Throughout theFriday the 13thseries, many actors have played the iconic killer, Jason Voorhees, some better than others.Jason Voorhees cycled through looks and costumesacross the years, as well as actors, many of whom only played the character once. The films sometimes brought in different actors in each movie to stand in for Jason when he wasn’t wholly on screen, buteach movie generally has one or, in some cases, two actors associated with the role. Many shots of the killer remain faceless, mirroring Jason’s menacing yet sneaky killing style.
Jason Voorhees typically wears a hockey maskwhen his face is shown, which has become synonymous with the killer. The character design allowed him to beplayed solely by stuntmensince throughout theFriday the 13thfranchise, Jason killsbut doesn’t speak. With a series that is over 40 years old with many film and television installments, fans are often divided on who they believe to be the best portrayer of Jason.
All 12 Friday The 13th Movies, Ranked
The Friday the 13th horror franchise is both famous and often underrated, so finding the best movie of the bunch can be tough.
10Tom Morga
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
Morga played Jason in a character’s flashbacks inFriday the 13th: A New Beginning.The plot of the franchise’s film installment revolves less around Jasonand becomes more of a mystery film, trying to figure out who is killing all the teens. The killer walks around in a mask similar to Jason’s, although it has blue accents instead of Jason’s classic red.
Morga was the only actor to play Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, and Michael Myers.
ThoughJason is not a significant character in this installment, Morga plays him like the hulking and intimidating character from the rest of the franchise. He also plays the other killer, who many assume to be Jason. Morga based his performance off other iterations of the famous killer, keeping him true to form. Ultimately, his role had little impact on the franchise as a whole.
9Warrington Gillette
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
Warrington Gillette as Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th Part II (1981)
Gillette was the first actor to play Jason inFriday the 13th Part 2. After shooting several scenes,he left the film’s cast, reportedly due to the difficulty of the stuntsperformed. Gillette was a younger and less experienced stuntman than his successor, Steve Dash, who played Jason for the rest of the movie.
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Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees has a mean streak, but fans should be thankful the horror icon hides his frightful façade behind a hockey mask.
However, Gillette plays the unmasked Jason, who attacks the new final girl, Ginny. Gillette crashes through the window behind her in a style similar to Lehman’s Jason. The stunt was filmed early in the production since Gillette was still playing Jason. Though he gave an important performance as Jason, overall,Gillette’s contribution to the franchise was much less significant than other actors.
8Ari Lehman
Friday the 13th (1980)
Lehman acted as the original Jason before he turned into a murderous adult. In the franchise’s first film, the killer isn’t actually Jason, but his mother, Pamela Voorhees, played by Betsy Palmer. Throughout the film, Jason is thought to be dead, having drowned in the lake as a child. But at the end of the first film,a dirty young child jumps out of the lakeand pulls Alice into the lake, suggesting the boy survived and was preserved as a child in the lake.
Evidently, this is a dream sequence, as Alice is alive at the beginning of the next film. Much of the film’s crew thought there would be no sequel since the killer, Pamela, was dead, as was Jason. However, the success of the first film prompted them to make another installment, with the chronically adult Jason looking to avenge his mother. Though Lehman’s performance as young Jason is only a dream,it was essential to sparking Jason’s return for the rest of the franchise.
7Ken Kirzinger
Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
Kirzinger was a longtime stuntman and coordinator before playing Jason. He had previously appeared in the series, playing a line cook in Jason Takes Manhattan. He had also done a few stunts for Hodder in the film as well. However,Freddy vs. Jason’s director, Ronny Yu, tried to limit Kirzinger’s stunts in the movie, with Kirzinger having his own stuntman, Glenn Ennis.
Kirzinger tried to create a new personality for Jason, distancing him from the iconic performance Kane Hodder had made in previous films. Kirzinger’s Jason even had a new, more distinct mask.His menacing height of six feet and five inchesalso played a significant factor in his part in the role, towering over Robert Englund’s Freddy Krueger. Though some fans don’t support Jason’s recasting, Kirzinger brings life to the role, taking the character in yet another new direction.
6Steve Dash
After Gillette left the project, Dash, also known as Steve Daskewisz, played the masked version of Jason inFriday the 13th Part 2.Dash was credited as “Jason Stunt Double,“while Gillette earned the official credit of Jason. Since Jason has yet to find his iconic hockey mask, Dash plays the role while wearing a cloth bag on his head with one eye hole cut out. This was before the hockey mask became an important part of Jason’s identity, and is a look often forgotten by viewers.
Jason’s look with the bag on his head was instead by the villain in the 1976 film,The Town That Dreaded Sundown.
