Jason Lee (actor)

Jason Michael Lee (born April 25, 1970) is an American skateboarder and actor, known for his role as the title character on the NBC television series My Name is Earl, his portrayal of Syndrome in the film The Incredibles and his work with director Kevin Smith. Lee is currently starring in the new TNT series Memphis Beat, which premiered on June 22, 2010.

Skateboarding
Lee was a prominent professional skateboarder in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He co-founded Stereo Skateboards with Chris Pastras in 1992; the pair revived the company in 2003 after it had been defunct for several years. Lee and Tony Hawk were the first two skateboarders to receive a signature shoe with Airwalk. Lee later worked with Hawk when he lent his voice and likeness to the skateboarding video-game Tony Hawk's Project 8. Lee later appeared in another skateboarding video-game in 2010 with Skate 3 as 'Coach Frank', a character created during development for Stereo.

He had a part in the 1991 Blind Skateboards video Video Days, shot by director Spike Jonze. In 2004, Lee's skateboarding was featured in the film "Way Out East!", a film produced by Stereo Skateboards that he co-wrote and directed.

Acting career
After taking some minor acting roles, including the Jonze-directed Sonic Youth music video for "100%," in 1992 and a small part in Allison Anders' 1993 film Mi Vida Loca, Lee left professional skating 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 2 and Cop Out. Lee won an Independent Spirit Award for his role in Chasing Amy as Banky Edwards, a comic book inker.

Lee graduated to leading man roles in Heartbreakers (alongside Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Stealing Harvard (alongside Tom Green) as well as A Guy Thing (alongside Julia Stiles). He has had supporting roles in Vanilla Sky, Almost Famous as a rock star, 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 the supervillain Syndrome in the animated movie The Incredibles and its DVD bonus video Jack-Jack Attack. Lee reprised the role as a "robot copy" of Syndrome in the 2006 Disney on Ice play Disney Presents Pixar's The Incredibles in a Magic Kingdom Adventure. He is also the voice of Underdog in Underdog, and plays David "Dave" Seville in the films Alvin and the Chipmunks and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.

In 2005, Lee was offered the lead role in the NBC sitcom, 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, Lee stars as Earl Hickey, a petty thief who discovers karma and sets out to put right all his past wrongs. 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 the new TNT series Memphis Beat premiered. Lee stars alongside Alfre Woodard and plays Dwight Hendricks, a character who despite being a police officer moonlights as a blues singer.

Personal life
Lee was born in Orange County, California, the son of Carol (née Weaver), a homemaker, and Greg Lee. He was raised in Huntington Beach and attended Ocean View High School.

Lee married actress and photographer Carmen Llywelyn in 1995, but they divorced in 2001. Lee was engaged to actress Beth Riesgraf and together have a son named Pilot Inspektor. The couple came up with the unusual name after listening to the song "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot" by the indie rock band Grandaddy. Lee and Riesgraf separated in 2007. On August 10, 2008, Lee's partner Ceren Alkaç gave birth to a daughter. On November 24, 2008, Lee's publicist announced that the couple had secretly wed in California in July 2008.

Lee has a substantial collection of rare motorcycles. He owns a rare post-war custom Falcon Motorcycle which won Best Custom Motorcycle at the 2008 year Legend Of The Motorcycle International Concours d’Elegance.

Lee is a member of the Church of Scientology and is on the Board of Advisors for the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, an organization founded by the Church of Scientology "dedicated to investigating and exposing psychiatric violations of human rights."

Filmography

 * Rubbish Heap (1989)
 * "Video Days" (1991)
 * Mi Vida Loca (1993) as Teenage Drug Customer
 * Chance and Things (1994) as a dance instructor on the television
 * Mallrats (1995) as Brodie Bruce
 * Drawing Flies (1996) as Donner
 * Chasing Amy (1997) as Banky Edwards
 * A Better Place (1997) as Dennis Pepper
 * Kissing a Fool (1998) as Jay Murphy
 * American Cuisine (1998) as Loren Collins
 * Enemy of the State (1998) as Daniel Zavitz
 * Dogma (1999) as Azrael
 * Mumford (1999) as Skip Skipperton
 * Almost Famous (2000) as Jeff Bebe
 * Heartbreakers (2001) as Jack Withrowe
 * Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) as Brodie Bruce / Banky Edwards
 * Vanilla Sky (2001) as Brian Shelby
 * Big Trouble (2002) as Puggy
 * Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator (2002) (documentary)
 * Stealing Harvard (2002) as John Plummer
 * A Guy Thing (2003) as Paul
 * Dreamcatcher (2003) as Beaver
 * I Love Your Work (2003) as Larry Hortense
 * Oh, What a Lovely Tea Party (2004) (documentary)
 * Jersey Girl (2004) as PR Exec #1
 * The Incredibles (2004) as Syndrome / Buddy Pine ("IncrediBoy") (voice)
 * The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005) as Gray
 * Drop Dead Sexy (2005) as Frank
 * Clerks II (2006) as Lance Dowds
 * Rising Son: The Legend of Christian Hosoi (2006) (documentary)
 * Monster House (2006) (voice)
 * Underdog (2007) (voice)
 * The Man Who Souled the World (2007) (documentary)
 * Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) as David "Dave" Seville
 * Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009) as David "Dave" Seville
 * Cop Out (2010) as Roy

Upcoming films

 * Noah's Ark: The New Beginning (2010) (voice) as Japheth
 * The Other Side (2010) (voice) as Mortimer Flybait
 * Columbus Circle (2011)
 * Alvin and the Chipmunks 3D: The Movie (2011) as David "Dave" Seville

Television

 * Weapons of Mass Distraction (1997) as Phillip Messenger
 * My Name Is Earl (2005–2009) as Earl Hickey
 * Celebrity Family Feud (2008)
 * Memphis Beat (2010-) as Dwight Hendricks

Video games

 * Skate 3 (video game) (2010) as Coach Frank
 * Tony Hawk's Project 8 (video game) 2006
 * The Incredibles as Syndrome
 * Alvin and the Chipmunks as David Seville (cutscenes only)