Jason Mewes of Jay and Silent Bob was a guest on Steve O’s podcast, which films in his tricked out van. Jason opened up about the fact that he’s been sober for 11 years, and talked about how his friend and collaborator Kevin Smith was instrumental in that. Kevin was so patient, kind and helpful to Jason, letting him stay in his guesthouse and paying for rehab. Even in the midst of Jason’s heroin addiction, Kevin didn’t turn him away, he only told him that he couldn’t come in the house and be around his little daughter when he was strung out with visible track marks. You could tell that Jason was grateful to Kevin and that he feels like he owes him a lot. He said that he wasn’t even mad at Kevin at the time. Jason understood that Kevin was setting boundaries protect his daughter, Harley, now 22, who considers Jason like an uncle. Kevin also explained that he needed to be sober to work with him, due to insurance issues. Here’s some of what Jason said via EW:
Mewes, who has been sober for 11 years now, spoke candidly about Smith’s support with fellow recovering addict Steve-O on the latest episode of his podcast, Steve-O’s Wild Ride! The actor recounted how Smith masterfully used collaborations as a crux to help embolden him to get sober, encouraging Mewes to get clean so he could continue to appear in his films.
Mewes shared the lengths that Smith went to in an attempt to keep him clean, including driving him to rehab, paying for treatment, and housing him in his guest home to keep an eye on him.
“In the past, he would always try to help me like, ‘Hey, if you don’t want to miss out on this opportunity then you need to either go into rehab or you’re going to come stay with me and you’re going to stick by my side,’ ” Mewes said. “Right before [Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back] I went and stayed with him in his guest house and I literally couldn’t leave his house or guest house unless I was with him.”
Mewes also remembered a particularly emotional Thanksgiving with Smith that led to one of his earlier stints in recovery, sharing, “I remember I went to his house, it was Thanksgiving and I always used to have Thanksgiving with him. I remember me and him sitting out in front of his house, and he’s crying, saying ‘I want to let you in, but the whole family is here.’ “
Jason said that Kevin brought him a plate outside that year instead of inviting him in for Thanksgiving. Watching this got me teared up! Imagine having that kind of patience for an addict. Kevin treated Jason like family and never gave up on him. We have never heard a bad word about Kevin Smith. Remember when he responded to the news of Weinstein’s abuse by donating residuals from his Miramax films to women’s groups? I’m glad Jason got sober and that he’s been able to stay sober for over a decade. That’s a huge accomplishment. Also Clerks III is coming and has already been filmed! I still remember seeing the original when I was in college. I’m glad these two are doing well and I will continue to support Kevin Smith.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction I highly recommend the resources at SmartRecovery.org, which are free and helped me quit drinking five and a half years ago. Start with the Cost Benefit Analysis worksheet. The book Stop Drinking Now by Allen Carr also helped me.
Kevin’s first person account of this “Me and My Shadow” is an incredible read, really shows the cycle of hope and heartbreak that comes along with a family member who struggles with addiction.
I’ve been a huge fan of Kevin Smith’s (and Jason’s) since Clerks. I worked at a Blockbuster Video in college and one of the “requirements” was we had to watch Clerks lol. Such a brilliant & funny movie. I’m still pissed that the Weinsteins’ still have the power to block Dogma from being available on streaming or even cable (KS has talked at length about this in interviews, it’s such a shitty power play). I’m so happy for Jason, he seems like a good guy and his tight friendship & bond with Kevin comes through in all of their films together. I’m definitely looking forward to the next Clerks!
Big fan here, too. Dogma is probably my favorite of his films.
Though Mallrats is pretty damn funny.
I’m so glad that he got healthy in his lifestyle, too.
Totally bought a DVD of it off eBay last month!
Kevin Smith is such a great talker. He tells the BEST stories. After Prince died, he talked about working with him after Dogma (excellent film by the way) and it was brilliant, hilarious and insightful.
I love Kevin smith too. Just seems like such a decent person! That Prince story had me rolling – even tho you could tell Kevin was a bit perplexed by Prince’s beliefs, Kevin was able to tell the story in a really respectful way towards Prince.
He was pretty tight with Joe Rogan – I have been wondering about any fallout recently between the two but haven’t seen a thing.
