alert. It’s hilarious to watch.”
Sons of playwright/actor Terry Belleville and actress Donna Belleville, Ryan and his brother Jason (writer-producer for Little Mosque on the Prairie) come by their crafts honestly, and are collaborating on a TV show set to film this summer. Ryan’s credits include a Phil Hartman comedy award, appearances on his own half-hour CTV comedy show, Sean Cullen, the Late, Late Show, Halifax Comedy Fest and Just for Laughs, Life on a Stick and a Dentyne gum ad in which his frozen head detaches.
