Overlay: Clerks (1994) acting awards and nominations

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Errors	Missing	Unverified	Supported
0	0	0	9

How were these counts calculated?

Counts based on original analysis categories (not yet classified).

Errors = Critical Errors + Imprecisions

Missing = Critical Omissions + Notable Gaps

#Q ORIGINAL QUESTION

Regarding the film Clerks (1994), did any actors win any awards for their roles or get nominated, and who were they up against?

#M ANNOTATED LLM RESPONSE

For the 1994 film Clerks, the only actor to receive a major individual performance nomination was Jeff Anderson, who played the cynical video store clerk Randal Graves.

While the film itself was a massive critical success and won several awards for director Kevin Smith, the low-budget, "non-professional" nature of the production meant that individual acting accolades were rare.

Jeff Anderson: Independent Spirit Award Nomination

Jeff Anderson was nominated for Best Debut Performance at the 10th Independent Spirit Awards in 1995. This category (now known as Best Breakthrough Performance) was specifically designed to honor outstanding work by new talent in independent cinema.

Who he was up against:

Anderson faced a highly competitive field that included future A-list stars and critically acclaimed child actors. He ultimately did not win.

Sean Nelson (Winner): Nelson won for his role as the title character in the crime drama Fresh. His performance was widely praised as one of the best child-actor turns of the decade.
Renée Zellweger: Nominated for her role as Starlene Cheatham in the road-trip crime film Love and a .45. This was one of the breakout roles that launched her career before Jerry Maguire.
Jeremy Davies: Nominated for his role as Ray Aibelli in David O. Russell's directorial debut, Spanking the Monkey. Davies would later become well-known for Saving Private Ryan and the TV series Lost.
Alicia Witt: Nominated for her role as Bonnie in the thriller Fun.

Other Recognition for the Cast

While the other lead actors—most notably Brian O'Halloran (Dante Hicks) and Jason Mewes (Jay)—did not receive individual award nominations, the cast as a whole shared in the film's collective prestige:

Sundance Film Festival (1994): The film won the Filmmakers Trophy and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. These awards were largely a tribute to Kevin Smith’s writing and the authentic chemistry of the cast.
Cannes Film Festival (1994): Clerks won the Award of the Youth (Prix de la Jeunesse) and the Mercedes-Benz Award. These honors highlighted the film’s "voice of a generation" appeal, which was driven by the performances of the leads.
Kevin Smith: While Smith acted as Silent Bob, his nominations and wins were strictly for filmmaking. At the Independent Spirit Awards, he was nominated for Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay (losing both to David O. Russell's Spanking the Monkey).

Summary of Nominations

Actor	Role	Award	Category	Result
Jeff Anderson	Randal Graves	Independent Spirit Award	Best Debut Performance	Nominated
Brian O'Halloran	Dante Hicks	N/A	N/A	No major noms
Jason Mewes	Jay	N/A	N/A	No major noms
Kevin Smith	Silent Bob	Independent Spirit Award	Best First Feature / Screenplay	Nominated

#F CORRECTION FEED (CLICK TO SEARCH)

[1] Jeff Anderson was the only cast member to receive a nomination from a major body (Independent Spirit Awards). Brian O'Halloran and others did not receive major individual nominations.

[2] Anderson was nominated for Best Debut Performance at the 1995 Independent Spirit Awards.

[3] Sean Nelson won the award for his role as Michael 'Fresh' in the film Fresh.

[4] Renée Zellweger was nominated for her role as Starlene Cheatham in Love and a .45.

[5] Jeremy Davies was nominated for his role as Ray Aibelli in Spanking the Monkey.

[6] Alicia Witt was nominated for her role as Bonnie in Fun.

[7] Clerks won the Filmmakers Trophy (tied with Fresh) and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 1994.

[8] Clerks won the Prix de la Jeunesse (Award of the Youth) and the Mercedes-Benz Award at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival (Critics' Week).

