Photos courtesy of Scott McClellan and Jon Sturge
Canada’s greatest heroes all know how to hang out and be chill. Unlike chumps like Chris Hadfield or Margaret Atwood, legendary Canadians like Bob and Doug Mckenzie, Deaner, and the Trailer Park Boys all know how to lay back and just go with it. But there’s another visionary in the land of not-caring, and his name is Donnie Dumphy. Dumphy is the Newfoundland-based rapper and dirt-bike-riding personality, played by comedian and actor Leon Parsons. Dumphy dropped a new album called Lord of the B’ys, his first record in six years since the breakout I Love Doing Wheelies. He also stars in a forthcoming feature-length movie called How To Be Deadly alongside Gina Squires, who plays Brenda, Dumphy’s troubled girlfriend.
Videos by VICE
Dumphy has received critical acclaim and press attention from the likes of the Globe and Mail, MacLean’s Magazine and the hallowed CBC. He’s been described with words like “incomprehensible” and “underdog,” all while skirting what he really represents: Canadians like to get fucked up and party. Parsons created Dumphy with the help of his longtime friends, musicians Ian St. Aubin and Nik Sexton. Sexton is also a respected director and writer. They used to film skateboard videos and perform comedy skits as filler. 10 years ago, Parsons donned a wig, revved up a mini bike engine, and started speaking gibberish; thus, Dumphy was born.
To get to the heart of Dumphy, we spoke to Parsons over the phone from his Newfoundland home in early December. As if to prove his Canadian nationality, the 35-year-old had been repairing a his snowblower and clearing his driveway prior to the call. “I just killed my driveway. It was amazing,” Parsons said in a lilting Newfie accent. After a decade of being Donnie Dumphy, Parsons said he’s still “havin’ a time” despite “the candles [of his career] burning out a few times.” We talked to him about Canadian comedy, dating advice, and his love of THC. As we learned, the line separating Parsons from his character Dumphy is blurry. Below is a condensed version of that conversation.
Noisey: Donnie doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who subscribes to Maclean’s Magazine or the Globe and Mail.
Leon Parsons (Donnie Dumphy): No. Not even close. I have a subscription to High Times and Ritalin.
How is the weed in Newfoundland?
It’s awesome. I’ve been into the dabs in the last couple of years. I have my own little electric dabber. I dab away and my ADD is no more.
Dumphy likes shatter?
Yeah, shatter and wax. I make my own every now and then. I get out the BHO stuff, get my little extractor going, and boil it off and have a couple blasts for the week or whatever. Other than that, you can’t really get it here at all. You just get the best kush or dank you can get or whatever. 7:30 in the morning when you wake up: Boom!
Is there any special Newfoundland smoking method we should know about?
I’ve done hot knives and dabs in a boat.
Where does Dumphy’s personality come from?
My ADHD. I’m an information vacuum. The little stories on Facebook and stuff are all just long enough and short enough to keep my attention and I’m on to the next. I’m like that robot in that movie Short Circuit Johnny 5: input, input, more input. I love it all. I fish; I grow vegetables. I do everything.
Newfoundland is kind of an alien world, even to the rest of Canada. Fair statement?
Oh yeah, it’s so diverse here and most people don’t even know where Newfoundland is and don’t know what the fuck is east of Ontario. Rick McCrank came down and he was [filming] a show for VICE, and I showed him a couple of abandoned places for the show. We went to Flatrock where I’m from. My uncle is a Member of the House of Assembly right now and my pop was a Member of the House of Assembly. It goes deep. My dad was the first regional fire chief.
You have friends connected to Newfoundland’s comedy scene, like Rick Mercer and Mary Walsh to name a few.
Yes! The whole cast of CODCO. Anyone who wants to see some old-school Newfoundland comedy, look up CODCO. We pay homage to all those guys. They all have little parts in the How To Be Deadly movie. They all killed their roles. Rick Mercer has always been on our side. Shout out to those guys.
Do you do dabs with Rick Mercer?
I wish. He’s frightened to death of the dabs. He won’t come over to the dark side.
Do you feel a sense of power when you put on the Dumphy costume?
People love the saucy side of Dumphy. People love me telling them off. If I tell them to shut up or whatever, they’re like, “That’s exactly what I wanted! I got told off by Dumphy!” I can be a dick, but people want that. At one time I found it hard to find the right equilibrium between being too drunk and whatever, but now I do it well with a buzz or without one and make someone’s fucking night. I put on the wig and act like fucking nut.
Any surprises we should look forward to in the Lord of the B’ys album?
We have a song called “Lone Wolf.” It has Jessie Stewart. Jessie Stewart covered one of our songs, “Cold Beer.” That’s a beer anthem and people go crazy for it. He covered it, and it’s a little bit punk, and he was playing mandolin. He got a pile of likes, so we got ahold of him and got him to Toronto in the studio. We used him for the closing credits of the [How To Be Deadly] movie.
Devin Pacholik is a writer living in Saskatchewan. Follow him on Twitter.
