Jason James Richter | |
---|---|
Born | |
Occupation(s) | Actor, musician |
Years active | 1992–present |
Website | https://www.instagram.com/jason_james_richter/ |
Jason James Richter (Born January 29, 1980) [1] is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his role in the Free Willy film series as Jesse, the boy who befriends Willy the orca. [1]
Richter was born on January 29, 1980, in Medford, Oregon, [1] the son of Sandra "Sandy" Montgomery, an actress, and Gregory Lynn Richter, who was in the U.S. Navy. At the age of 3, he and his family moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, where a Japanese casting agency discovered him and signed him up for three TV spots. In 1989, his family moved back to the mainland, settling in San Diego, California.
Richter starred as Jesse in Free Willy (1993), a role for which he was chosen out of more than 4,000 candidates. [2] His other films include Cops & Robbersons , The NeverEnding Story III , Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home , Laserhawk , Free Willy 3: The Rescue , and The Setting Son. He also reprised his role as Jesse in the music video for Michael Jackson's "Childhood", which was featured in Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home . In 2021, he appeared in the thriller The Little Things , his first studio film since the Free Willy films.
Between the Free Willy roles, he had TV guest roles on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch , Rugrats and The Client .
Following his appearance in Ricochet River, Richter took a decade long hiatus from acting where he was the guitarist and bassist for Blue Root and Fermata, respectively. [3]
Title | Year | Role | Note |
---|---|---|---|
Free Willy | 1993 | Jesse | Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film − (tied with Edward Furlong for A Home of Our Own ) Nominated: MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss − (shared with Keiko) Nominated: MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance |
Cops and Robbersons | 1994 | Kevin Robberson | |
The NeverEnding Story III: Return to Fantasia | Bastian | ||
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home | 1995 | Jesse | |
Laserhawk | 1997 | Zach Raymond | |
Free Willy 3: The Rescue | Jesse | ||
The Setting Son | Big Bully | ||
Ricochet River | 1998 | Wade | |
Tekken | 2009 | Bonner's Associate | Additionally served as assistant director |
Inhumane | 2015 | Dr. Aaron Graybor | |
Vicious | Jeff | Additionally serving as producer | |
High and Outside | 2016 | Johnny | |
3 Solitude | 2017 | Elliot | |
Last Rampage | Officer Ketchum | as Jason Richter | |
The Brawler | 2019 | John Olson | |
The Little Things | 2021 | Detective Williams | |
Last Call | Saville | ||
Title | Year | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Movie Magic | 1995 | Himself | Episode: "Aqua Animatronics" |
The Client | 1996 | Chris Love | Episode: "The Morning After" |
Sabrina the Teenage Witch | 1997 | Dante | Episode: "Dante's Inferno" |
Rugrats | Ringo the Bull | Episode: "He Saw, She Saw/Piggy's Pizza Palace" | |
Mega Movie Magic | 2001 | Himself (archive footage) | Episode: "Free Willy 2/Independence Day" |
Bones | 2009 | Clown No. 2 | as Jason Richter; Episode: "Double Trouble in the Panhandle" |
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior | 2011 | Matthew Keane | Episode: "Nighthawk" |
Life's a Pitch | 2014 | Jimmy | TV movie |
Year | Title | Role | Artist | Director |
---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | "Childhood" | Jesse | Michael Jackson | Nicholas Brandt |
2018 | "Pink Honey" | Tall Man | Houses | Brook Linder |
Additional credits
The Goonies is a 1985 American adventure comedy film directed and co-produced by Richard Donner from a screenplay by Chris Columbus based on a story by Steven Spielberg and starring Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, and Ke Huy Quan, with supporting roles done by John Matuszak, Anne Ramsey, Robert Davi, Joe Pantoliano, and Mary Ellen Trainor. In the film, a group of kids who live in the "Goon Docks" neighborhood of Astoria, Oregon, attempt to save their homes from foreclosure and, in doing so, they discover an old treasure map that takes them on an adventure to unearth the long-lost fortune of One-Eyed Willy, a legendary 17th-century pirate. During the adventure, they are chased by a family of criminals who want the treasure for themselves.
Gene Wilder was an American actor, comedian, writer and filmmaker known mainly for his comedic roles, but also for his portrayal of Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971). He collaborated with Mel Brooks on the films The Producers (1967), Blazing Saddles (1974) and Young Frankenstein (1974), and with Richard Pryor in the films Silver Streak (1976), Stir Crazy (1980), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and Another You (1991).
Free Willy is a 1993 American family drama film, directed by Simon Wincer, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Jennie Lew Tugend, written by Keith A. Walker and Corey Blechman from a story by Walker and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures under their Family Entertainment imprint. The film stars Jason James Richter in his film debut, Lori Petty, Jayne Atkinson, August Schellenberg, and Michael Madsen with the eponymous character, Willy, played by Keiko. The story is about an orphaned boy who befriends a captive orca, Willy, at an ailing amusement park. When he discovers that the park owners plan to dispose of Willy, he hatches a scheme to break him out of captivity.
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home is a 1995 American family adventure drama film directed by Dwight Little from a screenplay by Karen Janszen, Corey Blechman and John Mattson. It is the sequel to the 1993 film Free Willy and second installment in the Free Willy film series distributed by Warner Bros. under their Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label. Jason James Richter, Jayne Atkinson, August Schellenberg, Michael Madsen and Mykelti Williamson reprise their roles from the first film. New cast members include Jon Tenney and Elizabeth Peña. Unlike the previous film where Keiko played Willy, a robotic double created by Edge Innovations was used to play the eponymous whale while the Free Willy Keiko Foundation devised a plan to bring Keiko to the Oregon Coast Aquarium where he would be rehabilitated from poor health. However, Keiko did make an uncredited appearance, reprising his role as Willy through an archival clip shown in the movie. The plot, taking place two years after Jesse freed his orca friend Willy whose now reunited with his family which includes sister Luna, brother Littlespot and mother Catspaw, follows Jesse in a race against time after an oil spill separated Willy and his siblings from their mother and it's up to him to get them back home before the oil traps them in the cove for good.
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Dwight Hubbard Little is an American film and television director, known for directing the films Marked for Death, Rapid Fire, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, Murder at 1600 and Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. He has also directed several episodes of acclaimed television series such as 24, Prison Break, Dollhouse, Bones and Nikita. Little was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He studied film at USC.
August Werner Schellenberg was a Canadian actor. He played Randolph in the first three installments of the Free Willy film series (1993–1997) as well as characters in Black Robe (1991), The New World (2005), and dozens of other films and television shows.
Free Willy 3: The Rescue is a 1997 American family film directed by Sam Pillsbury and written by John Mattson. Released by Warner Bros. under their Warner Bros. Family Entertainment banner, it is the sequel to Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home in addition to being the third film in the Free Willy franchise and final installment of the original storyline as well as the last to be released theatrically. Jason James Richter and August Schellenberg reprise their roles from the previous films while Annie Corley, Vincent Berry and Patrick Kilpatrick joined the cast. The story revolves around Jesse and Randolph attempting to stop a group of whalers, led by its ruthless captain, from illegally hunting Willy while secretly receiving help from an unlikely source involving the captain's young son after an accident changed his view on whales.
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