Filmmaker Kevin Smith started his career by making a movie with his friends, and honestly, nothing's really changed. The prolific writer and director recently released his goodbye to the View Askewniverse, "Clerks III," and pulled out all of the stops bringing his famous (and not-so-famous) friends together for one last hurrah.

There are so many cameos in "Clerks III" that it's almost difficult to determine what's a cameo and what's simply someone reprising a role from one of the other Askewniverse films, but that's honestly part of the fun. After all, this is a universe where there are at least five different men walking around looking and sounding like Ben Affleck, including a brand new one introduced in "Clerks III."

Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) are back, of course, along with a few other View Askewniverse favorites that actually have too much screen-time to be "cameos," but there are still loads of great one-shots from some of Smith's closest pals.

So who brought the goods when it came to a comedic cameo? Let's take a look, because Smith invited every friend, family member, and former co-worker to hop in for some screen time, but not all cameos are created equal. Some couldn't even quite make the list, like "Doctor Mayor" (played by New Jersey Mayor Anthony Perry), because there are no available pictures! Without further ado, here are the best "Clerks III" cameos, ranked for your convenience.

"Clerks III" is currently playing in theaters.

Fred Armisen

Don't get me wrong — Fred Armisen is a funny guy and I appreciate his work on shows like "Documentary Now!" and "Portlandia," but the man is practically making a piecemeal living off of playing bit roles and doing cameos. There is such a thing as too much Armisen, and with fourteen credited acting projects in 2022, it's safe to say we've hit a saturation point. Armisen first worked with Smith on "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot," playing the unfortunately-named Merkin.

In "Clerks III," Armisen is one of the many people who auditions to be a part of Randal's movie. He does his line reading and then starts talking about the marionettes in "The Sound of Music," explaining that he's pretty certain the marionette scenes are why that film won Oscars. He recommends doing the whole movie with marionettes, and while "Clerks with Puppets" sounds fascinating, it also sounds kind of horrifying.

Gail & Byron Stanley

Elias (Trevor Fuhrman) is back, working at the Quick Stop with the guys instead of the Mooby's, and that means his parents are back, too! (Well, sort of.) In "Clerks II," Elias's parents were played by Gail Stanley and Bruce Macintosh, and in "Clerks III," they're played by Gail Stanley and her husband, Byron Stanley. While I have no idea why Macintosh didn't reprise his role, the important one here is Gail. She has been Smith's assistant for at least two decades, with her first credited special thanks from the director in 2002's "An Evening with Kevin Smith."

Smith has been great about not just giving his actor friends cameos, but giving the behind-the-scenes folks a chance to sparkle in the spotlight, too.

The Impractical Jokers

Sometimes Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith) show up in cameos for other shows and movies. The two have bounced around television, appearing in both scripted and unscripted fare. (Seriously, they even had a subplot on "Degrassi: The Next Generation"!) That's how they crossed paths with the Impractical Jokers from truTV's "Impractical Jokers." The stoner pair helped the Jokers (James Murray, Joe Gatto, Brian Quinn, and Sal Vulcano) with a hidden camera gag on their series, and in return, the Jokers appeared to audition for Randal's movie in "Clerks III." Their auditions are cute and feature some fun little moments, though they might be more satisfying if you've seen their show.

Scott Mosier

Eagle-eyed Smith fans were worried to notice that long-time collaborator Scott Mosier wasn't included in any of the production notes for "Clerks III," despite having produced most of Smith's films going all the way back to the original "Clerks." Thankfully, there wasn't any kind of falling out; Mosier was simply busy, and he does provide a nice little cameo in the movie. Mosier reprises his character of Willam Black, who is a sweet, simple-minded idiot. When he auditions to be a part of Randal's movie, he just shares his catch-phrase: "That's beautiful, man."

It's entirely possible that Mosier is playing another character, auditioning as Willam, but that's a kind of meta that can give your brain a tummyache. Either way, it's great to see Mosier and Smith collaborating, even if it's only for a cameo.

Ralph Garman

As a man who simply cannot get enough of the sound of his own voice, Smith does a lot of podcasting. The co-host of one of his podcasts, "Hollywood Babble-On," is comedian Ralph Garman, best known for "The Joe Schmo Show" and doing voice work on "Family Guy." Garman shows up as one of the folks auditioning for Randal's movie, and does Dante's "I'm not even supposed to be here today!" line in an Arnold Schwarzenegger impression. It's cute and a nice treat to see Garman, though it's just for a split second.

