The Success of My Name Is Earl

[Stephen of Borg 2]

Don't call him Earl.

 

Confusing Jason Lee for the lovable redneck he plays on "My Name Is Earl" (9 p.m., Tuesdays, NBC) is his worst fear.

 

In fact he wasn't convinced that starring in "Earl" was such a good thing at first for that very reason.

 

"I was like, 'yes' then 'no' then 'yes.' 'No.' 'Yes.' 'No,"' he says. "I was nervous. My apprehension from the very beginning, when I became an actor, was I didn't want to be known as That Guy From TV."

 

In 1997 while working on the movie "Kissing A Fool" with "Friends" star David Schwimmer, Lee saw that fear up close.

 

"Whenever we'd go out, people would call him 'Ross,"' Lee says. "I could see that it was really hard for him to deal with that."

 

Though the 35-year-old actor has been in dozens of high-profile movies, such as "Almost Famous" and director Kevin Smith's comedies ("Chasing Amy," "Mallrats,"), Lee, a Southern California native, started out as a professional skateboarder.

 

When he got into acting through independent films, he wanted to avoid roles that might give him a signature role.

 

 

To him, it's one of the worst things an actor could get.

 

So what convinced him to do "Earl"?

 

"I figured I have done enough films in my career that, when I walk down the street, people wouldn't automatically call me Earl," he says.

 

That may not be the case, though.

 

Since premiering in September, "Earl" has emerged as the highest-rated new comedy of the season. Across the country, "Earl" is a mainstay in the top 20 programs of the week.

 

The show follows the life of a scoundrel who changes his ways after winning $100,000 in the lottery and learning about the idea of karma (doing good deeds reaps its own rewards).

 

Helping him in his mission is his lay-about brother. Earl's catty ex-wife (Jaime Pressly) is always nagging him about his do-gooder ways.

[BakulaBabe 2]

Be afraid, Jason - be very afraid. :fear:

 

There's sure to be lots of people calling him Earl, because he's done such a good job of making Earl so likeable. Hopefully he'll get to do a movie during "summer vacation" to remind people of what else he can do.

[Chataeya 0]

It is strange how people do that. For God Sakes they are humans with birth given names!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dark Reality 0]

Well, being that my girlfriend is a huge Kevin Smith fan and I like his movies about a tenth as much (which is still a lot), I'll always know him as his Kevin Smith characters. I won't risk having to sleep on the couch for a week by guessing wrong.