‘The Stunt Driver’ Star Jay Baruchel Misses Having Ken Carter’s ‘Irrational Bullheadedness’

In "The Stunt Driver," Jay Baruchel portrays Ken Carter, a stuntman who lived and died performing daring jumps. While he would never have to take those risks, Baruchel said playing the character made him reflect on his own career and how it has evolved since his stand-up comedy days. "When I was in my 20s, doing stand up comedy in New York and trying to break into late night comedy, I had this very irrational certainty that it's where I was supposed to be, and that I was gonna make it," Baruchel told TheWrap at the Toronto International Film Festival.

"I yearn for that now. I don't have that. I'm far more successful than that kid was. But I don't have his confidence, that sort of irrational bullheadedness, and I think Ken's pretty special because he's a rare guy that just never lost that." Carter, known as "The Mad Canadian," planned to drive a rocket-powered Lincoln Continental over the Saint-Laurent River.

Baruchel was drawn to the film because of how it showed how Ken dealt with the fear that would keep most people from doing what he did. "He had this very beguiling vulnerability, where he could sort of hold his fear, and share his fear, and also like hold his determination to do this thing," Baruchel said. Directed by Michael Dowse and based on the documentary "The Devil at Your Heels," "The Stunt Driver" balances humor with the reality of Carter's death in 1983 after a failed jump.

Baruchel hints at the tragic nature of Carter's character, who craved external approval and wanted to be like the heroes he saw on screen. "The Stunt Driver" premiered in Canada on September 25 and is seeking international distribution.