Dash’s performance as Jason was significant to the franchise, with it beingthe first time that adult Jason was seen on screen. He gave Jason a sense of grief and vengeance for his recently passed mother, helping to define the character’s motives early in the series. Aside fromFriday the 13th Part 2, Dash worked as a stuntman and coordinator on other horror films includingMr. Hush, Night Shift,andAlone in the Dark.He passed away in 2018 due to health issues.
5Richard Brooker
Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
When Dash did not return to reprise the role fromPart 2, Brooker, a British acrobat was cast for the role.Brooker did his own stunts in the film. He was infamous for his nonchalant portrayal of Jason. When shown on screen, Jason seems indifferent to his kills. He meanders in his walking and seems ultimately unmotivated to speed his murdering spree along. This helped paint Jason as an unstoppable killing machine for the rest of the series.
Notably,Brooker was the first Jason actor to don the infamous hockey mask, which he takes from one of his victims. When not wearing the mask, Brooker endured hours in the makeup department as they applied prosthetics to his face. Jason became his most famous role, only appearing in more minor roles after the film. He later became a producer and businessman, leaving the film industry. Brooker died in 2013.
4Derek Mears
Friday the 13th (2009)
In the 2009 series reboot, Jason is once again rewritten and recast, this time played by the menacing Mears. In the film,Jason is given more awareness and motivation, as opposed to being a mindless killer. He’s played as a survivalist who becomes an agile hunter when disturbed. His fighting techniques are also elevated, making him a more compelling villain, though there are cool kills throughout the series.
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The Friday the 13th remake pays homage to the original Jason Voorhees franchise while carving out a space of its own with a mix of comedy and horror.
Mears is often lauded for his attempt to give Jason more depth, taking the character as an acting role, instead of a stunt opportunity. Many find Mears' Jason to be the most intimidating and scary, given his upgraded abilities and skills. By this point, the film wasn’t restricted to the confines of the campy 1980s slashers from which it originated, and it was used as an opportunity to change the movie’s tone, leaning more towards horror.
3Ted White
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
White became the next Jason inFriday the 13th: The Final Chapter, which was assumed to be the fourth and last installment in the series. White was 58 when he played Jason andalready had an established career as a stuntmanlong before taking the role. Since he’d already had industry success before the film, White requested that his name not be included in the credits, though it is still one of his most notable roles.
White had done stunts for John Wayne, Rock Hudson, and Clark Gable.
White’s portrayal of Jason drastically changed the character from Brooker’s interpretation. White decided to make the character faster and kill more swiftly. This was in direct contrast to Brooker’s nonchalant but animalistic killer. White does a good job showing Jason’s anger and making him a more motivated character. White was offered the role of Jason forFriday the 13th: A New BeginningandFriday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, but ultimately turned it down. White died in 2022 at the age of 96.
2CJ Graham
Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives
Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Livesbecame an homage to Jason’s unstoppable killing, with him being much more central to the plot than in the previous films. Graham was chosen to replace the original stuntman Dan Bradley, who was reportedly recast because he lacked the menace necessary to play Jason.Graham’s intimidating physical prowesshelped him secure the role. He also portrayed the undead nature of the film’s resurrected Jason well. Overall, the film is considered one of the franchise’s best, partly due to Graham’s performance.
This was Graham’s film debut, having been a nightclub owner prior to the film. He went on to explore other roles in aspects of theFriday the 13thproperty, thoughJason Liveswas the only time he played the killer.He did reprise his role in an Alice Cooper music videofor the song “He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask),” which was written for the film.
1Kane Hodder
Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood, Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan, Jason Goes to Hell, and Jason X
Hodder’s characterization of Jason has become synonymous with the franchise, making him the most meaningful and larger-than-life murderer of the series. Heturned Jason into the unbridled rage machinethat many think of. The use of deep breathing, strict posture, and purposeful head movements all made Hodder’s Jason so memorable. While some of the other actors portray Jason as meandering, Hodder is purposeful and driven to kill.
Hodder was hired for his willingness to go full out for stunts, which helped bring Jason to life. Because of this, Jason was able to engage in more exciting and theatrical skills and situations. This appreciation is expressed inHodder’s roles in four of theFriday the 13thfilms, making him the only actor to do more than one film as the killer. Among the many actors who played Jason inFriday the 13th, Hodder’s performance stood out in over a decade’s worth of films.
Friday the 13th
The Friday the 13th film franchise is a chilling saga centered around the cursed Camp Crystal Lake and the supernatural serial killer Jason Voorhees. Known for his iconic hockey mask and relentless brutality, Jason is a nigh-indestructible force driven by vengeance. The series follows different groups of teenagers who encounter Jason, leading to gruesome fates. Spanning several decades and various settings, from Camp Crystal Lake to the bustling streets of Manhattan, the franchise combines supernatural elements with slasher horror.
