Clerks Cast: Where The Actors Are Now

Over 30 years have passed since audiences first visited Quick Stop, and cinephiles are still captivated by the edgy yet earnest world of "Clerks." Kevin Smith delivered his black-and-white vision of New Jersey slacker-dom in 1994, maxing out a gut-wrenching number of credit cards to bet on his future as a major film director. But perhaps his biggest gamble outside running his credit score into the ground was the decision to use his friends for many of the film's most important roles.

It was a gamble that paid off — whether pulled from his NJ high school social circle, remembered from his brief stint at the Vancouver Film School, plucked from a community college acting class, or discovered at an audition, the ensemble of "Clerks" stands out as authentically off-beat and youthful. They captured a raw slice of '90s counterculture behind the counter of an unassuming corner store, so much so that saying goodbye to them decades later at the end of "Clerks III" was genuinely moving.

Between the first and final installments in the series, the founding troupe of the Smith's so-called "View Askewniverse" enjoyed wildly different journeys from one another. Some aspiring actors quickly pivoted to other pursuits. Meanwhile, some of Smith's friends with no prior aspirations for careers in the entertainment business found themselves deep in the throes of Hollywood.

Here's where the actors of "Clerks" are now.

Walter "Walt" Flanagan was one of many friends of Kevin Smith who appeared in "Clerks" as several smaller supporting roles. Flanagan in particular is credited as "Egg Man" and "Woolen Cap Smoker." That same year, he was featured alongside several other "Clerks" cast members in a music video for the Soul Asylum song "Can't Even Tell."

Flanagan continued acting in Smith's projects in minor roles, including the "Fan Boy" he played in "Mallrats," "Chasing Amy," and the "Clerks" animated series. He also appeared in "Dogma," "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," "Jay and Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie," and the two sequels to "Clerks." On "Mallrats," Flanagan worked for the first time professionally with Bryan Johnson, another member of Smith's circle of friends. Johnson later cast Flanagan in the 2000 film "Vulgar."

Outside of acting, Flanagan drew the art for comic books written by Smith and Johnson, including Johnson's IDW miniseries "Karney" and Smith's two "Batman" miniseries "Cacophony" and "The Widening Gyre." The trio's love of comics inspired them to produce a reality TV series titled "Comic Book Men" (pictured above) that followed the day-to-day operations of their New Jersey comic book store Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash. The series ran on AMC for seven seasons, ending in 2018. In 2010, Flanagan, Johnson, and "Impractical Jokers" star Brian Quinn started the comedy podcast "Tell 'Em Steve-Dave!," which continues to release weekly episodes as of writing.

Playing the Chewlies Rep in "Clerks" was just the beginning of Scott Schiaffo's acting career. In the years after his debut, he was regularly cast in independent shorts and features, including Bryan Johnson's "Vulgar." He continues to act outside the mainstream film and television industry and reprised his role as the Chewlies Rep in "Clerks III" (pictured above).

When he's not performing, Schiaffo is a devoted musician who is one half of the indie folk rock musical duo Francis Fell. He primarily plays guitar, while singer Jack Fellers provides vocals. Between 2024 and 2025, they published three volumes of music on Spotify (where they have just over a dozen monthly listens as of writing — criminally low if you ask us, having sampled some of the duo's top tracks).

He also published a book titled "Vicious Dogs Attack Me in Sleepless Nights of Summer" in 2012. The collection of written work (ranging from autobiographical prose to "streams of semi-consciousness") was largely pulled from Schiaffo's life before he appeared in "Clerks," and he shares his experience living with an alcohol and narcotics abuse disorder in the 80s and 90s.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Playing "Chasing Amy" character Alyssa's sister Heather Jones in "Clerks" is pretty much the extent of Kimberly Loughran's career as an actor, outside of an uncredited cameo in "Dogma." From 1996 to 2000, she worked within View Askew Productions as an office manager and executive assistant to Kevin Smith. During this time, she was one of the producers of the 1999 feature film "Big Helium Dog."

Loughran left the entertainment industry behind after her time with View Askew, continuing work in office management at various companies. Unlike her "Clerks" co-stars, she keeps a relatively low public profile and doesn't seem to participate in many conventions or panels. She has reprised her role as Heather in a few projects, including "Clerks III" (pictured above) and made an appearance at a film competition put on by Ernest O'Donnell.

Credited as "Trainer," Ernest O'Donnell made his acting debut as Rick Derris in "Clerks." Smith continued to employ him regularly afterward in the films "Chasing Amy," "Dogma," "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," "Jersey Girl," and "Cop Out." Most recently, he reprised his role as Rick in "Clerks III." Like Scott Schiaffo, O'Donnell was also cast in several low-budget films outside the View Askewniverse in the years after "Clerks" hit theaters — his projects "100 Acres of Hell" and "The Fifth Chair" generated some buzz in local film communities.

