By Sean Chavel in Los Angeles

Jason Lee has been everybody’s favorite character actor it seems like, but now he’s pushing to go for leading man status with "A Guy Thing." Lee is like an aw-shucks comic actor like an early Jimmy Stewart, so leading man material is definitely palatable for him. He got started with director Kevin Smith who gave him a substantial part in "Mallrats" in 1995 and went on to work with him again in the director’s "Chasing Amy," "Dogma" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back." He’s worked with director Lawrence Kasdan a couple of times with "Mumford" and the upcoming Stephen King adaptation "Dreamcatcher" and twice with director Cameron Crowe in "Almost Famous" and "Vanilla Sky." Not bad for a guy that stumbled into acting after became a retired skateboarder.

Jason, you know that you’ve become every director’s favorite actor, don’t you?

Jason: Really, I didn’t know anything about that. [Laughs]

Well it seems that way. Could you tell us how you got started in acting?

In my mind, at least, I was getting too old to keep skating. I didn’t want to be the old-timer still trying to hang on to the dream. So I thought, what the hell, I’ll try acting. I know some actors. I auditioned for "Mallrats," so I thought that helped. A year later, I called it quits to skating.

Is this kind of physical comedy in "A Guy Thing" different from other comedy that you’ve done in the past?

I’ve never done anything like this with that kind of physical high energy. I think there are some pretty damn funny moments in there, but it’s up to the audience to decide whether it’s funny.

What did director Chris Koch tell you in the first meeting you had with him?

He said, ‘Comedies are difficult. I understand whatever concerns you may have, since comedies are real make or break.’ It was a challenge for both of us. But I liked his [attitude].

Did you have any on-set mishaps?

I put my back out. I have a pretty crooked spine. I was sitting in the bathtub doing one scene that took all day. When I woke up the next day, my back was really hurting. And I sneezed and… [Mimics spine snapping] My back was out for a week.

How long did the recovery take?

I was in a hotel room for an entire week. I had such cabin fever. I had a [physical therapist] come over to stretch me, use ultrasound on my back and made me do all kind of stretches with weird pillows.

How did you go to the bathroom?

I had to shuffle to the bathroom with the help of my girlfriend. It’d take a half hour just to take a piss.

Do you think these pains are caused by past experience in skateboarding?

I think so. [Points to right leg] This leg is a little shorter, and I skateboarded with my right foot forward. I skated so many years while I was developing physically. I think I grew up crooked. [Elicits laughter] My [body] is shaped like a question mark.

What makes you laugh?

Bill Murray. I’ve liked every single thing he’s ever done. Is there better delivery… and cynicism… and facial expressions… and just that kind of deadpan smart ass than Bill Murray? And has there been a better bad, kind of flapping comb-over than in Kingpin? [Laughs] Yeah, I love watching comedies. My favorites are Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and The Jerk with Steve Martin, and love that goofy s--- that Jim Carrey did in Dumb and Dumber. I love Saturday Night Live…

Do you have any experience being deceptive in real life like your character has to be in A Guy Thing?

Yeah, [doing] press junkets. [Laughs] Everything I’ve said is a lie. [Giggles for a half-minute]

Can we back up a little bit? Could you tell us your background and how you were raised?

Grew up in Huntington Beach. Skateboarded most of my life. Played baseball. Hated high school. Dropped out. Became a professional skateboarder. I did that for eight years. I moved to L.A. when I was 21. I started acting when I was 24. I quit skating when I was 25. I am now 32-years old. Born in 1970. April. In Orange, California.

[Lee begins to get a little goofy and decides to cheerfully transitions into tall tales] I moved for a few years in Salem, Oregon. When I was little my mother used to take me on walks in my stroller. Around an old hospital, she’d take me. It was where they shot One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. They were shooting while I was there. Every day we’d stroll around the crew. She hung around the crew. And Jack Nicholson came up and said, ‘That’s a sweet little kid,’ and gave me a pat on the head. Inspired me to want to join a movie set. That’s a true story.

"A Guy Thing" opens today in theaters everywhere.