Dan Levy on His Bold Style: 'It Makes Me Feel Good and That’s All That Matters' (Exclusive)

With a new movie, 'Good Grief,' on Netflix now, the 'Schitt's Creek' star opens up about his sartorial swagger

“I had this belief that I had to have my life together by 40,” Dan Levy explains.

It's a recent afternoon in Los Angeles and the actor, best known for his role as David Rose in Schitt's Creek, is talking about expectations he had for himself. “And, as I explored in my new movie, that’s simply an unrealistic expectation. We can talk about it, we can write about it, we can think about it, but nobody ever has their life together. And now I believe, if you had your life together you’d be an incredibly boring person.” He pauses.

“Time time goes on. Or doesn’t, according to Mariah Carey. And she’s one of the great philosophers of our time.” He laughs, but he's being serious. "She's a goddess and that's why I wrote her into an episode of Schitt's Creek!"

Related: How Dan Levy’s Very Real Grief Inspired His New Movie: ‘I Worried I Was Not Grieving Properly’ (Exclusive)

With his new movie Good Grief, Levy created a career-turning dramatic part — he wrote, directed, and stars in the film. In it, he moves beyond Schitt’s Creek’s theatre of the absurd and deep into the shadows of the bereft. In the film, Levy plays an artist who is getting over the death of his husband (played by Luke Evans) via a trip to Paris with his two best friends. He recently walked the red carpet for the premiere, and it certainly made him think of how he got his start.

It was a little more than 15 years ago that Levy debuted as a host on MTV Canada. Back then, he was a stylish guy with cool glasses known as the son of Eugene Levy, the dad in American Pie. Folks began to ask where he got his frames. "I kind of felt guilty telling like a 12-year-old you to go and spend hundreds of dollars on, you know, some Tom Ford frames." So he founded DL Eyewear. He wants to clarify it's beginnings. "It's not a celebrity brand because, well, it was founded before I was a celebrity."

The company now offers dozens of frames — sunglasses at $150, optical frames at $140 — and fans are still asking where he gets his. They also ask where he gets his clothes. But those will never bear his initials on the label.

Related: Dan Levy Says 'Schitt's Creek' Reunion Film Is 'TBD with an Exclamation Mark'

"I would never go into clothing," he says. "Because I don't I don't know about design. I don't know about designing clothes, I love wearing clothes, sure." He knows he'd be, like the hundredth celebrity to start designing fashion. "But I don't know if having good style means that you should take a job from somebody who has gone to school for it." He pauses, seeming to consider it. "I mean, I would love to take like 10 years off go to Parsons School of Design, learn how to cut..."

But for now, he's comfortable with his day job (writing, acting, directing) and a side hustle shutting down red carpets with his maverick style. (On this day, he's in a Dries Van Noten suit—and, of course, DL Eyewear frames.) "There’s definitely a red-carpet dan and a real-life Dan," he says. "In real life, I wear the same pair of jeans and like various sweaters. That's my uniform."

Related: Dan Levy Makes His Sexiest Man Alive Issue Debut, Jokes 'This Form of Sexy Is a Niche Market'

As for Red Carpet Dan, he pushes it a little. And has made some new pals. "I have, ultimately, become friends with designers." He still loves the custom Loewe look he wore to the 2021 Met Gala.

"It was so beautiful, you really needed to see it up close to see the handwork." No, he did not get to keep it. "That, I believe, is in a museum in London. Because I've seen I've seen people posing in photos with it and tagging me in photos on Instagram!"

Of his bold style he says, "I just think I've always had this strong desire to express myself through what I wear." He chuckles. "Sometimes it's really confused my family! I remember being on MTV and coming home and my mom looking at what I wore and saying, 'Well, that was an interesting choice.' But, you know, if it makes me feel good then that's all that really matters. I think that's that's that's what personal style should be. It's just a quest to feel good in what you put on every day."

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