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Jason Lee (born April 25, 1970) is an American film actor.
Lee's first career was as a profesional skateboarder in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Notable tricks performed by Lee (and there were many) were 360 kickflips, kickflip backside tailslides, and curb cut launched Japan airs. He was co-founder of Stereo skateboards (along with Chris Pastras ) in 1992, a company which has been revived by the pair as of 2004 after having been defunct for several years. He was one of the first skateboarders to receive a pro model shoe, and his part in the 1991 Blind skateboards promotional video Video Days remains very influential to this day. Overall, he is remembered as one of the most influential and innovative street skaters of the early 1990s, if not of all time.
Lee's decision to leave professional skating for mainstream acting took the skateboarding world by surprise. His first major film role was in Kevin Smith's Mallrats which became a cult hit. He remained a close friend of Smith and has appeared in most of the director's works—including Chasing Amy, Dogma and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. He has appeared as a secondary character in Enemy of the State, Almost FamousAlmost Famous is a semi-autobiographical film, written and directed by Cameron Crowe, and released in 2000. The film is a fictionalized account of Crowe as a teen-aged journalist for Rolling Stone particularly inspired by his experiences accompanying the, Vanilla SkyVanilla Sky is a 2001 film which tells a story of a young millionaire who is charged with murder. The film stars Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz, Jason Lee, and Kurt Russell. The film was directed by Cameron Crowe and is a close remake of the 1997, Dreamcatcher and Jersey GirlJersey Girl is the name of a song by Tom Waits, which has been covered by Bruce Springsteen. It is also the name of two movies. One stars Jami Gertz and Dylan McDermott, the other was directed by Kevin Smith. Both titles are derived from the term "Jersey.