subject: Jason Mewes - Oil Pipe - Others Manufacturer [print this page] Personal life Personal life
Mewes grew up in Highlands, New Jersey, living with his mother, a heroin addict, who died of AIDS in 2002. He never met his father. He himself started using heroin in his early 20s, and remained addicted for the next decade.
Smith entered Mewes into the first of a series of drug rehabilitation clinics in 1997, after noticing Mewes was nodding off during the filming of Chasing Amy. Mewes' attempt at sobriety was short-lived; in 1999, he was arrested for possession of heroin and a syringe, in violation of his probation.
He also stole Smith's ATM card and charged $1,100, and had heroin shipped to the hotel where the press junket for Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was being held. Smith had taken Mewes in to live with him and his wife, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, but kicked him out after he was caught using again. 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.
In 2001, a warrant was issued for his arrest and in April 2003, he surrendered himself and pled guilty to probation violation charges. He was ordered to enter rehab and was told if he violated parole again, he could face up to five years in prison. In the same year, he made another attempt at sobriety after he fell asleep with a lit cigarette, nearly setting himself on fire; to date, he has remained sober.
Career
While he is mostly known for acting in films, Mewes also has worked in television. He voiced the role of Jay in the short-lived Clerks: The Animated Series. He, along with 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 New Jersey films entitled 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 Canadian TV Guide. He and Kevin Smith will return to Degrassi: The Next Generation for some of the final 4 episodes of season 8, entitled "Paradise City". In 1998, he starred as "Gary Lamb - Ground Activist" in a series of Nike commercials directed by Smith.
In Scarface: The World Is Yours Mewes provides a voiceover for a thief who steals some tapes. The character's dialogue, consisting mainly of constant stream-of-consciousness profanity, is entirely consistent with that of Jay's character.
Mewes starred in the pilot episode of Smith's sitcom, Hating Hal; it never advanced beyond the pilot stage.
During a radio interview on WJFK 106.7, Mewes confirmed that at one time, he had a deal with Kevin Smith, that if he stayed sober, that they would make Clerks 2. He also stated that he is doing a film called K 11 with Kristen Stewart and Nikki Reed, and that he dyed his hair black for this role.
Filmography
Year
Film
Role
Notes
1994
Clerks
Jay
1995
Mallrats
Jay
1996
Drawing Flies
Az
1997
Chasing Amy
Jay
1999
Dogma
Jay
Tail Lights Fade
uncredited
The Blair Clown Project
Witness #3
Spilt Milk
2000
Scream 3
Jay
Vulgar
Tuott the Basehead
2001
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Jay
2001-2002
Clerks
Jay
6 episodes
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
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Himself
4 episodes
My Big Fat Independent Movie
Answering Machine
voice
Tom 51
The Pleasure Drivers
Counter Monkey
2006
Clerks II
Jay
Feast
Edgy Cat
National Lampoon's TV: The Movie
Bottoms Up
Owen Peadman
Jack's Law
Bobby Mewes
2007
Netherbeast Incorporated
Waxy Dan
Gone Baby Gone
Thanks
The Tripper
Joey
2008
Bitten
Jack
Video
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Lester
Tattoos: A Scarred History
Himself
Fanboys
Himself
cameo
2009
Tom Cool
Midgets Vs. Mascots
Jason
uncredited
Silent But Deadly
Thomas Capper
post-production
Repo
T.J.
post-production
Shoot the Hero
Nate
post-production
Mitch and Stu's Quest
Stu
pre-production
The Science of Cool
Coach Cambria
In production
2010
Noah's Ark: The New Beginning
Ham
voice
See also
View Askewniverse
Further reading
Smith, Kevin. My Boring Ass Life: The Uncomfortably Candid Diary of Kevin Smith. Titan Books. 25 September 2007. ISBN 1845765389.
References
^ a b c d e f g Spivnes, Christine. "To Hell & Back." Entertainment Weekly. July 14, 2006.
^ "Jason Mewes Arrest." The Smoking Gun.
^ "Celebrity Scoop". CBS News. 2003-04-02. http://wap.cbsnews.com/site?sid=cbsnews&pid=sections.detail&catId=TOP&storyId=548754&viewFull=yes. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
^ Interview with Big O and Dukes WJFK 1067
^ Jason Mewes Joins The Science Of Cool Cinemablend. 5 April 2009
External links
Jason Mewes at the Internet Movie Database
Interviews Askew: Jason Mewes (Interview from March 14, 1999)
Categories: 1974 births | 20th-century American people | 21st-century American people | American film actors | American television actors | Living people | MTV Movie Award winners | Actors from New Jersey | People from Monmouth County, New Jersey | People self-identifying as alcoholicsHidden categories: BLP articles lacking sources | Articles lacking reliable references from November 2008 | All articles lacking sources
