Jay Baruchel

In an era when edgy male comedic talent had the potential to evolve into leading men, Jay Baruchel parlayed his memorable nerdy best friend turns in television and film into starring roles in major Hollywood productions. The razor sharp Baruchel started acting in his teens, leaving his native Canada just long enough to establish himself in the States as one of the new faces of comedy alongside Seth Rogen, Jason Segel and Jonah Hill. With lightening quick humor, a knack for making misfits seem cool, and the ability to steal focus when he appeared on screen - American audiences first took note of Baruchel in a memorable bit in "Almost Famous" (2000) and on television in Judd Apatow's "Undeclared" (FOX, 2001-02). Baruchel packed a wallop as a wannabe boxer in "Million Dollar Baby" (2004), reeled in awards for "I'm Reed Fish" (2006), and rejoined Apatow for "Knocked Up" (2007). After the comedy "Fanboys" (2008), Baruchel made some noise with "Tropic Thunder" (2008) and as the lead in the animated hit "How to Train Your Dragon" (2010) and the romantic comedy "She's Out of My League" (2010). On doing both independents and big action, the actor was happily able to amass a résumé that reflected his tastes in both comedy and human interest stories.