Rosario Dawson reflects on the deep significance of all the cameos in Kevin Smith's Clerks 3. The original Clerks first premiered in 1994, followed by a sequel titled Clerks 2 in 2006. For the new film, Dawson is reprising her role as Becky, who first appeared in Clerks 2. Additional Clerks franchise actors including Smith as Silent Bob, Jason Mewes as Jay, Brian O'Halloran as Dante, Jeff Anderson as Randal, Marilyn Ghigliotti as Veronica, and Trevor Fehrman as Elias will all be returning as well.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
Following a nearly fatal heart attack in 2018, Smith has taken that real-life experience and transferred it onto Anderson's Randal in Clerks 3. With this semi-autobiographical film, Smith is bringing back familiar faces and celebrity cameos to fill out the experience. As seen in the Clerks 3 trailer, actors that have appeared in past Smith projects like Ben Affleck, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Fred Armisen will all have cameo roles in the film. Smith's Fatman Beyond podcast co-host Marc Bernardin will also cameo as Lando, a character never seen before in live action and only ever featured in the short-lived Clerks: The Animated Series.
In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Dawson discussed how these Clerks 3 cameos are more than just a fun inclusion, but speak to the experience of making this movie and beyond. Her full quote can be read below:
[Smith]'s been bringing all of us on the journey, and I think that's what's so special when you're watching this film. You know that as you're seeing it, and seeing all of these folks doing these background cameos and things and just supporting him.
It's such a major theme of this whole story: the people on this journey along with you, and who's supporting you, and recognizing that and celebrating that. Even as small or as easy and comfortable and taken for granted as it can be. It's right there in front of you, and it's probably the best thing in your life. We just overlook it too often. And this was such a great reflection point to kind of reevaluate that.
Aside from now acting in two Clerks films, Dawson has appeared in a cameo role of her own in a previous Smith movie. In 2019's Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, she played the role of Reggie, alongside Shannon Elizabeth's reoccurring role of Justice. This makes Dawson uniquely qualified to speak about the role cameos play in Smith's work. Considering the director's fondness for these sorts of appearances is well-known, it makes sense that they play into the theme of Clerks 3. In the past, Smith has shown that he has a clear reverence for the actors he works with and his surrounding collaborators, so it's heartening to hear they rallied around him in a similar way while making the new movie.
Clerks 3 is set to pay off on 28 years worth of history for the franchise. The cameos are likely to go a long way in helping the film feel both like a quintessential Smith project and also a satisfying follow-up so long after Clerks 2. Dawson's comments should only increase the excitement for a movie well over a decade in the making.