Arts

The David Cronenberg horror film that changed Don McKellar's life

Cronenberg's 1979 film The Brood had a profound effect on McKellar, whose series Michael: Every Day has its season finale this weekend.

McKellar's CBC series Michael: Every Day has its season finale this weekend

The David Cronenberg horror film that changed Don McKellar's life

8 years ago
Duration 1:37
David Cronenberg's 1979 film The Brood had a profound effect on actor, writer and director, Don McKellar

It's no secret that Don McKellar is multi-talented. And he brings his directing, producing and acting skills to his latest comedy series, Michael: Every Day.

But McKellar didn't always know what was possible for a young Canadian with a vision — until he saw David Cronenberg's 1979 psychological horror film, The Brood. At that moment, McKellar understood that weird and wonderful films could be made in Canada. And watching Cronenberg's R-rated story about murderous children and therapy sessions gone wrong set him on a path to direct films like 1998's Genie Award winner Last Night and TV series like Sensitive Skin and Michael: Every Day — the latter of which is finishing its second season on CBC this weekend.

In this video, McKellar tells us about how that Cronenberg film changed his life.

The finale of Michael: Every Day airs Sunday, January 29  at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC