Dante Hicks (Born 1972) is a fictional character and one of the protagonists in Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse, played by Brian O'Halloran. He was introduced in Clerks. He is based loosely on the poet Dante (the movie itself is loosely based on the first section of The Divine Comedy, Inferno.) Image File history File links Dante. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Alice, a fictional character based on a real character from the work of Lewis Carroll. ... Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American screenwriter, film director, and the founder of View Askew Productions. ... The View Askewniverse is a fictional universe created by Kevin Smith, featured in several films, comics and a television series; it is named for Smiths production company, View Askew Productions. ... Brian OHalloran, as Dante Hicks in the film Clerks. ... Clerks. ... DANTE is also a digital audio network. ... Dante shown holding a copy of The Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to Hell, the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory and the city of Florence, in Michelinos fresco. ...

Dante in Clerks.

In Clerks., Dante is 22, works at the Quick Stop Market in Leonardo, New Jersey, and he still lives with his parents. He feels that because he runs the store, he is independent and in control of his life, and yet, he is a big push-over who often agrees to work when he doesn't have to (hence his catch phrase, "I'm not even supposed to be here today!"). He frequently gets into debates ranging from philosophy to Star Wars with his lifelong best friend, fellow high school graduate and clerk Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson), who works at the adjacent RST Video Store. Clerks. ... Leonardo is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Middletown Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey. ... A catch phrase is a phrase or expression that is popularized, usually through repeated use, by a real person or fictional character. ... The philosopher Socrates about to take poison hemlock as ordered by the court. ... Star Wars is an epic space opera saga and a fictional universe initially developed by George Lucas during the 1970s and expanded since that time. ... Dante Hicks (left) and Randal (right) Randal Graves (b. ... Jeffrey Allan Anderson (born April 21, 1970 in Long Branch, New Jersey) is an American film actor best known for being featured in Clerks. ...

The film centers around the chaotic events of a day at the Quick Stop that Dante must deal with. Among other problems, Dante becomes the target of an anti-smoking mob who pelt him with cigarettes, and he is fined for selling cigarettes to a four-year-old, a crime Randal had in fact committed. In addition, he is continually harassed by Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith), two drug dealers who loiter in front of the store all day and often like to go inside and steal. The film also deals with Dante's problematic romantic relationships. He has difficulty dealing with his girlfriend Veronica (Marilyn Ghigliotti), especially her extensive history of performing fellatio (on 37 different men, including him) — even though she seems to genuinely care for him, going so far as to bring him lasagna at work and help him fix a tire. At the same time, Dante is infatuated with ex-girlfriend Caitlin Bree (Lisa Spoonhauer) and seems intent on rekindling that relationship. In the end, Dante ends up with neither woman; Veronica ditches him after learning that Dante never got over Caitlin, and Caitlin is hospitalized after accidentally having sex in a dark bathroom with a corpse, whom she had believed to be Dante. Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) and Jay (Jason Mewes) during the events of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Jay and Silent Bob are fictional characters portrayed by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectively, in Kevin Smiths View Askewniverse. ... Jason Edward Mewes (born June 12, 1974) is an American television and film actor known for playing foul-mouthed drug dealer Jay, the vocal half of Jay and Silent Bob from the “View Askewniverse” films of Mewes longtime friend Kevin Smith. ... Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American screenwriter, film director, and the founder of View Askew Productions. ... Marilyn Ghigliotti, born August 10, 1961 in New York, is a character actress famous for the role of Veronica Loughlin in Clerks. ... Fellatio is oral sex performed upon the male human penis. ... Lasagna in the crinkly American style. ... Caitlin Bree (played by Lisa Spoonhauer) in Clerks. ... Lisa Spoonhauer, as Caitlin Bree in the film Lisa Spoonhauer, is a character actress famous for the role of Caitlin Bree in Clerks. ... For other uses, see Body (disambiguation). ...

