Dan Aykroyd, the comedy actor known for his roles in Ghostbusters and Driving Miss Daisy, found his artistic calling on legendary American TV show Saturday Night Live. Joining the cast and writers’ room in the mid-’70s, at the tender age of 25, the Ottawa performer was the youngest person to work on the show – and one of the most prolific.

Aykroyd and SNL co-star John Belushi were both music fanatics, with Aykroyd making a name for himself on the Canadian blues scene in the ’70s. They combined their passions in comic characters, The Blues Brothers.
Initially conceived as a sketch for SNL, the act took off and soon became genuinely popular, playing all over the US. These characters and their musical tours provided Aykroyd with an opportunity to indulge his love of music. While on staff with SNL, he would throw aftershow parties at a bar he rented, where stars such as David Bowie and The Rolling Stones would come and perform.
His passion for music and the rock and roll lifestyle was palpable: when he and Belushi decided to write and star in The Blues Brothers film, James Brown was eager to make an appearance. Aykroyd explains that it was here that his friendship with the musical legend was formed.
“I worked with James Brown on The Blues Brothers, and we became friends after that,” he recalls. “Later, he also did the movies Doctor Detroit and Blues Brothers 2000 with me. I also hired him to open several House of Blues nightclubs. My family met him and I even got to dance and sing on stage with him! We did many things together.”
Aykroyd had also previously worked with the Mick Jagger, a producer on the film. “I’ve known Mick Jagger since 1976 when he did SNL. The Blues Brothers have actually opened for The Rolling Stones! In the end, even though he is this world-renowned writer, composer, performer and executive, Mick Jagger is just a really nice guy. All great talents are normally like that.”
So when Aykroyd was offered the chance to portray Brown’s long-time manager Ben Bart, the 62-year-old was immediately on board. Get On Up depicts Brown as a musical genius, who inspired everyone around him to do better, think bigger – but a person who was also consumed by a need to be the most successful musician in the business.
Aykroyd admits that his friend was a complex man who could be difficult to truly know. “James Brown was very funny, warm, and generous, and a little controlling too, as he was the bandleader and an executive,” says the actor.
“He also had a kind of lonely quality because ultimately he was the one that was delivering. James had a great sense of control of how he wanted to be perceived and how his music should be. He could also be quite volatile. In a way, he was almost a caricature of himself sometimes.”
This volatility often landed Brown in trouble: for addiction, domestic abuse, gun use and other destructive behaviour – both directed at others and himself. Get On Up director Tate Taylor glosses over some of the more sordid and disturbing details of Brown’s life. Nonetheless, he makes it clear the singer was constantly on the losing sider in battles with his ego and his temper.
“Yes, the film shows everything,” says Aykroyd. “Even in his darkest moments, I believe people wanted to forgive James Brown because he was such a great talent. When he was arrested in South Carolina after that famous high-speed chase, I think the whole world felt sorry for him, as he had given so much to the world at that point. Everybody loved James Brown!”
Aykroyd is picky about projects, once declaring he would never work with actors less famous than he, and that the money needed to be as high as the star-power. To this end, he has only appeared in four films in the past five years, and is currently focused on promoting his love of spirits. No, not the ghostly kind, sadly, but Crystal Head, his new brand of vodka. While this venture has been turning his attention away from the silver screen, he felt that appearing in Get On Up would be a fitting tribute to his late, great friend.
“I’m sure James Brown would have enjoyed the movie – although I am also certain he would have had something to say and joke about it along the lines of, ‘Universal better send me a check right away!’”

Get On Up is in cinemas now.