Kevin Patrick Smith
16 min read
Reading time
3,095
Words
Published
219
Film credits
26
Books
4
Awards
Kevin Smith’s debut Clerks 1994, shot in the convenience store where he worked, launched the View Askewniverse. He directed Chasing Amy 1997 and Dogma 1999. In 2018, he survived a massive heart attack. He won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay for Chasing Amy.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Kevin Smith — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Kevin Smith by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Kevin Smith — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Raised in Highlands, New Jersey, Kevin Smith was born in Red Bank in 1970. His father was a postal worker. He attended Henry Hudson Regional High School and enrolled at Vancouver Film School, but dropped out. He sold his comic book collection to fund Clerks 1994.
Smith shot his first film, Clerks 1994, at night in the convenience store where he worked. It won the top prize at Sundance. Miramax distributed it and launched his career. He followed with Mallrats 1995, which underperformed but gained a following. His third film, Chasing Amy 1997, won two Independent Spirit Awards. He directed Dogma 1999, a controversial religious satire. In 2004, he released Jersey Girl, and in 2006, Clerks II earned an 8-minute standing ovation at Cannes. Smith also directed Zack and Miri Make a Porno 2008 and Red State 2011.
Smith married Jennifer Schwalbach Smith in 1999; she appears in several of his films. They have a daughter, Harley Quinn Smith, born in 2000, who played a young Silent Bob in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Smith had a relationship with actress Joey Lauren Adams, which inspired Chasing Amy.
The View Askewniverse influenced independent filmmakers through its dialogue and pop-culture references. The Library of Congress selected Clerks for the National Film Registry in 2019. Smith mentored young filmmakers, founded the SModcast Podcast Network, and owns a comic book store in Red Bank. He remains known as the creator of Clerks and the character Silent Bob.
The complete filmography of Kevin Smith — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Kevin Smith — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Kevin Smith's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from Kevin Smith — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
They’re Like, ‘I Can’t Believe Kevin Smith Gets into Comics, and All He Can Do Is a Superhero Comic.’ Well, That’s What I Want to Do.
The Jay Character Is Kind of Based on Who Jason Was When He Was About 14 Years Old. in the Movies He’s a Bit More Well Spoken Than He Was at That Age. Silent Bob – There Is No Affiliation to Myself. I Needed a Guy to Stand Next to Jay and Not Say Much, Being That Jason Was Going to Be Saying a Lot. – on Resemblances Between Real Life and His Characters.
Now You’ve Gotta Spend Two Thousand Bucks to Stay at My House. and for Five, I’ll Let You Photograph My Wife in the Shower.
It Wasn’t the First Comic I Ever Actually READ, but the First Comic I Remember Slapping Down Hard-earned Money for Was a ‘Superman Family’ Annual in Which the First Story Featured a Married Lois and Superman Waking up on a Cloud. I Remember Being Oddly Aroused by the Whole Thing. I Mean, the Implication Was That These Two Were Fucking.
I Was a Fan of the Daredevil and Green Arrow Characters, so It Seemed Logical to Write Them. Now I’m Kind of Interested in Taking Obscure Characters and Seeing If We Can Turn Them into Top Ten Books. I Mean, DD and GA Had Somewhat Built-in Audiences, so There Was a Basis to Work From. but Could We Take a Doctor Strange Book and Put That in the Top Ten? That’d Be a Fun Challenge.
It’s Too Expensive, That’s the Thing Nobody Wants to Talk About. It Is Too Expensive to Make Movies. That’s Not True, It Is Too Expensive to Market Movies. Making Movies Is Not. You Can Have 10 Bucks to 10 Million Bucks and If You Got a Crew, Imagination and a Lot of People Willing to Turn in Some Work Next to Nothing, You Going to Have a Feature. but You Can’t Get Beyond How Expensive Marketing the Movie Is, It’s so Crushing.
Storytelling Is My Currency. It’s My Only Worth. the Only Thing of Value I Have in This Life Is My Ability to Tell a Story, Whether in Print, Orating, Writing It Down or Having People Acting It Out. That’s Why I’m Always Hoping Society Never Collapses Because the First Ones to Go Will Be Entertainers.
Little-known facts about Kevin Smith — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
He sold his entire comic book collection to finance Clerks 1994 and repurchased it after the movie became a hit.
Survived a massive heart attack on February 26th, 2018.
At the height of controversy over his film Dogma 1999, he and his friend Bryan Johnson protested against the film at an Eatontown, New Jersey theater with handmade signs reading Dogma is dogshit and To Hell With Dogma. Only about 15 people attended, and Smith was recognized and interviewed by a local TV reporter, though he refused to admit he was Kevin Smith.
Cast Alan Rickman as Metatron in Dogma 1999 after learning Rickman was a fan of Chasing Amy 1997.
As a teenager, his girlfriend’s mother wrote a note saying Kevin Smith will never be a famous writer, promising to eat the paper if he proved her wrong. He still has the paper and remains friends with the mother, though not with the ex-girlfriend.
Has said he would like to teach film and creative writing at a college after his career ends.
Owns a comic book store, Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, in Red Bank, New Jersey.
