It’s not every day that celebrities travel through Edmonton, and it’s even rarer that they give the city a shout-out.
From comedians to musicians to actors, here are some celebs who have given YEG some love over the years.
John Candy
@feelgoodtoks John Candy talks Edmonton with David Letterman. #johncandy #davidletterman #fyp #yeg #edmonton ♬ Original sound – Follow for more😂
The late, great Canadian comedian John Candy discussed filming a TV show in Edmonton on “Late Night with David Letterman” in 1982. Candy and co-star Joe Flaherty smoked cigarettes on set and talked about filming in the city, prompting Letterman to giggle.
“The city has a bad reputation, but you know, it’s a really nice city and there are good people there. “Everyone worked really hard on the show,” Candy noted.
Theo Von
Comedian Theo Von gives his opinion on Edmonton pic.twitter.com/P6WkGzeSpm
— YEGWAVE (@yegwave) November 11, 2023
Comedian Theo Von brought up Edmonton on a recent podcast, pointing out the city’s northern location and apparent desire to be a “big city.”
“There are always sirens, fire trucks and police driving by. But nothing happens – I think they just hire all these sirens,” he joked.
Nickelback
When Chad Kroeger and his bandmate and guitarist Ryan Peake visited Edmonton earlier this month for the 2023 Juno Awards in town, they raved about one Edmonton restaurant in particular.
“For Edmonton, it’s the Burger Baron. Mushroom bacon cheeseburger at Burger Baron, I believe it’s on 118th, just down the street from the old arena. I would never come to Edmonton without stopping at Burger Baron.”
“Look how excited he is right now,” bandmate Peake joked when Kroeger was asked the question.
Peter Pascal
@daisyedgarjones/Instagram
Pedro Pascal was known across Alberta for filming the HBO series The Last of Us and mentioned Edmonton and the Northern Lights as he drove up from Calgary one evening.
“It was full of Spielberg, green everywhere… it was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen,” Pascal said on The Late Late Show with James Corden.
Bill Burr
On Bill Burr’s Monday morning podcast following his outdoor show in Edmonton earlier this summer, the comedian spent several minutes talking about Edmonton, the crowds and the wildfire smoke that hung over the city. Despite the smoke, Burr claimed the YEG show was “one of the best crowds” he’s ever performed in front of and that he had a great time despite the air quality.
“They sat there, they listened, they laughed – it amazed me how great it was. While I was up there, ten times I thought, “How is this so good?!” Everything is working against what is happening, and yet everything is working; it was fantastic.”
Simu Liu
@simuliu/instagram
Simu Liu hosted the staff at an Edmonton restaurant earlier this year and made a surprise stop at Hanjan while in town for the Junos. He gave a hilarious shout-out to the restaurant on Instagram after staff invited him to dinner.
Nathan Fillion
Edmonton-born actor Nathan Fillion chatted with Sonic 102.9’s Lauren Hunter after Edmonton City Hall was temporarily renamed the Nathan Fillion Civilian Pavilion following a petition that received 27,000 signatures. During the conversation, he talked about growing up in the city and his later venture into the acting world.
“Imagine this: a young Nathan Fillion, about eight years old, third grade, running down Millwoods Road from Saint Hilda in Millwoods to his house, trying to get home on his short little legs so he could watch reruns of “I can see Gilligan’s Island because that was the only window into a place that wasn’t a winter tundra.”
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