‘Clerks’ star talks Jersey, nudity

Kevin Smith fans, take note: Even the most timeless characters age.

Jay and Silent Bob —… Kevin Smith fans, take note: Even the most timeless characters age.

Jay and Silent Bob — the “Clerks” duo played by Jason Mewes and director Kevin Smith, respectively — will perform “Jay & Silent Bob Get Old,” a sold-out live taping of their podcast, this Friday at Carnegie Music Hall. Recently, Mewes spoke with The Pitt News about everything from being a Jersey native to playing a porn actor in “Zack and Miri Make a Porno.”

TPN: What’s your favorite Kevin Smith movie?

Mewes: Man, I really like “Mallrats.” It’s got comic books and it’s in a mall and all this stuff. It reminds me a lot of the movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” Also, it was our first time doing a major studio movie, like we had a hotel and all this stuff, which was really cool.

TPN: When was the last time you were in Pittsburgh? How was it?

Mewes: That has to be around 2007 when we were filming for “Zack and Miri [Make a Porno.]” That was almost exactly 10 years after we shot “Dogma” there. Pittsburgh is a great city. I do remember it being really cold though.

TPN: What was the most challenging aspect of filming nude scenes in “Zack and Miri”?

Mewes: I was a little reluctant to do it, just because I have little nieces who would see it. We actually did the scenes with me in my boxers as well as nude, just to see if it’d work without the nudity. As far as the cast and crew are concerned, we work with a lot of the same people on movies, so we’re all pretty comfortable with each other — they’ve all seen my penis.

TPN: Any future plans?

Mewes: I actually just finished “The Last Godfather,” where I play a mob lieutenant.

TPN: Do people recognize you as Jay on the street?

Mewes: Well my name is Jay [laughs], but no, sometimes the occasional person will ask me to do the “F Song” or to say “snoogins,” but really nothing serious. My hair is shorter now, so I guess it’s not that recognizable anymore.

TPN: How did Silent Bob’s character come about?

Mewes: Really Kevin just wrote a character for me at the time. We had been friends since childhood and that’s kind of the sort of kid I was. As for Silent Bob, Kevin just wanted a character to stand next to [Jay], but he didn’t want to have to memorize lines as well as direct.

TPN: Is Jay the same as Jason Mewes or is he a character?

Mewes: Not so much anymore. I’d say 50-50. I definitely have more boundaries now that I’m older.

TPN: Being a New Jersey native, how do you guys feel about “Jersey Shore” and the stigma attached?

Mewes: I mean, there are definitely people just like that around there. There is this club by where I lived, and it was full of those kinds of people, you know? Fist-pumping and all that. It doesn’t really bother me — if anything it’s kinda cool that New Jersey is getting as much coverage as it is.