Jeff Anderson (birthname: Jeffrey Allan Anderson) has an amusing American success story: Seeing that his high school buddy was trying to make his first movie, he thought he’d try out for the movie on a whim…and then won the part…and then, the movie became a cult hit, and Anderson became one of the faces of the cult hit. The movie was writer-director Kevin Smith’s comedy,
Clerks (1994).
Since this, Anderson has been a regular and loyal member of Smith’s eccentric troupe of players, sometimes playing leads, as in
Clerks,
Clerks II (2006), with regulars Brian O’Halloran, Jason Mewes, Rosario Dawson, and Trevor Fehrman. Anderson continues portraying clerk Randal Graves in Smith’s
Clerks III (2022), which co-stars the regular
Clerks cast.
In between these projects, Anderson played generally smaller roles in Smith’s movies (also known—after Smith’s production company name, View Askew, as the “View Askewniverse”), starting with
Dogma (1999), starring Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek, Jason Lee, Bud Cort, Alan Rickman, and Chris Rock, and grossing an unexpected $44 million worldwide. Anderson joined the ensemble as a vocal actor in writer-director Bryan Johnson’s View Askewniverse movie,
Vulgar (2000), with O’Halloran, Bryan Johnson, Ethan Suplee, and Matthew Maher.
Writer-director Marc Fusco’s indie drama,
Stealing Time (2001), was Anderson’s next movie, with Peter Facinelli, Jennifer Garner, Charlotte Ayanna, and Scott Foley. Anderson revived the role of Randal Graves in Smith’s
Clerks spinoff,
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), with Jason Mewes, Smith, Ben Affleck, Eliza Dushku, Shannon Elizabeth, Will Ferrell, Jason Lee, and Chris Rock.
Inspired by Kevin Smith’s DIY school of filmmaking, Jeff Anderson made his only movie as star-writer-director with
Now You Know (2002), starring Jeremy Sisto. After
Clerks II, Anderson stayed in the View Askewniverse with a non-Randal Graves role, Deacon Anderson (!), in Smith’s R-rated comedy,
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008), starring Seth Rogen,
Elizabeth Banks,
Craig Robinson, Jason Mewes, Traci Lords, and Justin Long.
In a leap away from Smith’s movie world, Anderson joined the cast of writer-director Jeffery Scheetz’s space-based movie involving aliens,
Nasa Seals (date to be announced), with Phil LaMarr, John Cariani, and Elizabeth Sung.