Jason Lee

Jason Michael Lee (born April 25, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, television producer, and skateboarder. Lee is known for his role as Earl Hickey in the television series My Name Is Earl, the role of Dave Seville in the Alvin and the Chipmunks film franchise, the voice of Syndrome in The Incredibles, and for starring in films directed by Kevin Smith, including Mallrats.
A skateboard enthusiast, Lee is the co-founder and co-owner of Stereo Skateboards, a company that manufactures skateboard decks.
==Early life==
Lee was born in Santa Ana, California on April 25, 1970. His father, Greg was a car dealership manager and his mother, Carol was a homemaker. Lee was raised in Huntington Beach and attended Ocean View High School."Jason Lee." Newsmakers (2006) Biography in Context, Gale, Detroit
==Career==
===Skateboarding===
Before he became an actor, Lee was known as a professional skateboarder in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1992, he co-founded Stereo Sound Agency, known as Stereo Skateboards, with fellow skater Chris "Dune" Pastras. In 2003, after the company had been defunct for a few years, the pair successfully revived the company. As of October 2013, Lee and Pastras remain on the professional "Classics" team roster.
Lee was featured in the skateboarding promotional video, Video Days, filmed for the skateboarding company "Blind Skateboards". In 2004, Lee's skateboarding was featured in Way Out East!, a film produced by Stereo Skateboards.
In August 2012, Lee was also featured in a brief video on the skateboard website The Berrics entitled "Jason Lee decided to come to the park."
In August 2012, Lee participated in the 9th annual Stand-Up for Skateparks Event, at which he was co-chair with Tony Hawk. The event is held annually by the Tony Hawk Charitable Foundation and seeks to "help create free, quality public skateparks for youth in low-income communities."
In October that same year, a video was released by the Keep A Breast Foundation, featuring various skateboarding identities, including Lee, together with Pastras. The video, contributing to the Foundation's aim to prevent and raise awareness of breast cancer, promotes the "I Love Boobies" bracelet. It also features Clint Peterson (Stereo) and Giovanni Reda (WESC), who are both teammates of Lee.
Lee later worked with Tony Hawk when he lent his voice and likeness to Tony Hawk's Project 8 to become a playable character. Lee then voiced Coach Frank, a character created during the development of Stereo, in Skate 3.
Professional skateboarder and owner of the Girl and Lakai Limited Footwear skateboard brands Mike Carroll has cited Lee as one of his skating influences.
===Acting===
After taking some minor acting roles in 1992–1994 (including the music video for the Sonic Youth single "100%", a small part in Mi Vida Loca, and a bit part as a dance instructor on Chance and Things), Lee left professional skateboarding for a full-time acting career. His first major movie role was in Kevin Smith's Mallrats, which became a cult hit. This started a friendship that subsequently led to appearances in many of Smith's films, including Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Clerks II, and Cop Out. Lee won an Independent Spirit Award for his role in Chasing Amy as Banky Edwards.
Lee graduated to leading man roles in Heartbreakers, Stealing Harvard, and A Guy Thing. He has had supporting roles in Vanilla Sky, Almost Famous, Dreamcatcher, Big Trouble, The Ballad of Jack and Rose, and Mumford, as well as a minor role in Enemy of the State. Lee also voiced Syndrome in The Incredibles and Jack-Jack Attack. He reprised the role as a "robot copy" of Syndrome in Disney Presents Pixar's The Incredibles in a Magic Kingdom Adventure. Lee is also the voice of Underdog in Underdog and portrays Dave Seville in the Alvin and the Chipmunks film franchise.
In 2005, Lee was offered the lead role in My Name Is Earl. According to interviews on the first-season DVD, he passed on the series twice before finally agreeing to read for the pilot. In the series, he stars as Earl Hickey. Lee received two Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 2006 and 2007, as well as a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series in 2006. After four seasons of My Name is Earl NBC cancelled the series.
