Jason Lee: from mallrat to all that in no time flat

Interview, Oct, 2002 by Kevin Smith

JL: No. I'm so damn rusty. It's not like getting back on a bike after six years.

KS: So you have Stealing Harvard, the Julia Stiles picture and the [Lawrence) Kasdan picture, Dream catcher [due next year). Wait--it's the second time you've worked with Kasdan, right?

JL: Yeah.

KS: Crowe, Kasdan, me; we've all used you more than once.

JL: Yeah. I've got two with Kasdan, two with Crowe, and what, four with you?

KS: You're the sure thing, dude. You're the go-to guy. It says volumes about an actor when a director keeps bringing him back. Do you know where you're heading next?

JL: To Philly, I guess, for a couple lines in Jersey Girl [Smith's next movie].

KS: Which will be our fifth movie together.

JL: So what am I going to be doing in Jersey Girl?

KS: You're going to be playing a publicist. But I don't care to say much more than that for fear of ruining the whole movie. [Lee laughs] Thanks for trying to ruin it for me. I've been doing such a good job of keeping it secret and you're like, "Tell us about the movie, Kevin."

JL: Yeah! How does it end? [both laugh] So we'll be in Philly and Jersey, huh?

KS: And in Manhattan a little bit, as well. It's kind of a period film, so we have to recreate the Twin Towers, which I'm happy about.

JL: A period film?

KS: Yeah. It takes place in the mid-'80s to the mid-'90s.

JL: Are we gonna slap a mullet on Affleck?

KS: Slap a mullet on him? Dude always has a mullet. He just keeps it well hidden. No, no mullets. None of that easy "we're in the '80s" kind of stuff. No parachute pants. At least riot on set.

JL: No fold and roll acid wash jeans. [both laugh] Ba-da-bup! [both laugh]

Kevin Smith's Jersey Girl is due out next year. Left: Shirt by GIORGIO ARMANI. Styling: FRANK HELMER/Exclusive Artists, L.A. Grooming: STEVE DAVIAULT/Link for Aramis. For fashion and photo details see page 195. Photographer: TONY DURAN.