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Jason Edward Mewes (born June 12, 1974) is an American actor, comedian, film producer, and . He is best known for playing Jay, the vocal half of the duo Jay and Silent Bob, in longtime friend Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse franchise.
His best friend was future filmmaker Kevin Smith, who described Mewes this way: "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."
In 1998, he starred as "Gary Lamb – Ground Activist" in a series of Nike commercials directed by Smith. From 2010 to 2012, Mewes was cast as "Jimmy the Janitor" for 26 episodes of the Canadian television series Todd and the Book of Pure Evil.
Mewes starred in the horror film Breath of Hate (2015), where he played a romantic love interest to a dysfunctional escort. 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.
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 Smith wrote as a companion piece to 2001's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
Mewes starred in episode 3 of the sixth season of Hawaii Five-0 as Eddie Brooks.
Mewes' directorial debut, Madness in the Method, in which he also starred, premiered August 2, 2019, in the U.S.
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. 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, Mewes stole Smith's ATM card, spent $1,100 of Smith's money, 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 was unable to give him a part in 2004's Jersey Girl.
Mewes continued to use drugs, and has related that he decided to turn himself in and get help after waking up on Christmas morning in 2002 to find that he had started a fire after falling asleep near a lit candle while on heroin. Estranged from Smith, Mewes returned to New Jersey, and 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. In a July 2006 interview, he reported that he was sober, and harbored no urges to drink or use drugs. He relapsed in 2009 after having surgery.
To help Mewes maintain his sobriety, Smith created the Jay & Silent Bob Get Old podcast as a "weekly intervention" to let Mewes talk through his history of substance abuse. In a May 2014 Reddit Q&A thread with fans, Mewes stated that he had been sober since July 1, 2010.
Career
While working toward a career in roofing, Mewes made his film debut in Smith's 1994 film Clerks as Jay. The film was a success, resulting in Mewes becoming closely identified with the role, which he also played in Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma (1999), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), and Clerks II (2006). He supplied Jay's voice in the short-lived . He, along with Kevin Smith, performed in the films Scream 3 (2000) and Bottoms Up (2006); they appeared on the Canadian television series , 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. Mewes, Smith, and Degrassi star Stacie Mistysyn made the cover of the January 29, 2005, issue of Canadian TV Guide.
Personal life
Mewes married Jordan Monsanto in a civil ceremony on January 30, 2009, with a larger wedding planned later that May. Their daughter, Logan Lee, was born on April 1, 2015. Their second child, Lucien Lee, was born on February 12, 2023.
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. Kevin Smith entered Mewes into the first of a series of drug rehabilitation clinics in 1997 after noticing Mewes would randomly 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 using drugs the rest of the week. In another attempt to get clean, Mewes moved in with his mother, who gave him Oxycodone to ease the withdrawal symptoms. Mewes's mother died in 2002 of AIDS related complications. She contracted HIV from sharing needles.
Filmography
TV & Movies
+Key Denotes works that have not yet been released 1994 Clerks Jay 1995 Mallrats 1996 Drawing Flies Az 1997 Chasing Amy Jay 1999 Dogma Tail Lights Fade Uncredited The Blair Clown Project Witness #3 Spilt Milk 2000–2002 Jay 6 episodes 2000 Scream 3 Cameo Vulgar Tuott the Basehead 2001 Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Jay 2002 R.S.V.P. Terry High Times' Potluck Guy Hot Rush 2003 Pauly Shore Is Dead Jay the MC As Jay Mewes 2004 Powder: Up Here Evil Villain 2005 Himself 4 episodes My Big Fat Independent Movie Answering Machine Voice The Pleasure Drivers Counter Monkey 2006 Clerks II Jay Feast Edgy Cat/Jason Mewes Carrie Bottoms Up Owen Peadman Jack's Law Bobby Mewes 2007 Netherbeast Incorporated Waxy Dan Gone Baby Gone "Thanks" during the end credits The Tripper Joey 2008 Bitten Jack Video Zack and Miri Make a Porno Lester Tattoos: A Scarred History Himself Fanboys Cameo 2009 Tom Cool Midgets vs. Mascots Jason Uncredited Shoot the Hero Nate Mitch and Stu's Quest Stu The Science of Cool Coach Cambria Degrassi Goes Hollywood Himself TV movie 2010–2012 Todd and the Book of Pure Evil Jimmy the Janitor Main role 2010 Repo T.J. Noah's Ark: The New Beginning Ham Voice Breath of Hate Ned Big Money Rustlas Bucky The Last Godfather Vinnie 2011 Silent But Deadly Thomas Capper 2012 Cousin Sarah Anton Spoilers with Kevin Smith Himself Also co-executive producer Noobz Andy Clifton The Newest Pledge Professor Street 2013 Jay & Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie! Jay Voice, also producer Vigilante Diaries Mike Hanover Web series, 2 episodes, also producer 2014 Devil's Tower Sid Randal's Monday Jay Dealer 2015 The Last House Ned Worker #1 Voice Hawaii Five-0 Eddie Brooks 1 episode 2015–2016 Triptank Jimmy
CallerVoice, 2 episodes 2016–2018 The Flash Humvee Guy
Jay the Security Guard2 episodes 2016 Bling Kit Voice Shooting Clerks Wes Jameson Yoga Hosers Rogue Cop Also producer Vigilante Diaries Mike Hanover Hollyweed Rolo 2018 Aah! Roach! Deek Weight Bogart 2019 Madness in the Method Jay Also director Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Jay 2021 & 2024 Stinkor, Baddrah Voice; 2 episodes 2022 KillRoy Was Here Clerks III Jay 2024 A John 2025 Killing Mary Sue Ed Harper 2026 Murdoch Mysteries 'Slippery' Bill Watson Episode: "Tow Tags"
Video Games
2006 Nat - Small Supplier Voice 2017 Himself Voice; part of "Rave in the Redwoods" Zombies map 2020 Fallout 76 Mort Wastelanders expansion 2025 Jay Playable character in multiplayer modes
Music Videos
1994 "Can't Even Tell" Soul Asylum Jay 1995 "Build Me Up Buttercup" The Goops 2001 "Because I Got High" Afroman "Kick Some Ass" Stroke 9 2013 "Problem" Nova Rockafeller Guy at party 2018 "I'm Upset" Drake Jay 2023 “Highlife” Logic
Further reading
External links
Categories: 1974 Births, Living People, American Male Film Actors, American Male Television Actors, Henry Hudson Regional High School Alumni, People From Highlands, New Jersey, 20th-century American Male Actors, 21st-century American Male Actors, American People Convicted Of Drug Offenses, Canadian Screen Award Winning Actors, Comedians From Monmouth County, New Jersey, American Male Comedians, Male Actors From Monmouth County, New Jersey
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