Jeff Anderson

About Jeff Anderson

Jeffrey Allan Anderson (born April 21, 1970) is an American film actor best known for starring as Randal Graves in Clerks and Clerks II. In between he has appeared in other Kevin Smith-directed films and has written, directed, and starred in Now You Know.

Born in Long Branch, New Jersey and raised in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, Anderson attended Henry Hudson Regional High School, with his aspiring writer friend Kevin Smith from which they both graduated in 1988. While Anderson was working at AT&T, Smith was working on his debut movie Clerks. Anderson's first audition was for the role of Jay, but when the role wasn't felt to be appropriate, Smith offered Anderson a lead role as video store employee Randal Graves; a seemingly foul-mouthed apathetic slacker, who along with his morally elevated best friend Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) belittled, aggravated, and alienated their customers whilst avoiding any real work at all opportunities.

For his role in Clerks, Anderson was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance. In every scene in Clerks he had gum in his mouth. He claims it helped him relax. Anderson often says that when he is recognized as Randal it is always by voice, not appearance. Anderson had a disagreement with Smith over his salary for Clerks; he claimed he should have been paid more after the surprising success of the film. The feud with Smith ended just before production began on Dogma.