JASON LEE (Syndrome) brings a sense of mischief and mayhem to the voice of the dastardly villain who holds a grudge against superheroes.
With a flourishing career that includes an Independent Spirit Award for his performance in writer-director Kevin Smith’s “Chasing Amy” and memorable roles in features for such directors as Smith, Cameron Crowe, and Lawrence Kasdan, Jason Lee has solidly established himself among critics, directors, and peers as a capable dramatic actor as well as laserguided comic personality.
Born and raised in Huntington Beach, California, Lee turned a childhood pastime of skateboarding into a professional career. After moving to Los Angeles during his early twenties, however, he began developing an interest in acting. “I met friends that were actors and thought maybe I should try it out,” says Lee, who first appeared in commercials and music videos. “After watching Steve Buscemi as the bellboy in ‘Barton Fink,’ I knew I wanted to be in movies.”
Lee’s first starring role came in 1995 playing the lead in writer-director Kevin Smith’s comedy “Mallrats,” in which he deftly portrayed the inconsiderate slacker Brodie Bruce. Lee went on to showcase his intuitive timing as the demonic Azrael in Smith’s supernatural comedy “Dogma,” and reunited with the director in Dimension Films comedy “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” as well as the recent comedy/drama “Jersey Girl.”
Cameron Crowe first cast Lee in his rock-and-roll ensemble piece “Almost Famous” in the role of Jeff Bebe, lead singer of 1970s rock band Stillwater. The film won the 2000 Golden Globe® award for Best Film. He re-teamed with Crowe the following year playing Tom Cruise’s best friend in the surreal Paramount drama “Vanilla Sky.”
His other film credits include Ben Kingsley’s son in the HBO original “Weapons of Mass Distraction” (1997); a doomed whistleblower in the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced political thriller “Enemy of the State” (1998); a critically-acclaimed turn as lonely young skateboarding billionaire Skip Skipperton in Lawrence Kasdan’s comedy “Mumford” (1999); Fritos-loving vagrant Puggy in Barry Sonnenfeld’s comedy “Big Trouble” (2002); a non-professional criminal in “Stealing Harvard” (2002); and a disheveled man in the psychological drama “I Love Your Work” (2003).
The actor recently filmed a co-starring role in writer-director Rebecca Miller’s “The Ballad of Jack and Rose” with Daniel Day-Lewis and Jena Malone. His upcoming projects include “Drop Dead Sexy” with Crispin Glover. Next year, he plans to make his directorial debut with his long-in-the-mulling screenplay “Seymour Sycamore, Margaret Orange,” which he will also produce for his company, niva films.
Lee is an avid art collector and is an active promoter of the downtown Los Angeles art scene. He has also revived his skateboard company, Stereo, to the delight of skateboarding enthusiasts across the country.
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