AN INSIDE JOB –
June 25, 2024 – The actor — known for playing onetime drug dealer Jay in director Kevin Smith’s Clerks and Jay and Silent Bob franchises — was arrested for heroin in 1999, eventually moving in with childhood friend Smith in an effort to get clean. He has said that Smith was a big part in his sobriety, recounting how the director would leverage parts in his films against Mewes’ ongoing struggle with drugs.
In the past, he would always try to help me like, ‘Hey, if you don’t want to miss out on this opportunity then you need to either go into rehab or you’re going to come stay with me and you’re going to stick by my side,’ “ Mewes said, according to Entertainment Weekly.
“Right before [Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back] I went and stayed with him in his guest house, and I literally couldn’t leave his house or guest house unless I was with him,” said Mewes, who added that Smith paid for his treatment.