Toward the end of the film, Dante laments his lot in life, only to be left speechless when Randal explodes at him, accusing him of blaming everyone else for his lack of initiative in getting what he wants. In the final scene, he tells Randal that he is going to try and work things out with Veronica, and it is implied that he will try to find direction in his life.

Dante in Clerks II

In the beginning of Clerks II, Dante is now 33. Despite the epiphany at the end the first film, Dante still works at the Quick Stop after ten years, until Randal accidentally burns it down by forgetting to turn off a coffeepot. The two then get jobs at Mooby's, a fast food joint. A year later, however, a thirty-four year old Dante looks like he is finally ready to move on with his life: he is engaged and is set to move to Florida, where a job as a carwash manager awaits him. Much like the first film, he is still plagued by indecision. Clerks II is the sequel to Kevin Smiths 1994 movie Clerks, and his sixth feature film to be set in the View Askewniverse. ... The Mooby the Golden Calf logo Mooby the Golden Calf is a fictional childrens television character featured in Kevin Smiths View Askewniverse, most notably in the film Dogma. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami metropolitan area Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ...

Clerks II follows Dante during his last day at work at Mooby's. Dante is engaged to Emma (Jennifer Schwalbach Smith), a domineering woman who makes all his decisions for him. They are set to leave New Jersey the next day and move to Florida, where Dante has been offered a job running one of his future father in law's carwashes. Jennifer Schwalbach Smith (sometimes credited as Jennifer Schwalbach) (born 7 April 1971) is an actress, former reporter for USA Today, and the wife of American film director Kevin Smith. ...

As his last day at work unfolds, it is revealed that he had a drunken one night stand with his boss, Becky (Rosario Dawson), a much younger woman who claims not to believe in romantic love. As the day progresses, he comes to the realization that he is in love with Becky and, in an unguarded moment, confesses his feelings to her. In turn, she reveals to him that that she got pregnant as a result of their fling. One Night Stand is an HBO Stand-up Series that first aired February 15, 1989. ... Rosario Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress and occasional singer known for her roles in films such as Sin City, Rent, Clerks II, Alexander, and Grindhouse. ... A pregnant woman Pregnancy is the process by which a mammalian female carries a live offspring from conception until it develops to the point where the offspring is capable of living outside the womb. ...

After Dante confides in Randal about his problem, Randal predictably confronts Becky about the situation, causing her to storm off in her car. Randal encourages Dante to try and find her, but to come back an hour later to help him close up the place. While driving around alone, Dante has time to think and decides that he wants a family with Becky.

As he comes back to work, he sees smoke coming from inside the Mooby's and dials 9-1-1 for help. Inside, instead of a fire, he finds his friends waiting for him for a surprise farewell party, as Randal had secretly booked a donkey show as Dante's going away surprise. During the party, Becky returns, and finally admits to Dante that she loves him. They start kissing passionately, only to be surprised by Emma. She kicks him in the groin, throws the cake she had prepared for him in his face (encouraged on by Jay of Jay and Silent Bob) and leaves after throwing her engagement ring at Becky. Immediately following this, the police and fire department show up to respond to the phone call Dante made but never cancelled, and the entire group, save Becky who escapes out the back door, is taken to the police station's drunk tank for the night. Exactly why this happened is unknown, but the Sexy Stud states nobody can be charged for watching a donkey show. He admits that he will most likely be the only one getting fined for animal cruelty and get "a whole lot of dirty looks." This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A bar in Boys Town, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico advertising a nightly donkeys show. A donkey show is a form of live entertainment in which a person (usually a woman) performs sexual acts with a donkey. ... A Drunk tank is a cell used by police to hold those who were arrested drunk (and usually for the crime of being drunk in public). ... Cruelty to animals refers to treatment which causes unacceptable suffering to animals. ...

Dante says he wants to go back to Emma and move to Florida as planned. He then blames Randal for his predicament, and angrily renounces their friendship. In a rare moment of vulnerability, Randal tearfully tells his best friend that he loves him ("in a completely heterosexual way"), and convinces him to stay in New Jersey, buy the Quick Stop and re-open it. After his release, Dante pulls up to the drive through window where Becky works and offers her an engagement ring. She enthusiastically accepts. He and Randal buy the building where the Quick Stop and RST Video store used to be (with financial assistance from Jay and Silent Bob) and re-open them.

