Jason Lee is one of the most underrated actors in the business today, but we can see how a studio wouldn’t want to place a lot of faith in a skateboarder; even an extremely talented one. Born in 1970 in Huntington Beach, California, Jason dropped out of high school to become a pro skateboarder, and was good enough to even snag a shoe deal with Airwalk. Seven years later, Jason was still one of the top athletes in the sport, but by then, he had already appeared in a short film for Spike Jonze and in a small role for the film “Mi vida loca.” Long story short, the acting bug bit him, and then he met Kevin Smith and everything changed.
His debut appearance in “Mallrats” was applauded by critics as the only noteworthy performance in the entire film, and following its horrible theatrical release, Jason finally became worth paying attention to. Along with minor roles in a number of not-so-great comedies (the kind that Comedy Central airs all the time), Jason also became an integral part of the View Askew family and showed up in a major role for Smith’s next film “Chasing Amy,” as well as in much smaller roles for “Dogma” and “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.”
His appearance in Cameron Crowe’s award-winning film “Almost Famous” was perhaps the next biggest step in Jason’s career, mostly because it finally showed off his dramatic acting skills as well. This led to more jobs in a variety of other films, including a smaller part in Crowe’s next picture “Vanilla Sky,” but it’s Jason’s raw comedic performances that have always been the most appreciated. And now that Jason has his own sitcom (on NBC no less), look for more opportunities to come his way in the near future. But don’t expect too much from this rising star, he’s just a skateboarder you know.
Jason on the Screen
Along with appearing in five of Kevin Smith’s six films (“Mallrats,” “Chasing Amy,” “Dogma,” “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back,” “Jersey Girl”), Jason has also starred in “Almost Famous” and “The Incredibles.” But not just everything Jason touches turns to gold. You only need look to movies like “Big Trouble” and “Stealing Harvard” for evidence of that.
Jason Quotes
On instant fame:
“I wasn’t a kid who moved out from Iowa with aspirations of becoming a famous star-I was intrigued by the idea of filmmaking and by the idea of what it would be like to play a character in a movie.”
On his first job:
“I wanted to be looked at for the skateboarder that I was. I didn’t want to be the 36-year-old skateboarder who’s still holding on while owning a company at the same time. I wanted to make my mark and travel and accomplish a few things here and there and then get out.”