On June 22, 2010, Memphis Beat premiered. In the series, Lee starred with Alfre Woodard and portrayed Dwight Hendricks. In October 2011, it was announced the series was not renewed for a third season.
He also guest-starred in 2010 and 2013 episodes of Raising Hope, created by My Name is Earl creator and producer Greg Garcia.
As of December 2011, Lee appeared in Up All Night, but after its second season, it was officially cancelled on May 9, 2013. In June 2013, a fourth installment of the Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise was then announced by the 20th Century Fox studio and a release date of December 18, 2015; and was titled The Road Chip
Lee's latest projects are with Amazon Studios and The Hallmark Channel. With Amazon Studios, Lee is seen in the pilot of Cocked, where he plays the character of Grady Paxson, one of three men who run a gun manufacturing company. The show premiered on January 15, 2015 and also stars Brian Dennehy, Diora Baird, Dreama Walker, and Sam Trammell. On January 25, 2015, The Hallmark Channel premiered Away & Back, a Hallmark Hall of Fame film starring Lee along with Maggie Elizabeth Jones and Minka Kelly.
===Photography===
Lee began shooting photos regularly in the early 2000s, and became interested in instant photography. He recently released a photo book through Refueled Magazine. It consists of "184 pages of Polaroid & Fuji Instant Film photographs from 2006-2016." Printed in a limited edition run of 500 copies, the book sold out before shipping began. 
thumb|right|Lee on the roof of the Beverly Laurel Hotel on June 28, 2005
==Personal life==
Lee married actress and photographer Carmen Llywelyn in 1995; they divorced in 2001. Llywelyn later cited Lee's commitment to Scientology as the principal cause for their separation. Llywelyn wrote that their relationship collapsed when she revealed to her talent manager and fellow Scientologist, Giovanni Ribisi, that she had read A Piece of Blue Sky, an anti-Scientology book. Two days after her conversation with Ribisi, Llywelyn received a one-paragraph "disconnection letter" from Lee and was labeled a Suppressive Person. Later, Llywelyn made a claim against Scientology being a "sinister cult" 13 years after leaving from it. But, her attack was considered as another attempt to draw media attention by the Church. According to her detailed experiences, she never had freedom to make a decision and she had to think about her identity after she left Scientology. 
Following his divorce from Llywelyn, Lee became engaged to actress Beth Riesgraf. Together, they have a son, Pilot Inspektor. Lee states their son's name was inspired by "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot" by rock band Grandaddy.
Lee met fashion model and actress Ceren Alkaç at a concert while on vacation in England. Following their initial meeting, the pair stayed in touch via email and texts, with Alkaç subsequently moving to the United States and starting a relationship with Lee. The couple married in California in July 2008; a month later, Alkac gave birth to a daughter named Casper. The couple had their second child, a son named Sonny, in 2012. Alkaç was born in İzmir, and emigrated with her family from Turkey to Australia soon afterward. Their separation was rumored in December 2015, again allegedly due to Lee's strong attachment to Scientology. As of 2016, Lee no longer practices Scientology.
