Jason Mewes

Jason Mewes

Mewes at the Florida SuperCon, June 2015
Born Jason Edward Mewes
(1974-06-12) June 12, 1974
Highlands, New Jersey
Occupation Actor, comedian, film producer, MC
Years active 1994–present
Spouse(s) Jordan Monsanto (2009–present)
Children 1
Website Official site

Jason Edward Mewes (born June 12, 1974) is an American television and film actor, film producer and internet radio show host. He has played Jay, the vocal half of the duo Jay and Silent Bob, in longtime friend Kevin Smith's films.

Early life

Jason Edward Mewes was born on June 12, 1974 in Highlands, New Jersey,[1][2] and grew up in a working-class neighborhood. He never knew his father, and his mother was an ex-con and a drug addict. Relates Mewes: "She used to check into hotels and take TVs and sell them...I guess it really ain't funny, but it's weird because it was so fucked up...She used to steal mail. I used to drive around with her and she'd pull up and make me reach into mailboxes. It really wasn't pleasant." Although this exposure to drugs at first served to make him averse to them, he eventually began using them after graduating from high school.[3]

His best friend was future filmmaker Kevin Smith, who describes his friend thus: "[Jason]'s the kind of dude you know for five minutes and he whips his cock out. I was like, somebody should put this dude in a movie. I just wanted to see if anybody outside our group of friends finds him as funny as I do."[3]

Career

While working toward a career in roofing, Mewes made his film debut in Smith's 1994 film Clerks as Jay.[3] The film was a huge success; ever since, Mewes has been closely identified with the role, which he also played in Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma (1999), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Clerks II (2006) and the upcoming sequels Mallrats 2 (2016) and Clerks III (TBA). He also supplied Jay's voice in the short-lived Clerks: The Animated Series. He, along with Kevin Smith, performed in the films Scream 3 and Bottoms Up and on Canadian television series Degrassi: The Next Generation. He appeared in two episodes of a three-part story arc in which he and Smith film a new addition to Smith's View Askew films titled Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh? at Degrassi Community School. They appear again on Degrassi (in a two-part episode), at the premiere of Jay and Silent Bob go Canadian, Eh? in Canada. Mewes, Smith, and Degrassi star Stacie Mistysyn made the cover of the January 29, 2005 issue of Canadian TV Guide.[4]

In 1998, he starred as "Gary Lamb – Ground Activist" in a series of Nike commercials directed by Smith. From 2010-2012, Mewes was cast as "Jimmy the Janitor" for 26 episodes of the Canadian television series Todd and the Book of Pure Evil.

In the video game Scarface: The World Is Yours Mewes provides a voiceover for a thief who steals some tapes. The titular character, Tony "Scarface" Montana, injures Mewes' characters in a fistfight that regains the desired tapes.

Mewes starred in the horror film Breath of Hate, where he played a romantic love interest to a dysfunctional escort.[5] Mewes co-starred in Smith's 2008 film Zack and Miri Make a Porno, in which Mewes, in a scene near the end of the film, appears fully nude.

Mewes co-hosts a weekly podcast with Smith called Jay & Silent Bob Get Old in which Mewes discusses his former drug addiction issues.

Mewes is co-Executive Producer on Smith's Hulu-exclusive series Spoilers with Kevin Smith.[6]

Mewes co-produced the 2013 animated movie Jay & Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie with his wife Jordan Monsanto, which was based on the Bluntman and Chronic comic book that Kevin Smith wrote as a companion piece to the film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

Mewes starred in episode 3 of the sixth season of Hawaii Five-0 as Eddie Brooks.[7]

Personal life

Substance abuse

Mewes has openly talked about his struggles with substance abuse, which began in his early 20s. He first began using heroin shortly after appearing in Mallrats, and was soon addicted; he was under the influence while filming Chasing Amy and Dogma. Smith entered Mewes into the first of a series of drug rehabilitation clinics in 1997, after noticing Mewes would spontaneously fall asleep, which he initially attributed to narcolepsy. Mewes sobered up until about a week into the Dogma shoot, when he learned he could pass his urine tests by abstaining from drugs for three days beforehand and then shooting up the rest of the week. It was also during filming for Dogma that Mewes' mother was diagnosed with AIDS. In another attempt to get clean, Mewes moved in with his mother, who gave him OxyContin to ease the withdrawal symptoms; Mewes was soon addicted to that substance as well.[3]

In 1999 Mewes was arrested in New Jersey for heroin possession. His probation sentence included community service, drug counseling, and regular court appearances in New Jersey. In late 2001, after he failed to make a court appearance, a warrant was issued for his arrest. Mewes' mother died of AIDS in 2002. On April 1, 2003, he surrendered himself at a Freehold, New Jersey court and pleaded guilty to probation violation charges. He was ordered to enter a six-month rehab program, and would be allowed to return to Los Angeles, but was told if he violated probation again, he could face up to five years in prison.[8]

Smith had taken Mewes in to live with him and his wife, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, but evicted him after catching him using drugs again. During this period, he stole Smith's ATM card and charged $1,100, and had heroin shipped to the hotel where a press junket for Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was being held. Smith had Mewes check into various rehab facilities, including Promises in Malibu, where his visit coincided with frequent costar Ben Affleck's stay for alcoholism. These attempts were unsuccessful for Mewes, whose problem was so severe that Smith declined to give him a part in 2004's Jersey Girl.[3]