Kevin seems like a guy who wouldn’t have a “falling out” per se, but might just quietly spend less time with someone.
Kevin’s a solid guy (and a really fun storyteller). Not perfect, but very self-aware, which is more than can be said for most men in Hollywood.
This is such a moving and touching story. Loving those with addictions is hard. I have a brother and sister in recovery, one sister is still actively using, and one brother who died while still actively using (his death was not directly related to his drug use). The love, patience, and support Kevin has shown Jason is beautiful.
CB, thanks for being open about your journey and sharing resources. It truly helps others when individuals share their stories.
@Launicaangelina sending you hugs, it’s such a struggle. My sister is with me now, in her own little place, but we almost lost her so many times. She’s doing well, mostly, but when she sees her (ex) boyfriend it all comes tumbling down again. It’s not easy.
Sending love, to both of you @LaUnica and @SophieJara. My brother moved in with me recently and it became clear pretty quickly that he couldn’t function on his own. He has his own apartment now and went through detox. Doing much better. But it’s been a really hard year. I’m learning all about setting boundaries. It feels really lonely, so nice to see some solidarity here.
@Tealily – thank you and sending you love too.
The loving and setting boundaries is hard. You question yourself every day if you’re doing the right thing in every way, shape and form. When the day comes that the addict thanks you, in a completely sober form, is a feeling of so many things. Ultimately, it’s the feeling that that person will be okay and being perceived by them as an @sshole at times is worth it. It’s not easy being called every negative word in the book when you’re someone who truly cares and refuses to be an enabler. Great post and sharing of stories. That Kevin Smith is greater than than the guy certain media outlets made him out to be is wonderful. Love that Jason Mewes gives credit to his friend and is in a good place now.
I’ll admit my familiarity of Jason Mewes is from Zack & Miri Make a Porno. Like the soundtrack too. Okay, since Blondie’s Dreaming is on the soundtrack, I’m a little biased. To this day, one of Mewes character’s(Lester) lines still makes me lol.
Zack: What’s your name?
Lester: Lester. Lester the Molester C*ckenschtuff.
Zack: Wow. That’s a great porn name.
Lester: I get to pick a porn name? Then I want to be called Pete Jones.
And if you have a partner who is addicted- hugely recommend the “love over addiction” program. I wasn’t able to go to Al-anon meetings due to many reasons – this program really helped me out.
I really respect Kevin Smith. I watched his interview on Old School on The Young Turks network a couple of years ago. He seems genuine and kind. Considering he showed up on TYT, it would seem that is views probably don’t align very well with Rogan’s these days.
Addiction is an illness and patience and respect are needed.
What a fell good article! And such a good guy.
My brother is a severe alcoholic and we’ve been struggling with it for the past two years. He’s so bad that he’s been able to walk into the ER with a .36 BAC. I’ve lost all hope that anything is going to change, so it’s nice to see a positive story about recovery.
*Hugs*
Kevin Smith is a nice dude. I’ll always remember the “Sorry Men Suck” cake he made for his daughter after she got harassed.
I saw a screening of Jay and Silent Bob Reboot where Jason and Kevin talk after the movie. Kevin was delayed and Jason carried most of the discussion and he was fantastic. He talked about his being sober and his family and how much he loved and owed Kevin. The movie is actually terrible and purely fan service but it was still fun. It was a super fun show.
Back in 2004 Jason Mewes was supposed to perform at my college (Marshall University) and we paid dearly for him to show up. I worked at the campus radio station and did a lot of promotion work for him. The DAY OF the performance, he canceled. I literally had someone waiting at the airport for him when his mother called to say he wasn’t coming. He had already cashed our check. I called the number we had for ViewAskiew spoke to Kevin’s Assistant. The actor who played Dante in clerks ended up driving from New Jersey to Huntington, WV because Jason had canceled the plane ticket and taken the money for that as well. The first words out of Brian O’Halloran’s mouth were, “I’m not even supposed to be here today!” The entire crowd erupted into applause and he regaled us with stories about working for Kevin and the tight knit group of actors who owe their careers to him. In the end, I asked if this was normal for Jason. He said that no one could make Jason do anything except Kevin and that Kevin was probably the only reason that Jason wasn’t in jail. It was a testament to Kevin that Brian was there.