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Jason Lee: Kevin Smith
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From All Movie Guide: A puppy-eyed professional skateboarder turned actor, Jason Lee has proven himself as versatile and engaging onscreen as he once did as a skater who turned 360-degree flips on the half-pipe. Discovered by director Kevin Smith, who gave him his first break with a lead role in Mallrats (1995), Lee went on to win over critics and audiences with his portrayals of men who often harbored some degree of endearing immaturity and/or sweet-natured dorkiness. In the process, he created a reputation for himself as one of the more talented and underrated actors to emerge from the 1990s indie scene, eventually beginning to earn mainstream acceptance with his casting in such successes as Smith's Dogma (1999) and Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous (2000).
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Though he started his career as a professional skateboarder, Jason Lee managed to accomplish a rare feat—he made the switch from successful athlete to successful actor. While many athletes often fail to become serious thespians, usually resigning themselves to cut-rate action heroes in straight-to-video schlock (think Hulk Hogan or Shaquille O’Neal), Lee used his easy-going charm and natural good looks to break in with character-driven indies, starting with Kevin Smith’s much-maligned “Mallrats†(1995)....
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Lee again collaborated with Smith for the writer/director's Dogma (1999), playing the satanic Azrael alongside a cast that included Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Chris Rock, and Alan Rickman. His work in the high-profile film was complemented that same year by his well-received portrayal of a sweet-natured computer mogul in Lawrence Kasdan's ensemble comedy Mumford. The following year Lee appeared in one of his biggest films to date, Cameron Crowe's much lauded Almost Famous, portraying the lead singer of the '70s rock band Stillwater. Crowe and Lee would ... re-team for Vanilla Sky in 2001. Edging ever closer to the elusive leading man status, Lee would subseqently appear in the ill fated Big Trouble before taking the lead opposite Tom Green in Stealing Harvard. Though Big Trouble and Stealing Harvard both performed abysmally at the box-office, the likable Lee could still hold out for romantic comedy success with the release of A Guy Thing in early 2003.
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After appearing in several indies and a made-for-TV movie, Lee crossed over into mainstream circles with Kissing a Fool (1998). Starring opposite David Schwimmer and Mili Avital, he played a writer who works through his last breakup by writing a book. In 1999, Lee landed two significant acting gigs: one as the demon Azrael in Kevin Smith's Dogma (1999), and another as the eccentric young billionaire Skip Skipperton in Mumford (1999). He then went to work on Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous (2000), in which he plays a member of the fictional '70s band Stillwater.
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More Celeb Photos A good-looking goof with a flair for comedy, Lee became a professional skateboarder in his teens. He segued to acting in his twenties with a supporting role in Kevin Smith's 1995 comedy Mallrats. The movie went bust but Lee and Smith became buddies and worked together on a number of subsequent projects.
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On the small screen, Jason will be appearing in the HBO feature film "Weapons of Mass Distraction" with Ben Kingsley and Gabriel Byrnes. Also, he will be starring in the up-coming and as-yet-untitled Carsey-Werner sitcom pilot created by Kevin Smith.
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