Randal Graves

Randal Graves is a fictional character in director Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse, generally portrayed by Jeff Anderson. He was introduced in Smith's debut film Clerks., appearing in comic books, an animated series and a sequel based on the film.

Randal is a clerk at RST Video, located next door to the Quick Stop convenience store in Leonardo, New Jersey.

In the first film and the TV cartoon, Randal is a prime example of the typical slacker. He works in a dead-end job, has no respect for customers, and is content with his situation. He arrives at work late every day, then periodically closes the store to chat with buddy Dante Hicks, a Quick Stop clerk. Whereas Dante believes that title dictates behavior, Randal believes the opposite is true, so he does what he pleases. He has been known to order porn movies for RST Video in front of customers, spit in customers' faces, and intrude on private conversations about sex.

Randal's behavior at times appears contradictory; for example, he notes that he hates people but loves social gatherings, and says, "This job would be great if it weren't for the fucking customers." His life centers on movies, video games and pornography. He often quotes dialogue and discusses films, goes to other video stores to rent porn, and is often depicted in Clerks: The Animated Series with a porn magazine. His love life is nonexistent, and many of his ex-girlfriends subsequently were so fed up with men that they became lesbians.

However, it should be noted that Randal is shown to be an intelligent person in the film, but in the animated series plays a lesser-intelligent "laugh-at" part next to Dante, playing a "straight-man."

Appearances after Clerks.
A Clerks live action TV series was produced, without Kevin Smith's permission, by the Walt Disney Company in 1995. Anderson auditioned for the role of Dante, since his role was filled by former SNL performer Jim Breuer. Anderson was glad he didn't get the part, as he thought it was "like Saved By The Bell". However, the series never aired.

Randal also appears in the three Clerks comic books Smith has written: Clerks: The Comic Book, Clerks: Holiday Special and Clerks: The Lost Scene, as well as a comic strip, "On the Perils of Cinema", that appeared in the November 1999 issue of Talk magazine. He makes very brief appearances in Smith's other comic book serials, Chasing Dogma and Bluntman and Chronic as well as Walt Flanagan's Dog.

He has a cameo in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, which shows him still hanging out with Dante at the Quick Stop. He makes a large decision (for him), finally plucking the effort to get rid of Jay and Silent Bob, giving them a restraining order. He also appears in the 2002 short film The Flying Car, in which he asks Dante the hypothetical question of what he would sacrifice for marketing rights to the titular technology. Additionally, a character strongly resembling Randal walks by in the background while Cohee Lunden gives a speech in Chasing Amy in front of the very same bank of stores at which Dante and Randal are employed.

Randal features prominently in Clerks: The Lost Scene, a short animated in the style of the TV series, which, like the comic book of the same name, depicts the events at Julie Dwyer's wake that were cut from the film.

Dante and Randal were the subjects of the 2006 film Clerks II, set approximately 10 years later than the first film, with Randal now in his 30s.

Trivia

 * Kevin Smith initially intended to play Randal in Clerks., but ultimately decided that he couldn't memorize so many lines.
 * Randal and Mallrats character Brodie Bruce are likely cousins, given the fact that both have told sordid stories about a "Cousin Walter." In addition, in Clerks. (The Holiday Special), Randal makes reference to a sexual act as a "Bruce-Graves family tradition."
 * Childhood friend Bryan Johnson was the inspiration behind the character of Randal.