Actors compare L.A.'s notorious traffic with Toronto's

Toronto's traffic has been known to surprise celebrities, but how do they view the city's brutal gridlock compared with the famously appalling road conditions in the film capital of the world, Los Angeles?

blogTO caught up with the stars of Anderson .Paak's directorial debut, the 2024 dramedy K-Pops, on the red carpet at TIFF, to get their take on whether Hollywood's traffic is worse than Hollywood North's.

And while locals will be quick to point to the various studies and rankings that suggest Toronto motorists have a tougher time getting around than those in L.A., the K-Pops cast wasn't so quick to agree.

Los Angeles actors compare Toronto and Los Angeles traffic. Which do you think is worse? #TIFF24 #TIFF2024 pic.twitter.com/Ra5GqCgO5t

— blogTO (@blogTO) September 9, 2024

Rapper and K-Pops producer/actor Jonnie "Dumbfounded" Park tells blogTO, "Any city I go all around the world has terrible traffic, so I don't know what the stereotype of like, L.A. having bad traffic is."

You may think your city has the worst traffic around, but Dumbfoundead argues, "They've got bad traffic everywhere."

Eddie Park, who played Michi in K-Pops, thinks L.A. traffic is worse than Toronto's, telling blogTO he prefers Toronto roads.

"So much air, so much free space, I feel like I'm being cleansed," said Park, who, based on his comments, may have never spent time on Lake Shore Boulevard, the Gardiner or Highway 401.

Kevin Woo, who portrays Kang in the movie, tells blogTO he has spent most of his time downtown during TIFF and "didn't experience too much traffic." Woo had kind words to say about the city, noting that "the streets are much cleaner," and that people are "really friendly."

Woo has also fallen in love with poutine on his visit north of the border, saying, "I had it every day."

While the cast of K-Pops downplayed local traffic, other celebrities have had publicly documented headaches on Toronto roads and highways.

Back in late June, Irish singer Niall Horan became one of the latest celebrities surprised by Toronto's traffic problems. The former One Direction band member was forced to walk the final distance to one of his gigs in the city due to gridlock.

Canadian actor and Kim's Convenience star Andrew Phung is one celeb who has had plenty to say about Toronto traffic, including an anecdote about how he had to "battle" traffic in the city to catch a flight.

In a 2023 interview, Hollywood megastar Tom Cruise acknowledged the traffic situation in Toronto, saying, "I've made movies in Toronto, and I've visited Toronto, and I have friends in Toronto. What's up with the traffic in Toronto? Have they figured this out?"

Then there was the time that Raptors President Masai Ujiri had to ditch the car and walk to a game at Scotiabank Arena on foot during a particularly nasty rush hour in 2023.

Other celebrities who have had public battles with Toronto traffic include local hip-hop icon Drake, director Guillermo del Toro and, most recently, Honda Indy driver Lochie Hughes.