[9] Kevin Smith was nominated for Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay at the Independent Spirit Awards, losing both to David O. Russell (Spanking the Monkey).

#O MISSED POINTS & OVERSIGHTS

No oversights detected.

#C RELATED QUERIES

#01 Did Kevin Smith win any awards for Clerks II?

#02 What awards did Spanking the Monkey win over Clerks?

#03 Who is Sean Nelson and what happened to his career after Fresh?

#S SOURCES

#R ORIGINAL AI RESPONSE

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For the 1994 film *Clerks*, the only actor to receive a major individual performance nomination was **Jeff Anderson**, who played the cynical video store clerk **Randal Graves**. While the film itself was a massive critical success and won several awards for director Kevin Smith, the low-budget, "non-professional" nature of the production meant that individual acting accolades were rare. ### **Jeff Anderson: Independent Spirit Award Nomination** Jeff Anderson was nominated for **Best Debut Performance** at the **10th Independent Spirit Awards** in 1995. This category (now known as Best Breakthrough Performance) was specifically designed to honor outstanding work by new talent in independent cinema. #### **Who he was up against:** Anderson faced a highly competitive field that included future A-list stars and critically acclaimed child actors. He ultimately did not win. * **Sean Nelson (Winner):** Nelson won for his role as the title character in the crime drama ***Fresh***. His performance was widely praised as one of the best child-actor turns of the decade. * **Renée Zellweger:** Nominated for her role as Starlene Cheatham in the road-trip crime film ***Love and a .45***. This was one of the breakout roles that launched her career before *Jerry Maguire*. * **Jeremy Davies:** Nominated for his role as Ray Aibelli in David O. Russell's directorial debut, ***Spanking the Monkey***. Davies would later become well-known for *Saving Private Ryan* and the TV series *Lost*. * **Alicia Witt:** Nominated for her role as Bonnie in the thriller ***Fun***. ### **Other Recognition for the Cast** While the other lead actors—most notably **Brian O'Halloran** (Dante Hicks) and **Jason Mewes** (Jay)—did not receive individual award nominations, the cast as a whole shared in the film's collective prestige: * **Sundance Film Festival (1994):** The film won the **Filmmakers Trophy** and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. These awards were largely a tribute to Kevin Smith’s writing and the authentic chemistry of the cast. * **Cannes Film Festival (1994):** *Clerks* won the **Award of the Youth** (Prix de la Jeunesse) and the **Mercedes-Benz Award**. These honors highlighted the film’s "voice of a generation" appeal, which was driven by the performances of the leads. * **Kevin Smith:** While Smith acted as **Silent Bob**, his nominations and wins were strictly for filmmaking. At the Independent Spirit Awards, he was nominated for **Best First Feature** and **Best First Screenplay** (losing both to David O. Russell's *Spanking the Monkey*). ### **Summary of Nominations** | Actor | Role | Award | Category | Result | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **Jeff Anderson** | Randal Graves | Independent Spirit Award | Best Debut Performance | Nominated | | **Brian O'Halloran** | Dante Hicks | N/A | N/A | No major noms | | **Jason Mewes** | Jay | N/A | N/A | No major noms | | **Kevin Smith** | Silent Bob | Independent Spirit Award | Best First Feature / Screenplay | Nominated |

#A DIRECT ANSWER (VERIFIED ANALYSIS)

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Yes, Jeff Anderson (Randal Graves) was the only actor in Clerks to receive a major award nomination. He was nominated for Best Debut Performance at the 1995 Independent Spirit Awards. He lost to Sean Nelson, who won for his role in the film Fresh. The other nominees in the category were Renée Zellweger (Love and a .45), Jeremy Davies (Spanking the Monkey), and Alicia Witt (Fun). While Brian O'Halloran and Jason Mewes did not receive individual nominations, the film itself won the Filmmakers Trophy at Sundance and the Award of the Youth at Cannes.

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