Jason Voorhees: Encyclopedia II - Jason Voorhees - The men behind the mask

Jason Voorhees - The men behind the mask

Much like his masked counterpart Michael Myers, the part of Jason Voorhees has been played by various actors; some uncredited, others taking great pride in their parts. Due to the physical demands the character requires and the lack of emotional depth depicted, it comes as no surprise that almost all of the actors are stuntmen with no pre-existing history solely in acting. The best known among them is Kane Hodder who has become a favourite among fans and is often cited as the best to take up the role; there are others, however, that argue against these claims, pointing to another one of the actors as a better or "best Jason." Although, it is worth noting that there are those who do not see any distinction between the portrayals and do not find it worth arguing over.

In the original Friday the 13th Ari Lehman portrayed a young Jason, seen only in a brief flashback and the surprise ending. Although he is not the only actor to portray a young Jason (a role that went to Timothy Burr Mirkovich in Jason Takes Manhattan and Spencer Stump in Freddy vs. Jason) he stands as the first actor to ever play Jason Voorhees.

For the role of the first adult Jason, some controversy arose over the role in Part 2. While Warrington Gillette is credited as Jason, the majority of the role was actually played by Steve Daskewisz, who was simply credited as the stunt double. Gillette only played the role in the unmasked scene, with Daskewisz playing the role in almost all of the character's other scenes. Although this credit was corrected of sorts in Part 3 (in which Daskewisz is credited as Jason for the reused footage from the climax of the film), this confusion existed for years.

Daskewisz was asked to reprise his role in the third film, but turned it down simply because of the money he would have had to put out during filming and refrained (though he later says he regrets this). Instead, the role went to Richard Brooker, a trapeze artist, cast simply because of his big frame. He took the role believing that dialogue was not a necessity to acting.

More controversy stirred for the part in The Final Chapter when the role was handed over to professional stuntman Ted White. He refused credit for the role, feeling bad about the treatment of the actors who would play the victims. He claims that he took the role solely for the money, not wanting his name on what he called a "piece of shit." Although, he has been cited as later saying that the film come out better than he had expected and is credited in reused footage for later films.

Much like with Part 2, there has been confusion over the role in A New Beginning, partly due to the crediting of the killer and not Jason himself. While Dick Wieand is credited as Roy Burns, the film's actual murderer, it was stuntman Tom Morga who performed in the few flashes of Jason, as well as portraying Roy in all but the unmasked scenes. Wieand, while not ashamed, has been outspoken about his lack of enthusiasm over his role in the film.

C.J. Graham auditioned for the role in the sixth film. He initially lost the role, but was called back five days later for the role when the hired stuntman, Dan Bradley, failed to give the desired performance (Bradley can still be seen in the paintball sequence in the film). A nightclub owner with a military history, Graham performed almost all of his own stunts in the role. Although he was passed over for reprising the role, he has often been cited as speaking highly of his time in the part.

The part was then taken up by Kane Hodder in The New Blood where he carried the role consecutively into Jason Takes Manhattan, Jason Goes To Hell, and Jason X. He remains the only actor to reprise the role, and is often cited as perfecting the role. His strong following caused obvious upset among fans when he was turned down the role for a fifth time.

For Freddy vs. Jason, the role went instead to Ken Kirzinger, a Canadian stuntman who worked on Jason Takes Manhattan. There has been conflicting reports over the reason behind the casting of Kirzinger, although many believe that it may have simply been due to his residence in Canada, where the film was shot, and thus done to save money.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "The men behind the mask", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki