Jason Lee Movies
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... (read more) 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).
A native of Orange, CA, Lee began skateboarding when he was 13. Five years later he had gone professional, traveling the world, appearing in a number of popular skateboarding videos, and, along with a friend, founding the company Stereo Skateboards and Stereo Sounds Clothing. Deciding to retire from skateboarding before he became too old for the sport and went to seed, Lee made his first foray into acting in 1993 with a walk-on role in Allison Anders' Mi Vida Loca. Two years later he auditioned for and won the lead role of Brodie, a wise-ass slacker, in Kevin Smith's Mallrats (1995). Although the film received a critical thrashing, Lee did earn positive notices for his work in it, and was further rewarded with a lead part in Smith's Chasing Amy (1997). Cast as comic-book artist Banky, best friend and partner of Ben Affleck's Holden, the actor earned an Independent Spirit Award for his smart-assed yet deeply felt portrayal, and subsequently crossed over into more mainstream work with a bit part in the Will Smith suspense thriller Enemy of the State (1998) and a lead in the flop romantic comedy Kissing a Fool (1998), in which he starred with David Schwimmer and Mili Avital.
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 also 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. A third strike in terms of hitting box-office gold, the undaunted former skateboard pro soldiered on into the cold wilderness for the horrors of Dreamcatcher before re-teaming with faithful cohort Smith for the one-two punch of Jersey Girl and Flectch Won in late 2003.
Over the coming years, Lee would tontinue to gain notoriety, popularly starring on the TV series My Name is Earl, Memphis Beat, and Up All Night, and appearing in movies like Cop Out and the Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
Columbus Circle
PG13 2011
A reclusive Manhattan heiress finds her carefully structured world beginning to crumble after her elderly neighbor dies, and a young couple moves into the vacant apartment. On her...
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
G 2011
Dave (Jason Lee), the Chipmunks, and the Chipettes enjoy fun and mischief on a luxury cruise before their seafaring vacation takes an unexpected detour to an uncharted island....
Cop Out
R 2010
Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan team up for the Warner Bros. police buddy movie Cop Out in this Kevin Smith-directed production. From a script by Robb and...
Memphis Beat [TV Series]
2010
Offbeat Memphis detective (Jason Lee) has a passion for his city and blues music. But this Southern charmer's loose crime-fighting manner clashes with his boss's disciplined...
Memphis Beat: Season 01
2010
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Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
PG 2009
Alvin, Simon, and Theodore meet their musical match after returning to school and entering into a battle of the bands competition in hopes of saving the school's troubled...
My Name Is Earl: Season 04
2008
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My Name Is Earl: Season 03
2007
My Name is Earl - Season 3 finds everyone's favorite dimwitted white-trash loser, Earl Hickey (Jason Lee), continuing his hilarious quest to make up for a lengthy list of...
Alvin and the Chipmunks
PG 2007
Alvin, Simon, and Theodore are back in director Tim Hill's computer-animation/live-action hybrid following the further adventures of the world's most adorable singing...
Underdog
PG 2007
Bestowed with superpowers when a lab experiment goes unexpectedly awry, an average beagle becomes the savior of Capitol City as everyone's favorite canine do-gooder embarks on his...
Krater
2007
A classic rock band struggles to stay on top of the charts when their new vocalist begins to display Broadway aspirations in this 1970s and '80s-era period comedy...
The Man Who Souled the World
2007
Filmmaker Mike Hill profiles one of the skateboarding world's most revolutionary figures in this documentary tracing the life and career of World Industries founder Steve...
Drop Dead Sexy
R 2006
Just how far will some guys go to pay off a debt? Frank (Jason Lee) and Eddie (Crispin Glover) are a pair of inept would-be wise guys trying to scare up enough money...
Clerks II
R 2006
You can take the clerks out of the Quick Stop, but you just can't take the Quick Stop out of the clerks as Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randall (Jeff Anderson) prove...
My Name Is Earl: Season 02
2006
Doing the right thing isn't always easy. Just ask Earl Hickey (Jason Lee), a recovering ne'er-do-well with a lifetime's worth of dirty deeds to make up for. In order to turn his...
Monster House
PG 2006
A suburban home has become physically animated by a vengeful human soul looking to stir up trouble from beyond the grave, and it's up to three adventurous kids from the...
Six Figures
2005
Has the search for a better way of life sent a man into a murderous rage? A seemingly respectable husband and father faces this question in this independent drama. Warner...
My Name Is Earl [TV Series]
2005
Jason Lee, the former professional skateboarder who glided to movie fame with roles in such cult favorites as Kevin Smith's Chasing Amy, was the star of the NBC...
My Name Is Earl: Season 01
2005
Karma is a funny thing. Just ask Earl (Jason Lee), who's learning the hard way that when you do something bad, it has a way of coming back and biting you in the ass! Hoping to...
Saturday Night Live: Jason Lee
2005
This 2005 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Jason Lee and features musical guest Foo Fighters. ~ Skyler Miller, Rovi...