Jason James Richter
Jason James Richter is an American actor and musician, most commonly known for his role in the Free Willy film series as Jesse, the boy who befriends Willy the orca.
Early life
Richter was born in Medford, Oregon, the son of Sandra "Sandy" Montgomery an actress, and Gregory Lynn Richter, who was in the U.S. Navy. At the age of three, 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 San Diego California.Career
Richter starred as Jesse in Free Willy, a role for which he was chosen out of more than 4,000 candidates. His other films include Cops & Robbersons, The NeverEnding Story III, ', Laserhawk, ', and The Setting Son. He also made a cameo appearance in the music video for Michael Jackson's "Childhood". His most recent film appearance was in The Brawler.Between the Free Willy roles, he had TV guest roles on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and The Client.
He was the bassist for the band Fermata.
Richter is a fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars. He is also a movie producer.
Filmography
Film| Title | Year | Role | Note |
| Free Willy | Jesse | Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film − Nominated: MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss − Nominated: MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance | |
| Cops and Robbersons | Kevin Robberson | ||
| The Neverending Story III | Bastian | ||
| ' | Jesse | ||
| Laserhawk | Zach Raymond | ||
| ' | Jesse | ||
| The Setting Son | Big Bully | ||
| Ricochet River | Wade | ||
| Tekken | Bonner's Associate | Additionally served as assistant director | |
| Inhumane | Dr. Aaron Graybor | ||
| Vicious | Jeff | Additionally serving as producer | |
| High and Outside | Johnny | ||
| 3 Solitude | Elliot | ||
| The Brawler | John Olson | ||
| The Little Things | Detective Dennis Williams | Post-production |
Television
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
| The Client | Chris Love | Season 1, Episode 15 – "The Morning After" | |
| Sabrina the Teenage Witch | Dante | Season 2, Episode 4 – Dante's Inferno | |
| Rugrats | Ringo / The Bull | Season 5, Episode 5 – "He Saw, She Saw / Piggy's Pizza Palace" | |
| Bones | Clown No. 2 | Season 4, Episode 12 – "Double Trouble in the Panhandle | |
| ' | Matthew Keane | Season 1, Episode 8 – "" | |
| Life's a Pitch | Jimmy | Television film |
Additional credits'
- The Quiet Loud ... Paul
- Remember the Sultana ... Erastus Winters, Cpl William Norton, Pvt. John Zazier