Mewes continued to use drugs, and has related that he decided to turn himself in and get help after waking up on Christmas morning 2003 to find that he had started a fire after falling asleep near a lit candle while on heroin. Estranged from Smith and his other friends, Mewes returned to New Jersey, where he was given the choice of attending six months of court-mandated rehab or a year in jail. Mewes waited a year before attempting to revive his career, and eventually obtained a new agent at the Endeavor agency. In a July 2006 interview he reported that he was sober, and harbored no urges to drink or use drugs.[3] He relapsed in 2009 after having surgery.[9]

To help Mewes maintain his sobriety, Kevin Smith created the Jay & Silent Bob Get Old podcast as a "weekly intervention" to let Mewes talk through his history of substance abuse, amongst other topics. He has been clean since June 28, 2010.[10]

Marriage

Mewes married his wife Jordan Monsanto in a civil ceremony on January 30, 2009, with a larger wedding planned later that May.[11] Their daughter, Logan Lee, was born on April 1, 2015.[12]

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1994 Clerks Jay
1995 Mallrats Jay
1996 Drawing Flies Az
1997 Chasing Amy Jay
1999 Dogma Jay
1999 Tail Lights Fade Uncredited
1999 The Blair Clown Project Witness #3
1999 Spilt Milk
2000 Scream 3 Jay Cameo
2000 Vulgar Tuott the Basehead
2001 Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Jay
2000–2002 Clerks: The Animated Series Jay 6 episodes
2002 R.S.V.P. Terry
2002 High Times' Potluck Guy
2002 Hot Rush
2003 Pauly Shore Is Dead Jay the MC as Jay Mewes
2004 Powder: Up Here Evil Villain
2005 Degrassi: The Next Generation Himself 4 episodes
2005 My Big Fat Independent Movie Answering Machine Voice
2005 Tom 51
2005 The Pleasure Drivers Counter Monkey
2006 Clerks II Jay
2006 Feast Edgy Cat/Jason Mewes
2006 National Lampoon's TV: The Movie
2006 Bottoms Up Owen Peadman
2006 Jack's Law Bobby Mewes
2007 Netherbeast Incorporated Waxy Dan
2007 Gone Baby Gone "Thanks" during the end credits.
2007 The Tripper Joey
2008 Bitten Jack Video
2008 Zack and Miri Make a Porno Lester
2008 Tattoos: A Scarred History Himself
2008 Fanboys Himself Cameo
2009 Tom Cool
2009 Midgets vs. Mascots Jason Uncredited
2009 Shoot the Hero Nate
2009 Mitch and Stu's Quest Stu
2009 The Science of Cool[13] Coach Cambria
2009 Degrassi Goes Hollywood Himself Television film
2010 Repo T.J.
2010 Noah's Ark: The New Beginning Ham Voice
2010 Breath of Hate Ned
2010 Big Money Rustlas Bucky
2010–2012 Todd and the Book of Pure Evil Jimmy the Janitor TV series regular
2011 Silent But Deadly Thomas Capper
2012 Cousin Sarah Anton
2012 Spoilers with Kevin Smith Himself Also co-executive producer
2012 Noobz Andy Clifton
2012 The Newest Pledge Professor Street
2013 Jay & Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie Jay Also producer
2013 Vigilante Diaries (web series) Mike Hanover 2 episodes, also producer
2014 Devil's Tower Sid
2015 Vigilante Diaries Mike Hanover Post-production
2015 Scooby-Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery Worker #1 Voice
2015 Hawaii Five-0 Eddie Brooks 1 Episode "Ua 'o'oloku ke anu i na mauna"
2016 Bling[14] Kit Voice
2016 Shooting Clerks Wes Jameson Post-production
2016 Yoga Hosers TBA Post-production, also producer[15]

See also

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ "Today in history". ABC News. Associated Press. June 12, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Jason Mewes- Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Spivnes, Christine. "To Hell & Back". Entertainment Weekly. July 14, 2006.
  4. ↑ "TV Guide Canada". January 29, 2005.
  5. ↑ "Trailer Debut: Sean Cain's Breath of Hate". Dread Central. July 6, 2008
  6. ↑ "Girls Just Wanna Have Guns". Spoilers with Kevin Smith. Season 1. Episode 1. June 4, 2012. Hulu. External link in |title= (help)
  7. ↑ "Tonight on Hawaii Five-0: A Chilling Storm". http://www.ksitetv.com/. ksitetv. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  8. ↑ Susman, Gary (April 3, 2003). "Because I Got High". Entertainment Weekly.
  9. ↑ Leatherman, Benjamin (January 12, 2012). "Jason Mewes Talks Kevin Smith, Podcasting, Sobriety, Jay and Silent Bob, and Nicole Richey". Phoenix New Times.
  10. ↑ Hi, I'm Jay (Mewes) and this is my heterosexual life-mate, Chatty Kev (Smith). Snootchie Bootchies, Citizens! We put things in our mouths for money!
  11. ↑ "Mewes Marries". Celebrity Weddings. 2009-02-18. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
  12. ↑ Webber, Stephanie (April 2, 2015). "Jason Mewes Welcomes First Child With Wife Jordan Monsanto: See the First Photo of Their Baby Girl". Us Weekly.
  13. ↑ Tyler, Josh (April 5, 2009). "Jason Mewes Joins The Science Of Cool". Cinemablend.
  14. ↑ http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/jason-mewes/39169/jason-mewes-interview-bling-clerks-iii-mallbrats-superheroes
  15. ↑ http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/mallbrats/39158/mallbrats-to-film-this-year-clerks-iii-possibly-late-2017

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