At 37 years old, actor Jason Mewes, best known as the talkative half of the drug-dealing duo Jay and Silent Bob (“Clerks,†“Chasing Amyâ€), admits he no longer has the stamina to rollerblade long distances or the metabolism to scarf down pizza without remorse like he could in his 20s. Getting older, however, has afforded him some pearls of wisdom. In and out of drug rehab since the ’90s, Mewes is now six years sober and has found his footing once again in the entertainment industry. This includes co-hosting a highly rated podcast on smodcast.com with longtime friend and filmmaker Kevin Smith called “Jay and Silent Bob Get Old.â€
During an interview with me, Mewes talked about kicking his addiction and how podcasting has changed his life.
Do you really think you’re getting old?
Not really. Well, not until things like 10-year-reunions come around. That’s when you realize it’s kind of crazy. I feel like I’m old when I see someone I’ve known since they were in diapers with a house and two kids and a dog.
Does podcasting come natural to you now that you’ve been doing it for a while?
Yeah, definitely. I used to jot down a lot more notes before. We would never plan anything, but I liked to jot down a few topics. Now, it flows better. There have been times when Kevin and I don’t even talk before the show. He’ll show up and we have to jump on stage a minute later. It’s gotten a lot easier.
Have there been times when you ended a podcast and thought, “Why did I say that?”
There’s probably been like two or three times, but not anything where I’ve thought, “Oh, man, let’s turn back time!” But there have been a few times when my wife was in the audience and I would tell a story about us from the night before and thought, “Oh, that’s probably going to embarrass her.” There have been a few shows where Kevin’s mom was in the audience and I’ll start telling a story and she’ll be staring right at me.
Has talking about your past addictions during the show helped you tackle some of those issues you might’ve ignored before?
The whole podcast has been helpful in me getting things out. It’s been really flattering when people come up to me after a show and share their stories with me and tell me how the podcast has inspired them and helped them through their own addiction.
How have you kept yourself from going back to that place?
Well, it definitely feels good to get away from that place. It got really bad. I was literally moments away from being homeless. None of my friends would talk to me. Now, I’ve built everything back to a good place. Everything just feels better – physically, mentally. It’s the podcast and everything combined that helps me wake up and think about what I want to accomplish and what I don’t want to do.
Before you got sober back in 2006, you burned some bridges with Kevin. Did you think the friendship could be mended?
I got worried. I knew it could be mended, but I didn’t know if it would ever be the same. It’s great now. We spend more time together than we ever have. He’s played a major role in helping me all these years. I really don’t know where I’d be without him.