LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: In a recently resurfaced interview on The Daily Beast's podcast ‘The Last Laugh’, Jay Baruchel, the 41-year-old actor, openly acknowledged that the onscreen animosity between him and Jonah Hill in the 2013 movie ‘This Is the End’ was reflective of their real-life relationship at the time. During the filming of the apocalyptic comedy, their lack of rapport was apparent.
Baruchel candidly disclosed, "Jonah and I don't get along super well, or at least didn't back then”. The host noted the evident tension that translated onto the screen, to which the Canadian actor emphatically responded, "Yeah, no f***g st, it does!"
These revelations surfaced amidst a series of controversies surrounding Jonah Hill, including allegations of emotional abuse made by his ex-girlfriend Sarah Brady and accusations of sexual misconduct by actress Alexa Nikolas.
‘This weird thing of mining personal s**t’
In this movie, Baruchel and Hill portray exaggerated versions of themselves amidst a global catastrophe. Despite their evident mutual animosity, Hill's character puts on a façade of kindness towards Baruchel's character. The tension between them reaches its peak as Hill recklessly hurls a knife at Baruchel's leg, ultimately pushing him into a sinkhole.
Reflecting on the dynamic during filming, Baruchel reveals "It was this weird thing of mining personal s**t. But not for catharsis… mining it just for comedy”. He describes it as an unconventional exploration, extracting authentic struggles, but without any intent to provide emotional release. Instead, the creators aimed to capitalize on this raw material, turning it into a marketable commodity, even if it doesn't leave the audience feeling any better about it.
'We’re sort of each the devil the other one knows'
Baruchel further disclosed that he and Hill didn't resolve their issues off-camera. The star-studded film also featured Seth Rogen, James Franco, Emma Watson, and others. Summing up the situation as "f*****g weird," Baruchel admitted that their mutual dislike surprisingly worked well for the movie's dynamic.
Apart from 'This Is the End', Baruchel collaborated with Hill on projects like ‘Knocked Up’ and the ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ series. This isn't the first instance where Baruchel has publicly addressed the tension between them. In 2017, during an interview with Larry King, he stated, “ know the man. I wouldn’t say that [I don’t like him]… It was contentious once upon a time, but I think now we’re sort of each the devil the other one knows.”.