==Filmography==
===Film===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1991	Video Days 	 	
1993	Mi Vida Loca 	Teenage Drug Customer 	
1994	Chance and Things 	Dance Instructor on the Television	
1995	Mallrats 	Brodie Bruce 	
1996	Drawing Flies 	Donner 	
1997	Chasing Amy 	Banky Edwards 	Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male
1997	A Better Place 	Dennis Pepper 	
1998	Kissing a Fool 	Jay Murphy 	
1998	American Cuisine 	Loren Collins 	
1998	Enemy of the State 	Daniel Zavitz 	
1999	Dogma 	Azrael 	
1999	Mumford 	Skip Skipperton 	
2000	Almost Famous 	Jeff Bebe 	Online Film Critics Society Award for Best CastNominated – Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor – Drama/RomanceNominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2001	Heartbreakers 	Jack Withrowe 	
2001	Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back 	Brodie Bruce / Banky Edwards 	
2001	Vanilla Sky 	Brian Shelby 	
2002	Big Trouble 	Puggy 	
2002	Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator 	 	Documentary
2002	Stealing Harvard 	John Plummer 	
2003	A Guy Thing 	Paul 	
2003	Dreamcatcher 	Beaver 	
2003	I Love Your Work 	Larry Hortense 	
2004	Oh, What a Lovely Tea Party 	 	Documentary
2004	Jersey Girl 	PR Exec #1 	
2004	The Incredibles 	Buddy Pine/Syndrome 	Voice
2005	Jack-Jack Attack 	Buddy Pine/Syndrome 	Voice - Short film included in The Incredibles DVD release
2005	The Ballad of Jack and Rose 	Gray 	
2005	Drop Dead Sexy 	Frank 	
2006	Clerks II 	Lance Dowds 	
2006	Rising Son: The Legend of Christian Hosoi	 	Documentary
2006	Monster House 	Bones 	Voice
2007	Underdog 	Shoeshine / Underdog 	Voice
2007	The Man Who Souled the World 	 	Documentary
2007	Alvin and the Chipmunks 	David "Dave" Seville 	
2008	Celebrity Family Feud 	Earl Hickey 	
2009	Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel 	David "Dave" Seville 	
2010	Cop Out 	Roy 	
2011	Noah's Ark: The New Beginning 	Japheth 	Voice
2011	The Other Side 	Mortimer Flybait 	Voice
2011	Columbus Circle 	Charlie 	
2011	Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked 	David "Dave" Seville 	
2014	Behaving Badly 	Father Krumins 	
2014	Tell 	Ray 	
2015	Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip 	David "Dave" Seville 	Nominated – Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor
2016	Mallrats 2 	Brodie Bruce 	
TBA 	Diamond 	Billy Curtis 	Also producer and writer
TBA 	 	 	
===Television===
Year 	TItle 	Role 	Notes
1997 	Weapons of Mass Distraction	Phillip Messenger 	Television film
2005–09 	My Name Is Earl 	Earl Hickey 	96 episodesProducer (50 episodes)Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy (2006–2007)Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy (2005–2006)Nominated-Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy SeriesNominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2006–2007)Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor – Comedy (2006)
2006 	American Dad! 	Officer Bays (voice)	Episode: "Rough Trade"
2010–11 	Memphis Beat 	Dwight Hendricks 	20 episodes
2011 	Up All Night 	Kevin 	7 episodes
2010–2013	Raising Hope 	Smokey Floyd 	3 episodes
2013 	Men at Work 	Donnie 	Episode: "Tyler the Pioneer"
2015 	Cocked 	Grady Paxson 	Television film
2015 	Away and Back 	Jack Peterson 	Television film
2015 	We Bare Bears 	Charlie (voice) 	4 episodes
 Video games
Year	Title 	Role
2004	The Incredibles 	Buddy Pine/Syndrome
2006	Tony Hawk's Project 8 	Himself
2007	Alvin and the Chipmunks	David "Dave" Seville
2010	Skate 3 	Coach Frank
2013	Disney Infinity 	Buddy Pine/Syndrome
2015	Disney Infinity 3.0 	Buddy Pine/Syndrome
==References==
==External links==
*
Category:1970 births
Category:Living people
Category:Television producers from California
Category:American skateboarders
Category:American male voice actors
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:American male video game actors
Category:American people of English descent
Category:American people of German descent
Category:American people of Scottish descent
Category:American people of Swiss descent
Category:American Scientologists
Category:Male actors from Orange County, California
Category:Male actors of German descent
Category:Sportspeople from Orange County, California
Category:Male actors from Santa Ana, California
Category:Independent Spirit Award winners
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:21st-century American male actorsCategory:Pages stolen off Wikipedia