Other appearances

A Clerks live action TV pilot was made, without Smith's permission, by the Walt Disney company. O' Halloran originally auditioned for his role, but was eventually portrayed by Andrew Lowery. O'Halloran later said he was glad not to get the part, as the pilot was not of great quality.

Dante 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, Bluntman and Chronic and Walt Flanagan's Dog. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Talk was a popular American magazine edited by Tina Brown. ... Chasing Dogma is a comic mini-series that chronicles the events of the two fictional stoners Jay and Silent Bob between two of their films: Chasing Amy and Dogma. ... The cover for the actual Bluntman and Chronic comic book. ...

He has a cameo in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back in which Randal loses his temper with the title characters and banishes them from the Quick Stop, where he still works. Later, when the pair are described as terrorists on the news, Randal acknowledges that the restraining order was a good idea with Dante across from him. He is among the various Askewniverse characters seen exiting the premiere of Bluntman & Chronic at the end of the film, incredulous that his character in the film was played by Judi Dench. In a scene in which Jay raves about super monkeys taking over the world, Dante is seen having his brain taken out by monkeys exclaiming "I'm not even supposed to be here today!" Since its first use in 1851, a cameo role or cameo appearance has been a brief appearance in a play (or later, a movie) that stands out against the general context for its éclat or dramatic punch. ... Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) is a film written by, directed and starring Kevin Smith, the fifth to be set in his View Askewniverse, a growing collection of characters and settings that developed out of his cult favorite Clerks. ... This article is becoming very long. ... An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that either prohibits or compels (enjoins or restrains) a party from continuing a particular activity. ... Dame Judith Olivia Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA, (born 9 December 1934), usually known as Dame Judi Dench, is an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Tony, three-time BAFTA, and six-time Laurence Olivier Award-winning English actress. ...

He appears in animated form in Clerks: The Animated Series, of which six episodes were produced (with only two airing on ABC before the series was cancelled). Still employed at the Quick Stop, his adventures throughout the series' short existence include managing a Junior Little League baseball team, being sued by Jay for $10 million, and being forced to admit he is gay on national television in order to save Leonardo from being destroyed by a military bomber. The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ... GAY can mean: Gay, a term referring to homosexual men or women The IATA code for Gaya Airport Category: ... Leonardo is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Middletown Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey. ...

He also appears in the 2002 short film The Flying Car, in which he's asked by Randal what he would sacrifice for marketing rights to the eponymous technology. Short subject is an American film industry term that historically has referred to any film in the format of two reels, or approximately 20 minutes running time, or less. ... The Flying Car is a 2002 seven-minute short film written and directed by Kevin Smith. ...

Dante is featured 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.

Trivia

• In the original ending of Clerks., Dante is shot and killed by an armed robber after Randal leaves, cementing the fact that he was "not supposed to be here today." Kevin Smith admits he was going to use this ending because he "didn't know how to end a film." The scene was cut before the film screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 1994, but it appears on the Clerks special edition DVD.
• Dante's goatee changes throughout Clerks. Kevin Smith had asked O'Halloran to shave it off; once he saw O'Halloran without it, Smith asked him to grow it back, and the non-linear shooting schedule resulted in fluctuating facial hair when the film was edited together.
• Subsequent Askewniverse films feature characters named Hicks who are played by O'Halloran; all are said to be cousins of Dante, including Gil Hicks, a university scholar who appeared in Mallrats on the TV show "Truth or Date"; Grant Hicks, a news reporter seen in Dogma, and Jim Hicks, a television producer seen in Chasing Amy,
• Dante is apparently skilled in applying nail polish (something he prefers to keep hidden from Randall), during Clerks, he applies polish to Veronica's fingernails, while in Clerks 2, Becky is the recipient, this time on her toenails.