Dan Levy couldn’t move his neck while filming the finale season of Schitt’s Creek due to severe anxiety

Dan Levy suffered from massive amounts of stress during Schitt’s Creek (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Schitt’s Creek star Dan Levy has opened up about the enormous amounts of stress and anxiety he was under while filming the last season of the US sitcom.

Levy, who wrote, produced and co-created the show as well as playing one of the lead roles in it, needed to have multiple specialists on set to help him deal with his anxiety.

Speaking to British GQ, the 38-year-old Canadian actor explained how as the series grew bigger, things got harder: ‘Because the more we built the show, the more proud of it I was. And the more I wanted to create more compelling and dimensional stories, the more we wanted to expand our world…’

By season six of the show, his stress levels were so high it affected his neck to the point he could barely move it.

‘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,’ added Levy.

The star recently landed a huge eight-figure deal with Netflix to work across movies and TV for the streamer, starting with a gay rom-com which will once again see him sit on multiple chairs behind the camera (write, director and producer) as well as starring in the still-untitled movie. 

Levy will appear in the December/January issue of GQ (Picture: GQ/Ryan Duffin)

The GQ Heroes issue is available via digital download and on newsstands Friday November 5 (Picture: GQ/Ryan Duffin)

Speaking of this new project, Levy told the publication: ‘I’ve always wanted to make [a romcom]. I’ve always wanted to be in one. And as a gay person, you don’t ever get that kind of opportunity.

‘You get to play the zany friend or Pepe the coworker. So I’m really excited and honoured to have that opportunity: to put a gay person front and centre in a romcom.’

Elsewhere in the conversation, the actor spoke about the legacy the hopes Schitt’s Creek will leave for LGBTQ+ youths admitting he wished he ‘had something like it as a kid, hoping it would be some kind of comfort for me growing up…

Schitt’s Creek was a family affair (Picture: Cbc/ITV/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

‘It’s an incredibly emotional experience to know that I’ve done something that has helped, you know, 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.’ 

More: US TV news

While presenting the new Schitt’s Creek book (titled Best Wishes and Warmest Regards) on This Morning yesterday, Levy received a massive surprise orchestrated by Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield.

After a snap from his sister’s wedding last month revealed Levy as a massive S Club 7 fan, the ITV presenters shared with him live a message from Rachel Stevens which left him shocked. 

Schitt’s Creek is available to stream on Netflix.

See the full feature in the GQ Heroes issue available via digital download and on newsstands Friday 5th November. 

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