Melissa Benoist And Chris Wood

In addition to being a writer and director of comedy, Smith is a huge comic book nerd. He's written some comics and even directed some of The CW's "Supergirl." While working on "Supergirl" he became friends with that series' star, Melissa Benoist, along with Chris Wood, who played Mon-El. Benoist and Wood fell in love filming the show and got married, and Smith brought them on for quick cameos during the audition sequence in "Clerks III." Both appear as young theater actors auditioning for Dante's role (yes, Benoist too), and both of them think that the movie should be a musical. Both of them sing some classic lines from "Clerks," and it's pretty freaking funny.

Kate Micucci

Another "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot" return star is Kate Micucci, comedian and actor best known as one half of comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates. She played a Mooby's employee in "Reboot" and returns as a Mooby's employee in "Clerks III," although this time she has the misfortune of being inside the Mooby costume. I once dated someone who had to wear the Chuck-E-Cheese getup, and there are few pains in this world like having children run up for hugs and headbutting you in the groin. Thankfully, Micucci is almost kid-sized herself and doesn't have to deal with any children, just Jay and Silent Bob. After they break out the doobie snacks and light up, Micucci shows the boys that Mooby's milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.

Walt Flanagan

In "Clerks," Randal tells Dante, "this job would be great if it wasn't for the f****** customers." There are quite a few weird customers that come into the Quick Stop, but none quite as odd as the egg guy, played by Smith's longtime friend Walt Flanagan. The egg guy has to test the eggs in order to find the perfect dozen, and some of those tests get weird. The egg guy returns in "Clerks III," which feels about as important as the Log Lady coming back for "Twin Peaks: The Return." Flanagan actually appears in dual cameos, as he's part of the group of hockey players on the roof as well, but his reprisal of the egg guy deserves a shout-out.

Freddie Prinze Jr. And Sarah Michelle Gellar

Sarah Michelle Gellar has an interesting history with Smith: she originally auditioned for "Mallrats" and didn't get the part, but later signed on to voice the main character in the animated "Masters of the Universe" penned by the director. The two got along well and he invited her to do a cameo in "Clerks III," where she reads for Dante's role during the audition sequence. Seeing Buffy the vampire slayer herself complaining "I'm not even supposed to be here today" is pretty great, but the stakes are raised when her real-life husband, Freddie Prinze Jr., also auditions. While many of the actors are playing random locals trying out for the part, Prinze Jr. is actually playing himself, introducing himself to Randal and Dante as "Freddie Prinze Jr."

The married couple aren't especially public these days and are much more selective about the roles they pick, so having Prinze Jr. appear as himself, auditioning for a part in Randal's low-budget mess of a movie is freaking hilarious.

Michael Chiklis

Smith has a lot of famous friends and is a busy man, so it's not too much of a surprise that he crossed paths with Michael Chiklis at some point and managed to get him to show up for a "Clerks III" cameo. Chiklis played The Thing in the mid-2000s "Fantastic Four" movies, so it's likely that the two met during some kind of comic book event. (I'm sure someone out there knows exactly how these two met, but scanning Smith's social media accounts could be a full-time job within itself.)

While most of the people auditioning read for the role of Dante, Chiklis reads for Jay. Instead of having Jay and Silent Bob play themselves (which feels like multi-tiered meta-comedy), Randal tries to cast others in the roles. Chiklis delivers Jay's "I'll f*** anything that moves" with panache, though he's also kind of terrifying.

Scott Schiaffo

Smith did his best to get as many of the original customers and random passerby from the original "Clerks" back for "Clerks III," but one of the more memorable has to be Scott Schiaffo. Schiaffo is best known to "Clerks" fans as the Chewlies Gum Guy, who pretends to be leading an anti-smoking campaign but is actually just trying to sell more gum. The guy even throws a human lung on the counter in front of Dante to highlight how horrible cigarettes are before recommending a customer get gum instead. It's nasty, it's hilarious, and Schiaffo is back in "Clerks III." He doesn't try any of the same ridiculous antics, but just seeing him is sure to get a chuckle out of long-time "Clerks" nerds.

Anthony Michael Hall

Anthony Michael Hall is something of a 1980s movie legend, starring in John Hughes classics like "The Breakfast Club," "Sixteen Candles," and "Weird Science" before going on to have a successful adult career in films like "Halloween Kills" and the "Dead Zone" television series. Smith has talked at length about his love of Hughes and how Hughes influenced him; hell, Jay and Silent Bob are on the road in "Dogma" because they were trying to get to the fictional Illinois setting of all of Hughes' films. Smith was able to meet Hall and talk to him on the SModcast, and the two apparently got along well enough for Hall to show up in "Clerks III."

