Smith, Kevin (1970– )

US film director, producer, writer, and actor. He made his name in US independent cinema in 1994 with the irreverent comedy Clerks (Clerks II followed in 2006). He went on to direct Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma (1999), and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). As well as writing and directing all his films, and editing most of them, Smith has established himself as something of a cult figure, appearing in the same cameo role in each of his films.

He was born and grew up in New Jersey, a setting that features prominently in all his films.

Going against the grain of mainstream US cinema, Clerks, which Smith made on a shoestring budget with the help of friends, offered no visual pyrotechnics or stylish veneer, but was centred almost wholly on character, dialogue, and comic situations, drawing from Smith's own cinematic literacy, fascination with comic books, and interest in gender politics and popular music. Smith's cartoonish Mallrats, eschewing the grainy black-and-white photography and amateur acting of Clerks, was less well received. With Chasing Amy, however, Smith established himself as one of the giants of independent cinema, successfully grafting his own interests and stylistics on to a romantic comedy. With a tighter script than the previous films, and a weightier subject matter, exploring modern-day sexual politics, the film starred Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who also featured in his next film, Dogma. He produced the mainstream Jersey Girl in 2004.