Is a big fan and friend of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. After finishing Clerks II 2006, he invited them to be among the first to view it.
Pitched a superhero movie to Miramax in 1999 that Harvey Weinstein loved—a Justice League-like team that disbands due to government intervention, with interwoven stories like Pulp Fiction 1994, but never wrote the full script.
Is a big fan of Degrassi High 1987; after Clerks 1994 succeeded, he bought the entire series for $6,000.
Said in the DVD commentary of Dogma 1999 that actress Linda Fiorentino was difficult to work with, and he later wished he had cast Janeane Garofalo as Bethany instead.
Maintained that if Clerks 1994 had not been a success, he would still be a clerk at the Quick Stop and RST Video in Leonardo, New Jersey.
Wrote and produced a pilot with Jason Lee called Hiatus, about a struggling actor who returns home and opens a comic book store, actually having been a porn star.
Wrote the first eight issues of the Marvel Knights series of Daredevil, with an introduction by Ben Affleck, and has written Green Arrow for DC.
His daughter played his character, Silent Bob, as a small child in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back 2001.
He has directed one film, Clerks 1994, that was selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.
The reason there is no Jay and Silent Bob video game is that Smith wants to be fully involved in its creation but lacks the time; he insists it will exist one day.
Wrote a script called Busing in 1994 for Hollywood Pictures, described as Clerks in a restaurant, parts of which became Clerks II 2006.
Once considered buying a local movie theater in Red Bank, New Jersey to show a variety of films: one week Scorsese, the next superhero movies.
Had a long-running feud with Jeff Anderson after Clerks 1994, which ended just before production on Dogma 1999, explaining Anderson’s absence in Mallrats 1995 and Chasing Amy 1997.
Long wanted to make a prequel to Fletch 1985, but Miramax’s Harvey Weinstein wouldn’t let him cast Jason Lee as lead; after a complex series of events, the project remained in development hell.
Has two dogs named Mulder and Scully.
Wrote a short story in college about a serial killer who was also a priest; it received the best grade in the class.
Is a friend of Quentin Tarantino, Edgar Wright, Robert Rodriguez, and Ben Affleck.
Once tried to buy a warehouse in Red Bank to convert into sound stages for independent films, but the owner wanted too much money.
Wrote all his own dialogue for his five-episode cameo on Degrassi: The Next Generation 2001.
When asked his favorite actor to work with, he said his daughter, Harley Quinn Smith. While filming Tusk 2014, negative critical reactions to Cop Out 2010 made him defiant; Harley Quinn suggested her friend Lily-Rose Depp join their scene, which helped Smith forget the critics and have fun, inspiring him as a filmmaker.
Shortly after Clerks 1994 was released, Smith taught an acting class at his old high school, Henry Hudson Regional.
Revealed in a podcast that the name Silent Bob came partly from Tim Burton’s Batman 1989 character Bob the Goon, specifically Jack Nicholson’s line Bob, gun.
In a review of Clerks 1994, one critic described his writing style as David Mamet meets Howard Stern.
Because fans asked about Jay and Silent Bob between Chasing Amy 1997 and Dogma 1999, Smith wrote a graphic novel detailing their adventures, titled Chasing Dogma.
Was at one point attached to write the script for Scary Movie 3 2003.
Attended Vancouver Film School but dropped out halfway through.
Favorite bands: The Police, Talking Heads, Run-D.M.C., Public Enemy, E Street Band, and The Cure.
Was approached by Dimension chairman Bob Weinstein to make a Jay and Silent Bob/Hellraiser crossover like Abbott and Costello meet the Wolfman, but Smith declined.
In fall 2002, Paulsboro, New Jersey named a street Kevin Smith Way after he filmed there.
Shot a pictorial of his wife, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, for Playboy Magazine.
Protested against his own movie Dogma 1999 by making signs and appearing on local news as a protester, saying he didn’t know about the movie but heard it was not good.
While filming Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back 2001, accidentally mispronounced Eliza Dushku’s last name and thereafter called her Duck Shoot.
He was the first and only guest on Michael Moore’s Fox pilot The Michael Moore Show 1997.
His daughter Harley Quinn Smith was named after the Batman: The Animated Series character Harley Quinn.
Did some rewrites for Coyote Ugly 2000.
Received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Illinois Wesleyan University on May 7, 2000.
Is a big fan of Road House 1989.
Suspected he was hired to write the doomed Superman Lives script because Warner execs saw the Mallrats 1995 exchange about Superman’s reproductive habits. He wrote a romantic scene on Mt. Rushmore that was cut; the script was ultimately rejected by Tim Burton.
Created an online short film contest called Movies Askew in 2005, with judges including Jason Mewes and Richard Kelly. Duane Graves won for Up Syndrome 2000 and got to work with Smith.
Founded the SModcast Podcast Network on January 1st, 2010.
Hosts a weekly podcast called SModcast with producer Scott Mosier, with guest hosts including friends and family. The network is at smodcast.com.
Wanted to write and direct a big screen adaptation of the book Sex and Rockets.
During childhood, he was a big fan of Tom Savini’s special effects work.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Kevin Smith.
Celebrities similar to Kevin Smith — same craft, ranked by reach.
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