John Candy’s children, Jennifer Candy-Sullivan and Chris Candy, are honoring the late actor’s legacy in the new documentary John Candy: I Like Me, now streaming on Prime Video. The film was discussed at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary event, where the siblings appeared alongside director Colin Hanks for a panel at the PMC Theater.
Hanks, who is the son of Tom Hanks and appeared with Candy in Splash in 1984, said that what continues to stand out about Candy is not only his reputation as a comedian, but the depth of his work as a performer. He described Candy as someone who brought a part of himself into every role, whether in film, on stage, or in person. Hanks pointed to Candy’s memorable SCTV characters, including Johnny LaRue and Johnny Toronto, as examples of the actor’s instinct for performance and his ability to channel something personal into his comedy.
Hanks also shared a memory from when he met Candy as a child, saying he was around 8 years old at the time. He recalled Candy as exactly the kind of person audiences hoped he would be: warm, kind, and easy to trust. Hanks said that impression stayed with him and influenced his approach to the documentary, which he hoped would help viewers who never met Candy understand the kind of person he was offscreen.
Candy’s children said the timing of the documentary made sense because it took years for them to gain a fuller understanding of their father, both as a public figure and as a parent. Chris Candy explained that as they grew older, they were able to better understand themselves and, in turn, understand more about who their father was. He said that clarity made it feel like the right moment to team up with the right collaborators and tell the story properly.
Jennifer Candy-Sullivan said the timing also reflected the evolution of documentary filmmaking. She noted that they had worked on projects before, but that this felt like the right time to present their father’s story in the way they had envisioned. The documentary aims to capture both John Candy’s enduring appeal as an entertainer and the personal qualities that made him beloved by family, friends, and audiences.
The panel highlighted Candy’s lasting cultural impact more than 30 years after his death, while also underscoring the family’s effort to preserve his memory through a more intimate and personal portrait.
