Stan Lee Had A Heartwarming Condition To Appear In Madness In The Method

In 2019, actor Jason Mewes directed a comedic semi-autobiographical feature film called "Madness in the Method." In the film, Mewes plays himself, an actor who is struggling to find roles beyond the "stoner best friend" parts that he had been typecast into. Mewes came into fame in the 1990s playing Jay in a string of indie comedies written and directed by Kevin Smith. Mewes also famously struggled with drug addiction throughout his career, and has been very frank in public about his lengthy recovery. His recovery is also a plot element of "Madness," as is his friendship with Smith, who also plays himself in the movie. 

Indeed, several actors appear in "Madness" as fictional versions of themselves, including Vinnie Jones, Danny Trejo, Dean Cain, Zach Galligan, "Clerks" star Brian O'Halloran, and Smith's own daughter Harley Quinn Smith. Gina Carano and Teri Hatcher plays fictional characters. The plot of the movie involves Mewes wanting to hone his actorly craft and getting deep into Stanislavski's Method. Sadly, the Method proves to get too deep under his skin, leading Mewes to accidentally murdering a film director. Comedic shenanigans ensue. 

Also in the film, for only a moment, is Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee. Lee had passed away the previous November, making "Madness in the Method" his final performance. Lee and Mewes were previously in Smith's 1995 film "Mallrats" together, so his cameo wasn't a complete non-sequitur. The Marvel honcho did have many lines, and he agreed to be in Mewes' movie on one condition: he would only be on set for two hours because, well, he needed to be home by 6 p.m. in order to have dinner with his wife. Mewes talked about working with Lee in a 2019 interview with Rotten Tomatoes.

Mewes noted that working with Stan Lee was, naturally, awesome. Mewes, like so many of us, grew up reading Marvel Comics. Thanks to his work on "Mallrats," Lee already knew Mewes, and Lee's agent accepted the call. Mewes recalled the phone call well, as well as the very sweet contingency that Lee had. Mewes said: 

"I remember calling up his guy at the time — it was this gentleman named Max — and being like, 'Hey, man.' Stan always jokes with Kevin, and he's always like, 'When are you going to put me in your next movie?' I'm like, 'Well, he always tells Kevin he wants [to], so maybe he'll go in one of my movies.' I was like, 'Do you think you'd be in a movie that I'm directing, and I'm going to be part of?' And his guy was like, 'Yeah, he'll come down for like two hours. You can have him, but he has to be home by 6 p.m. because he will not miss dinner with his wife.' And I thought that was so sweet." 

Mewes said that getting Lee off set in two hours was no problem. They did a few takes, improvised a few lines, and did a few camera setups, none of which required Lee to rise from his chair or do anything that would take up too much of his day. Mewes also recalled, in between camera setups, getting a little teary-eyed over the ordeal. Stan Lee was a hero to so many people, and here he was, directing his first movie, overwhelmed that Lee would agree to be in it. "I had a moment and I stepped away," Mewes said. "I was like, 'This is so fantastic.'"