Hall appears as someone auditioning for Randal's film, and while his audition isn't exactly memorable, seeing the original Rusty Griswold in the View Askewniverse feels oh so right.

Marc Bernadin

Marc Bernadin co-hosts a podcast with Smith called "Fatman Beyond," where together they discuss everything related to comic books and superheroes, plus whatever else Smith decides to go on a tangent about. Bernadin is a journalist and comic book writer, so his "Clerks III" cameo is hilariously appropriate. When Randal asks Dante to get some press for his movie, Dante enlists a high school student journalist to follow the shoot. Her parents tag along, played by Bernadin and Michelle Buteau ("The Circle"). It turns out that Bernadin is playing the live-action version of Lando, the only Black character to appear on the "Clerks" television series, which is honestly kind of beautiful. Also, both mother and daughter are named Lisa, which means this family could start a band called "Lando and the Lisas." I digress.

Lando and the Lisas provide a great moment of levity before things get surprisingly real for a "Clerks" film, and the tie-in to the animated series is honestly a stroke of genius.

Harley Quinn Smith

There's a long history of nepotism in Kevin Smith movies, so it's really no surprise that his daughter Harley Quinn Smith appears in "Clerks III." She has appeared in several of her dad's films, including in a cameo role in "Clerks II" as a child and as a lead in both "Yoga Hosers" (pictured above, on the left) and "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot."

In "Clerks III," Harley Quinn plays Milly, a Leonardo, New Jersey local who ends up working at the Quick Stop. She ends up stocking milk near the end of the film, echoing her grandmother Grace Smith, who sorted milk in both of the previous "Clerks" films.

Jordan Monstanto And Logan Mewes

Smith isn't the only long-time member of the Askewniverse crew with a family, and he decided to share some screen time with the loved ones of his hetero-lifemate, Jason Mewes. Mewes partner, Jordan Monstanto, previously appeared in "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot" as a bailiff, but in "Clerks III" she's joined by her child with Mewes, Logan. The two play customers at the Quick Stop shopping for cereal, and it's great to see how big Logan's gotten (she also appeared in "Reboot," as the daughter of Ben Affleck's character Holden). For fans who have followed Smith for more than two decades, some of the cast feel like family, so seeing their families is like a big, sweet reunion.

Danny Trejo

On top of directing some of "Supergirl," Smith also loaned his talents to The CW's "The Flash," which is where he got to know El Machete himself, Danny Trejo. Trejo starred on "The Flash" as Breacher, an inter-dimensional bounty hunter, but fans probably know him best for his work in the movies of Robert Rodriguez, including headlining as the title character in "Machete." Trejo auditions as Dante, which is comical since Dante is sort of a pushover and Trejo is the ultimate badass, and he says Dante's "I'm not even supposed to be here today" line in Spanish. It has never sounded so tough.

The Comic Book Men

In the original "Clerks," a group of Smith's close friends all join Dante and Randal on the roof of the Quick Stop for a game of hockey. Among them are Ming Chen, Michael Zapcic, Bryan Johnson, and Walter Flanagan, perhaps better known as the Comic Book Men. The guys were the hosts of an AMC reality TV series created by Smith that followed the happenings at his Red Bank, New Jersey comic book shop called "Comic Book Men," and it was honestly a lot of fun. Not quite as much fun as rooftop hockey, however! The guys ended back up on the roof where it all began for "Clerks III," and this time they all had some pretty sweet matching jerseys.

Amy Sedaris

If you want to automatically make something funnier, just add Amy Sedaris. The comedian and actor has been playing some of the best weirdos in all of movies and TV since her series "Strangers with Candy" back in 1999, and her unique brand of humor meshes perfectly with Smith's comedic sensibilities. In "Clerks III," Sedaris plays a surgeon who will give Randal the surgery that saves his life, but she was at a costume party when she got the emergency call and shows up looking rather witchy. Thankfully, she takes off the green fingertips before scrubbing up to cut Randal open.

Randal is awake on the operating table (they go through his groin to remove the blockage), and needs to keep Randal talking to her. The two of them chat about "The Mandalorian," which is a hoot since Sedaris plays mechanic Peli Motto on both that series and "The Book of Boba Fett." She gets to make some fun jokes, but unfortunately doesn't get to discuss the dirty details of boning down with Jawas, which is why she's not higher on the list.