In 2020, he starred in a web series titled "On Our Own," which ran for six episodes and was independently released online. He continues to make appearances with his View Askew friends and even helped run a 37-Hour Film Challenge at Kevin Smith's Smodcastle Cinemas in New Jersey in 2025.

As one of Smith's earliest and closest collaborators (the two partnering on the documentary short "Mae Dae: The Crumbling of a Documentary" in 1992), Scott Mosier wore several hats on the "Clerks" team including producer, editor, and actor. He played William Black (also known as "William the Idiot Manchild"), Angry Hockey-Playing Customer, and an Angry Mourner. William in particular became a recurring character in the View Askewniverse, appearing in the "Clerks" animated series and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back." (Mosier is pictured above in "Clerks III," playing an auditioner who delivers William's recurring line, "That's beautiful, man.") 

Mosier also had small roles in other Smith films such as "Mallrats," "Chasing Amy," "Dogma," and both "Clerks" sequels, all of which he helped produce while working behind the camera in various roles. Other producing credits include "Good Will Hunting" (which was nominated for several Academy Awards including Best Picture in 1998) and the documentary short "Salim Baba" (Academy Award-nominated for Best Documentary Short).

After lending his voice to the "Clerks" animated series and "Jay and Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie," Mosier co-wrote (alongside director Jimmy Hayward) and provided additional voices for the 2013 animated movie "Free Birds." He has since consistently worked as a voice actor on films like "The Secret Life of Pets 2," "Sing 2," and 2018's "The Grinch," which he also co-directed. As a writer, Mosier is also credited with developing the "Clerks" animated series and penning episodes of "Ultimate Spider-Man." He is currently attached as the screenwriter of an upcoming animated film in S.S. Rajamouli's ("RRR") "Baahubali" franchise titled "Baahubali: The Eternal War — Part 1."

Over 30 years after "Clerks" premiered, Jay and Silent Bob remain one of the most iconic cinematic duos in film history. Throughout the near entirety of the View Askewniverse, Jay is portrayed by Jason Mewes, a close friend of Smith's who made his acting debut in the 1994 film. The pair continued to pop up in Smith's subsequent work — "Mallrats," "Chasing Amy," and "Dogma" in particular — until they finally headlined their own movie with "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back." Of course, this led Mewes and Smith to star in the sequels "Jay and Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie" and "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot." They also reprised their roles in the sequels to "Clerks" (pictured above in "Clerks III") and the animated spin-off series.

That wasn't the extent of Jay and Silent Bob's post-"Clerks" run, however. Their cultural cache has stayed consistent enough to net them cameos in non-View Askew work throughout the previous three decades, including in the film "Scream 3," the music videos for Afroman's "Because I Got High" and Drake's "I'm Upset," and the video game "Call of Duty: Black Ops 6." When he's gotten to ditch Jay's backward cap and baggy jacket, Mewes could be seen in "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," "Hawaii: Five-0," "The Flash," "Supergirl," "That '90s Show," and Smith's "The 4:30 Movie." Most notably, he was one of the stars of the Canadian horror comedy series "Todd and the Book of Pure Evil," which ran from 2010 to 2012.

From 2010 to 2020, Mewes and Smith hosted "Jay and Silent Bob Get Old," a comedy podcast explicitly created to provide Mewes structure and accountability as he pursued sobriety. In 2024, the actor — now a married father of two — confirmed that he has been sober since 2010.

Kevin Smith's first film after "Clerks" was "Mallrats," a tonally identical film that was neither critically nor commercially successful. Fortunately, it only took him two years and a fraction of the "Mallrats" budget to produce his third effort, "Chasing Amy," a romantic dramedy starring Ben Affleck. Despite its polarizing depiction of Alyssa Jones' queerness, the 1997 film was a box office success and remains Smith's best-reviewed film outside of "Clerks" on Rotten Tomatoes. 

After "Chasing Amy," however, Smith's output continued to be largely hit-or-miss, consisting of the cult Ben Affleck-Matt Damon fantasy comedy "Dogma," the uninspiring and oft-forgotten Affleck-starrer "Jersey Girl," and the raunchy but disappointing misfire "Zack and Miri Make a Porno."

In the 2010s, Smith's trajectory had stalled in terms of his bankability as a filmmaker. After directing "Cop Out" (with Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan), he ventured into the weirder world of low-budget horror for "Red State," "Tusk," "Yoga Hosers," and "KillRoy Was Here," to mixed success. He also directed episodes of various television shows (having directed the pilot of "Reaper" in 2007), including "The Flash," "Supergirl," and "The Goldbergs." 

During this same era, he founded the SModcast Podcast Network, which produced a litany of Smith-adjacent podcasts including "Tell 'Em Steve Dave!," "Jay and Silent Bob Get Old," and "Fatman Beyond" (formerly "Fatman on Batman"). Of course, Smith is also an accomplished comic book writer with runs on series like "Daredevil," "Green Arrow," and "Green Hornet."

