Next week, on September 23, the world will at long last see Kevin Smith’s 10th feature film, Red State. Smith announced the horror-extremely-dark-comedy back in 2007, and over the next four years, the self-distributed film has screened at Sundance and had an entire speaking tour based around it. But that’s a horror movie, and we’re not exactly Ripsider (sorry, everyone), are we? No, we are not. We cover comedy, which brings us to a vastly influential film that has shaped the humor of millions of high school students since it was first released on October 19, 1994. No, not Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale. That came out October 28. I am, of course, referring to Clerks. Here’s what the cast is up today.
Brian O’Halloran, as Dante Hicks
Last summer, Brian O’Halloran, who will forever be known as Dante in the same way James Gandolfini will always be Tony Soprano, starred in The Crucible, for the Holmdale Theatre Company in New Jersey. Recently, he appeared in Submitted by C. Randall McCloskey, a production that premiered at the New York Fringe Festival. O’Halloran still appears in movies, too, including The Happening (as a Jeep driver) and the upcoming Flea. Plus: Clerks II. He rarely uses Twitter, but when he does, it’s good: “Looking forward to seeing Poison & Motley Crue tonight at PNC Bank Arts Center!”
Jeff Anderson, as Randal Graves
Jeff Anderson originally auditioned for the role of Jay, but thank god that didn’t happen, because his line delivery throughout the entire Star Wars speech (“Do you think the average Stormtrooper knows how to install a toilet?”) is a thing of a beauty. Film-wise, Anderson has few non-Kevin Smith credits to his name, including voicing Smug on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, appearing in Love 101, and writing, directing, and starring in 2002’s Now You Know, about a man who learns his fiancée wants to call off their wedding, on the evening of his bachelor party. In an appearance on Smith’s SModcast podcast, Anderson said he now lives a semi-secluded existence in a retirement community “in the mountains.”
Marilyn Ghigliotti, as Veronica Loughran
According to her official website, “since moving to Los Angeles in 1997,” Marilyn Ghigliotti “has continued to pursue her acting career and has since appeared in several shorts and independent features,” including Get a Job, with Brenda Strong, and Roadkill, about hitting a deer with a car. She has produced theater productions, works as a film makeup artist, and hosts a weekly podcast with Eric Nyenhuis entitled Retro Radio, the “only podcast that has some of the BIGGEST names in TV past present and future.” The show’s most recent guest: Gary Lockwood, of 2001: A Space Odyssey fame.
Jason Mewes, as Jay
Jason Mewes has played stoner Jay in seven different productions, including six Kevin Smith films, and Scream 3. He played a fictionalized version of himself on Degrassi: The Next Generation, along with Smith, working on Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh!, and stars on Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, a comedy-horror series that can be seen on iTunes. Since he beat his drug addiction in 2006 (thing got so bad that he stole money from Smith, who had let Mewes stay in his home), Mewes has become an in-demand character actor, appearing in Fanboys, Midgets vs. Mascots (!), and The Last Godfather, with Harvey Keitel. He can be heard with Smith on the weekly podcast, Jay & Silent Bob Get Jobs. Mewes will soon lend his voice to Noah’s Ark: The New Beginning, an animated movie about the famous voyage seen through the POVs of the animals, as Ham, Noah’s son. (I thought he was a pig, too.)
Scott Mosier, as Willam Black
If you can’t remember, Willam is the character from Clerks who’s fascinated with “snowballing,” and later appears in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. (The character was played by My Name is Earl star Ethan Suplee in Mallrats, where he’s obsessed with the Magic Eye picture) In those two films, he was portrayed by Scott Mosier (who also appeared in Clerks as an angry hockey player), who has produced or edited (or both) nearly all of Kevin Smith’s films. Mosier appears on the weekly SModcast with his good buddy Smith, and he’s currently obsessed with Smeakers. He also written some episodes of Ultimate Spider-Man, which airs on Disney XD.
Walt Flanagan, as Woolen Cap Smoker/Egg Man/Offended Customer/Cat-Admiring Customer
Walt Flanagan’s “as” above pretty much explain his various characters in Clerks: he smoked cigarettes, played an egg-loving guidance counselor, got offended by the term “jizz mopper,” and admired cats. In Mallrats, Flanagan played Fanboy, whose catchphrase is, “Tell ‘em, Steve-Dave,” which also happens to be the title of the podcast he hosts with Bryan Johnson and Brian Quinn. It was named one of the best podcasts of 2010 by iTunes. Flanagan is also a comic book artist (Batman: Cacophony), and he currently manages the New Jersey-based comic book store, Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash.
Lisa Spoonhauer, as Caitlin Bree
Lisa Spoonhauer has only one non-Clerks credit to her name: 1997’s Bartender. According to Jeff Anderson, who proposed to Spoonhauer on the set of Clerks (they have since divorced), she auditioned for a role in Snake Eyes, that Nicolas Cage movie about boxing, didn’t get it, and retired from acting.
This was supposed to be Josh Kurp’s day off.