Jake Richardson

Actor Jake Richardson got his start playing a kid that buys weed from Jay in "Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back," and he's appeared in a few other Smith films, including "Clerks II," playing the same character. Jay sings Morris Day and the Time to his character when he just wants to buy a dimebag, but he takes it in stride. Richardson returns in "Clerks III" with one of the more clever gags, auditioning for the role of Jay in Randal's movie. He yells the same line as Chiklis, but then chuckles and says, "hey, that sounds like the guy I buy weed from." Turns out he's still the same character, still buying weed from Jay and hanging out in New Jersey.

Grace Smith

When Smith made the original "Clerks," he cast friends in family in part because he couldn't afford to hire too many actors. His mother, Grace Smith, played "the milk maid," a woman who pulls out every gallon of milk in order to find the one with the longest sell-by date. She appeared as the same character at the end of "Clerks II," after Randal and Dante buy the Quick Stop and the shot turns from color to black and white. It's a fun little nod, and while she's been replaced by her granddaughter Harley Quinn in the final bit of "Clerks III," she does have a great moment during the audition sequence earlier on.

Smith's mother is among the people auditioning, and she demands to know the author of such foul dialogue, saying, "Holy s***, who wrote this garbage? His mother should be ashamed!" Just like Smith made fun of himself with a line about sequels being for hacks, his mother had a good moment of giggles at her own expense. Like mother, like son, at least when it comes to knowing how to laugh at yourself.

Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck and Kevin Smith go way, way back, and Affleck was just a budding baby actor when Smith cast him in "Mallrats." Since then, Affleck has gone on to be a massive movie star, play Batman, and even marry Jennifer Lopez. Look, if "Jersey Girl" couldn't stop Bennifer after all of these years, it can't stop Smith and Affleck's friendship, either.

Affleck has played numerous roles in the View Askewniverse, which means there are potentially a half a dozen Ben Affleck look-alikes walking around New Jersey. Seriously, there's Holden from "Chasing Amy," Shannon from "Mallrats," Bartelby in "Dogma," Ben Affleck in "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," and the "Gawking Guy" from "Clerks II" with his "Smokin' Aces" handlebar mustache. Now we can add "Boston John" to the roster, and he's a blast.

Boston John auditions for Randal's movie and is a real character who gets excited about Robert DeNiro and imitates the "I have nipples, Greg, could you milk me?" bit from "Meet the Parents." Affleck is just letting loose and having fun, and it's great to see after so much seriousness from him as an actor and director.

Justin Long

Justin Long is, arguably, one of Smith's best collaborators. Long and Smith likely met when they both starred in "Live Free or Die Hard" back in 2007, and Long's cameos and roles in Smith's movies started soon after. He first appeared as gay porn producer Brandon St. Randy in "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," dropping improvised lines of dialogue that are seared into my brain alongside things like memories of my wedding day. ("Mountain of Gay" could be the name of my band!) He also starred in Smith's horror-comedy "Tusk," which is apparently getting a sequel.

In "Clerks III," Long plays the nurse who shaves Randal's groin before surgery. He makes a lot of interesting comments about genitals and riffs well with Anderson, who mostly is horrified that he's going to have to let strangers see his penis. For a man who loved showing random strangers photographs of women's anatomy, he sure is dodgy about anyone seeing his own twig and berries. Long is great, and is clearly having a blast.

Ethan Suplee

Here he is, the ultimate in cameos from "Clerks III:" Ethan Suplee. While he doesn't have quite the star power of someone like Affleck, and he hasn't been in nearly as many Kevin Smith movies as someone like Long, his cameo is such a brilliant little moment that it had to be at the top. Suplee plays someone auditioning for Randal's movie, though he doesn't do any of the same lines as the rest of the hopeful performers. Instead, he does the "when will I see the sailboat?" speech from "Mallrats," reducing himself to a mess of a man. Randal wasn't there for the events of "Mallrats" and there's no reason for it to be in his script, so he and Dante stare at Suplee for a moment before he explains: "That came from a real deep, personal place."

Is he the same guy that couldn't see the schooner in the Magic Eye all of those years ago? Does it matter? Smith managed to make a fun reference to one of his first films and brought back a beloved cast member to reprise the role, plus he did it in a way that doesn't betray the weird rules of the Askewniverse. Everyone wins, except for Suplee's character, who neither sees the sailboat or gets cast in Randal's movie. Them's the breaks, I guess.

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The post All the Clerks III Cameos Ranked appeared first on /Film.