"Clerks" remained the core of Smith's career through two sequels, the animated series, and the "Jay and Silent Bob" spin-off films. When he reunited the crew for "Clerks III" in 2022, his only regret was that he hadn't done it sooner.

While most other "Clerks" cast members were pulled from Smith's sprawling group of friends, he found actor Lisa Spoonauer in a much more traditional manner: seeing her talent firsthand in a college acting class. Already having trouble finding someone right for the role of Caitlin Bree, he immediately had her read the script and asked her to join their crew. She accepted and was so flawless on her first night of shooting that Smith was able to capture her character's introduction to the film without cutting away from her performance. Two decades after the film premiered, Smith described Spoonauer as one of the most important people he'd ever met.

Apart from a role in the 1997 film "Bartender" and a voice appearance on a single episode of the "Clerks" animated series, Spoonauer left the entertainment industry as soon as she arrived. She kept her private life private, though she stayed in touch with Smith and updated him on her life through social media. In 2017, he shared with his followers that Spoonauer had passed away at the age of 44. She had been undergoing treatment for a chronic illness for several years.

When "Clerks III" was released five years later, Smith and the cast dedicated the film to her memory. The dedication can be found at the end of the credits, along with a note that reads "We miss you, Caitlin..."

Like Lisa Spoonauer, Marilyn Ghigliotti was an actor who had aspirations of entering the entertainment industry long before Kevin Smith and "Clerks" came along. She was the only main cast member who had a professional acting credit to their name at the time of production.

After "Clerks" premiered, Ghigliotti was cast in the 1998 film "Get A Job." She continued to pursue work outside the View Askewniverse, initially appearing in a steady stream of short films throughout the '90s and early 2000s. She eventually began booking roles in feature films like "Geek USA." 

She reunited with most of the old "Clerks" gang for a biopic titled "Shooting Clerks." Though Ghigliotti was actually portrayed by actor Ashley Grazino in the 2023 film (which was actually shot in 2016), Ghigliotti herself appeared in the film alongside Smith, Jason Mewes, Ernest O'Donnell, Walt Flanagan, and Dante Hicks actor Brian O'Halloran. In 2019, she similarly cameoed in "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot." Finally, though she did not return for "Clerks II," Ghigliotti reprised her role as Veronica Loughran in "Clerks III" (pictured above). 

Despite having no real interest in an acting career, Jeff Anderson found himself as one of the stars of a major motion picture when his high school pal Kevin Smith cast him as Randal Graves in "Clerks" (a role Smith had originally written for himself). He wasn't half-bad either — at the 1995 Film Independent Spirit Awards, he was nominated for Best Debut Performance along with the likes of Renée Zellweger and Alicia Witt.

And yet, despite this sudden and successful push into the spotlight, Anderson didn't take many roles afterward. In 2002, after acting in the rom-com "Love 101" and a few other smaller projects, he tried his hand at behind-the-camera work by writing, directing, and producing the low-budget comedy "Now You Know," starring himself, Jeremy Sisto, and Rashida Jones. He then reunited with Smith for bit parts in subsequent projects including "Dogma" and "Zack and Miri Make a Porno." He also continued to cameo as Randal in projects ranging from "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" to the music video for Logic's "The High Life" (and he even voiced a character loosely inspired by Randal in the indie video game "Randal's Monday," which was developed by Nexus Game Studio and released in 2014).

But when it came to bringing Randal back center stage for another "Clerks" film, Anderson was notoriously hesitant. As he told /Film during the lead up to the release of "Clerks III," he struggled to justify any sequels to the original and felt an even stronger resistance after hearing Smith's original idea for the third film. Fortunately, Smith overhauled the story to serve as a definitive wrap-up to the series, granting Anderson and Randal the send-off they deserved.

Brian O'Halloran took a leap of faith on Kevin Smith when he showed up to an open call for "Clerks." He was not one of the director's friends at the time, and had little context for what kind of role Smith was even looking for. He wound up landing the lead.

O'Halloran was immediately enveloped into Smith's stable of actors, returning for "Mallrats," "Chasing Amy," "Dogma," the "Clerks" animated series, "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," and "Clerks II." With the latter film seemingly putting a button on the "Clerks" saga, O'Halloran left Dante and the View Askewniverse behind for a while, taking roles in "Brutal Massacre: A Comedy," M. Night Shyamalan's "The Happening," "Hooking Up," "Miss December," and "Mr. Hush." In the late 2010s, he reunited with the "Clerks" cast for both "Shooting Clerks" and "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot," and began producing the podcast "The OHalloRant" on YouTube.

In 2022, he took his final bow as Dante Hicks in "Clerks III." He continues to act as of writing, while spending a significant amount of his time touring conventions to meet fans of the series. In 2026, he will join Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Marilyn Ghigliotti, and several other View Askewniverse alums for a four-day "Cruise Askew" from Tampa to Costa Maya.