Jonathan Adam Saunders "Jay" Baruchel (born April 9, 1982) is a Canadian actor.
Baruchel was born in Ottawa, Ontario, the son of Robyne, a freelance writer, and Serge Baruchel, an antiques dealer. He has a younger sister, Taylor. His father was Jewish and his mother a Catholic of Irish descent. His first acting role was on local television series My Hometown in 1996. From 1997–1998, he co-hosted Popular Mechanics for Kids with Elisha Cuthbert.
After appearing briefly in Cameron Crowe's Oscar-winning Almost Famous, Baruchel won the role of Steven Karp on Judd Apatow's acclaimed yet short-lived television series Undeclared, where he starred alongside Seth Rogen, Carla Gallo, Charlie Hunnam, and Monica Keena. He then appeared with James Van Der Beek in Roger Avary's The Rules of Attraction.
In 2004, he played boxing hopeful Danger Barch in Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby, which received an Oscar for Best Picture the following year. Baruchel was among those thanked by Eastwood during his acceptance speech. He then starred in Nemesis Game and Fetching Cody before appearing opposite Don Johnson on the WB's Just Legal in 2005 and guest-starring on CBS's Emmy Award-nominated Numb3rs in 2006.
Baruchel appeared in the films Knocked Up (which reunited him with Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen), I'm Reed Fish, and Just Buried. He appeared in Fanboys, She's Out Of My League co-starring Alice Eve, and the Ben Stiller-directed Tropic Thunder alongside Jack Black, Nick Nolte, Steve Coogan and Robert Downey Jr.
Baruchel lives in Montreal, Quebec.
