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Jason Lee known for his role as Earl Hickey in the television series My Name Is Earl was a professional skateboarder before he started acting career. Learn 50 facts about Lee.
1. Jason Michael 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.
2. Lee is a skateboard enthusiast.
3. Lee is the co-founder and co-owner of Stereo Skateboards, a company that manufactures skateboard decks.
4. Lee was born on April 25, 1970, in Santa Ana, California.
5. At the time of his birth, his father was a car dealership manager.
6. His mother was a homemaker.
7. Lee was raised in Huntington Beach and attended Ocean View High School.
8. Before he became an actor, Lee was known as a professional skateboarder in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
9. In 1992, he co-founded Stereo Sound Agency, known as Stereo Skateboards, with fellow skater Chris "Dune" Pastras.
10. In 2003, after the company had been defunct for a few years, the pair successfully revived the company.
11. As of October 2013, Lee and Pastras remain on the professional "Classics" team roster.
12. Lee was featured in the skateboarding promotional video, Video Days, filmed for the skateboarding company "Blind Skateboards".
13. In 2004, Lee's skateboarding was featured in Way Out East!, a film produced by Stereo Skateboards.
14. 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."
15. 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."
16. In October 2012, 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.
17. Lee later worked with Tony Hawk when he lent his voice and likeness to Tony Hawk's Project 8 to become a playable character.
18. Lee voiced Coach Frank, a character created during the development of Stereo, in Skate 3.
19. Professional skateboarder and owner of the Girl and Lakai Limited Footwear skateboard brands Mike Carroll has cited Lee as one of his skating influences.
20. After taking some minor acting roles in 1992-1994 (including the music video for "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.
21. His first major movie role was in Kevin Smith's Mallrats, which became a cult hit.
22. 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.
23. Lee won an Independent Spirit Award for his role in Chasing Amy as Banky Edwards.
24. Lee graduated to leading man roles in Heartbreakers, Stealing Harvard, and A Guy Thing.
25. 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.
26. 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.
27. In 2005, Lee was offered the lead role in My Name Is Earl.
28. 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.
29. 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.
30. 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.
31. He also guest-starred in 2010 and 2013 episodes of Raising Hope, created by My Name is Earl creator and producer Greg Garcia.
32. As of December 2011, Lee appeared in Up All Night, but after its second season, it was officially cancelled on May 9, 2013.
33. Lee's latest projects are with Amazon Studios and The Hallmark Channel.
34. 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.
35. 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.
36. Lee married actress and photographer Carmen Llywelyn in 1995.
37. However the couple divorced in 2001.
38. 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, Gay 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.
39. Following his divorce from Llywelyn, Lee became engaged to actress Beth Riesgraf.
40. Together, they have a son, Pilot Inspektor.
41. Lee states their son's name was inspired by "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot" by rock band Grandaddy.
42. 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.
43. The couple married in California in July 2008.
44. A month later after their wedding, Alkac gave birth to a daughter named Casper.
45. The couple had their second child, a son named Sonny, in 2012.
46. Lee can cross and un-cross his right eye. He did this trick frequently in My Name Is Earl.
47. He is a godfather to Kevin Smith's daughter, Harley Quinn Smith.
48. Lee lives in a popular part of Los Angeles neighborhood called Silverlake.
49. Lee has voiced both a hero and a villain in Disney films.
50. Dropped out of high school to be a pro skate boarder.
