Clerks III, New Clerks Animation (?), and Ass to Mouth: My Interview with Clerks Star Brian O’Halloran at NYCC 2022
And he wasn’t even supposed to be here today!
What can you say about the 1994 Kevin Smith classic, Clerks? It defined the era of independent film, and is seething with the aesthetics and attitudes of the day. If you’ve ever hated your job and the morons you have to deal with at work, this film hits extra.
My all-time favorite film…
Imagine my surprise on the first day of New York Comic Con when I saw star of Clerks, Brian O’Halloran at signing table! O’Halloran plays Dante Hicks, the film’s disaffected protagonist, stuck in his miserable convenience store job on a wild day, which he was supposed to have off.
Thus, his tagline throughout the film, “I’m not even supposed to be here today,” was born.
The film was an indie juggernaut, earning now two sequels, the second of which he was there to promote. With Clerks III on the way, it was the perfect chance to ask for an interview.
O’Halloran had been performing in plays since late high school. Transitioning to community theater in his college years, he took courses on stage design. It was his particular community theater which Kevin Smith used to cast Clerks.
O’Halloran was in the dark about what the film was about, aside from it being a comedy with a cast in their 20s. It came as a surprise during callbacks when he read lines with Marilyn Ghigliotti, with whom he had worked. She would play Dante’s girlfriend Veronica in the film.
“Getting to know Jeff Anderson and Lisa Spoonhauer, getting to know Kevin himself, his D.P., David Kline, and his producer, a good friend named Scott Mosier… It was a good clique of twenty-somethings working on something that I thought was kinda something you never see around before done in film. So I enjoyed it.”
Clerks has left quite an impact since its release, from its place in the 90s to its place in filmmaking, to its impact on genre of comedy in film. When asking what he feels Clerks helped to inspire, the Hangover films and Waiting with Ryan Reynold fit the bill.
O’Halloran then went to state the inspirations for Clerks itself, how Kevin was inspired by films that follow a character throughout the day. Do the Right Thing by Spike Lee and Slacker by Richard Linklater were key sources of influence, he claims.
In addition to Clerks, 1994 gave us Pulp Fiction, One Hot Minute by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dookie by Green Day, and Woodstock ‘94! Good year for culture indeed.
With Kevin Smith slipping Dante Hicks’ character into his other View Askew films, O’Halloran was never out of character too long. This helped his performance, as he hadn’t starred in the series since Clerks II in 2006.
Of these projects featuring Dante and crew was Clerks: The Animated Series in 2000 on ABC. Only six episodes were made, and only two aired, out of order. Shame, too! It’s a great series that deserved a better run.
Thus you have it, from the clerk’s mouth. Who would’ve guessed a Disney owned network would screw over Clerks: TAS? Brian states that the future of Clerks animation is still possible however. It would just require a different art style, but can be done.
As for why they can’t appear in the original format:
“[Disney] owns the rights to that ‘version’, so to speak.”
O’Halloran and others would “love to do it,” we would love to see it, and I'd love to draw it! Why not me? I like cartoons and shit.
Even though some animated series episodes didn’t make it to air, their plotlines can be found sprinkled throughout the films. This applies as recently as Clerks III.
“The inspiration of Clerks III where Randal makes a movie about his life, we were gonna do that in the cartoon back in 2000. So this is an idea that Kevin has hung onto for all this time.”
Long time fans and short time fans alike will come to love this film, O’Halloran tells me, as it is “a real complete arc for the characters of Dante and Randal,” and is packed with cameos “long time fans especially will enjoy.”
Lastly, I had to know his thoughts on his lines in Clerks II, where Dante says “You never go ass to mouth!” Lines in a script or words to live by? His response:
“I personally think it’s a good public service announcement. You never go ass to mouth. It’s just hygienic, especially in today’s day and age where you need to get inoculations for everything? That’s the last place you wanna go!”
Clerks III is available on streaming now and coming to physical copy first week of December, so look out!
Thanks for your time, Brian! Sage advice indeed.
UPDATE: Since the posting of several photos used in the article on the @sloantherollingstone Instagram, the official Clerks page @clerksmovie shared both my "Ass to Mouth” and cast drawings! Snoochie boochies!
