Jason James Richter (born January 29, 1980) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his role in the ''

Free Willy ''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. Picture ...

'' film series as Jesse, the boy who befriends Willy the

orca The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white ...

Early life

Richter was born on January 29, 1980, in

Medford, Oregon Medford is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census on April 1, 2020, the city had a total population of 85,824 and a metropolitan area population of 223,259, making the ...

, 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 Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

, 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 San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

Career

Richter starred as Jesse in ''

'' (1993), a role for which he was chosen out of more than 4,000 candidates. His other films include '' Cops & Robbersons'', ''

The NeverEnding Story III ''The NeverEnding Story III: Escape from Fantasia'' (also known as: ''The NeverEnding Story III: Return to Fantasia'') is a 1994 fantasy- adventure film. It is the third and final film in the franchise. It stars Jason James Richter as Bastian Ba ...

'', '' 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 Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's "

Childhood A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger t ...

", 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 ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first app ...

'', ''

Rugrats ''Rugrats'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on a group of toddlers; most prominently—Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica, and twins Phil and Lil, an ...

'' 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.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Additional credits * ''The Quiet Loud'' (2013) ... Paul (short film; directed, produced and written by) * ''Remember the Sultana'' (2015) ... Erastus Winters, Cpl William Norton, Pvt. John Zazier (documentary film; voice)

References

External links

*
Jason James Richter
on Instagram {{DEFAULTSORT:Richter, Jason James 1980 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors Musicians from New Jersey People from Medford, Oregon