Editing Jason James Richter

{{Short description|American actor}}
{{distinguish|Jason Ritter}}
{{Infobox person|
| image         = 
| name          = Jason James Richter
| caption       = 
| birth_date    = {{Birth date and age|1980|01|29}}
| birth_place   = [[Medford, Oregon]]
| birth_name    = 
| occupation    = Actor
| years_active  = 1992–present
| notable_works = {{plainlist|
* ''[[Free Willy]]'' (1993)
* ''[[Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home]]'' (1995)
* ''[[Free Willy 3: The Rescue]]'' (1997)
}}
}}

'''Jason James Richter ''' (born January 29, 1980)<ref name="Oregonian-2014apr30">{{cite news|last=Baker|first=Jeff|title=17 actors you (maybe) didn't know were from Oregon|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2014/04/17_actors_you_maybe_didn.html |access-date=February 16, 2016|newspaper=[[The Oregonian]]|location=Portland, Oregon|date=April 30, 2014}}</ref> is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his role in the ''[[Free Willy (franchise)|Free Willy]]'' film series as Jesse, the boy who befriends Willy the [[orca]].<ref name="Oregonian-2014apr30" />

==Early life==
Richter was born on January 29, 1980, in [[Medford, Oregon]],<ref name="Oregonian-2014apr30" /> 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]].{{cn|date=February 2024}}

==Career==
Richter starred as Jesse in ''[[Free Willy]]'' (1993), a role for which he was chosen out of more than 4,000 candidates.<ref>{{cite web|author=Tom Gliatto |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20101327,00.html |title=Prince of Whales |work=People |date=August 14, 1995 |access-date=April 22, 2018}}</ref>

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 (Michael Jackson song)|Childhood]]", which was featured in ''[[Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home]]''. In 2021, he appeared in the thriller ''[[The Little Things (2021 film)|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 (1996 TV series)|Sabrina, the Teenage Witch]]'', ''[[Rugrats]]'' and ''[[The Client (TV series)|The Client]]''.

Following his appearance in ''Ricochet River'', Richter took a decade long hiatus from acting where he was the  bassist Fermata.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.themodernage.org/2008/01/25/where-are-they-now-jason-james-richter/ |title=Where Are They Now? Jason James Richter|publisher=Themodernage.org |date=January 25, 2008 |access-date=April 22, 2018}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Film
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! width="350"|Notes
|-
| 1993
| ''[[Free Willy]]''
| Jesse
| 
|-
| 1994
| ''[[Cops & Robbersons]]''
| Kevin Robberson
|
|-
| 1994
| ''[[The NeverEnding Story III|The NeverEnding Story III: Return to Fantasia]]''
| Bastian
|
|-
| 1995
| ''[[Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home]]''
| Jesse
|
|-
| 1997
| ''[[Free Willy 3: The Rescue]]''
| Jesse
|
|-
| 1997
| ''The Setting Son''
| Big Bully
|
|-
| 1997
| ''[[Laserhawk]]''
| Zach Raymond
| 
|-
| 2001
| ''Ricochet River''
| Wade
|
|-
| 2009
| ''[[Tekken (2009 film)|Tekken]]''
| Bonner's Associate
| Also assistant director
|-
| 2013
| ''The Quiet Loud''
| Paul
| Short film; also director, writer & producer
|-
| 2014
| ''Life's a Pitch''
| Jimmy
| TV film
|-
| 2016
| ''Vicious''
| Jeff
| Also producer
|-
| 2017
| ''[[Last Rampage]]''
| Brawley
| Also associate producer 
|-
| 2017
| ''3 Solitude''
| Elliot
|
|-
| 2017
| ''High & Outside: A Baseball Noir''
| Johnny
|
|-
| 2018
| ''Inhumane''
| Dr. Aaron Graybor
|
|-
| 2018
| ''[[Sultana (steamboat)#Film|Remember the Sultana]]''
| Corporal Erastus Winters/<br />Corporal William Norton/<br />Private John Zazier (voice)
|
|-
| 2018
| ''818''
| Alex
|
|-
| 2018
| ''Driver''
| Alexander Hutchins
|
|-
| 2019
| ''[[The Brawler]]''
| John Olson
|
|-
| 2019
| ''Infidelity''
| Garret Walker
|
|-
| 2021
| ''[[The Little Things (2021 film)|The Little Things]]''
| Detective Williams
|
|-
| 2021
| ''[[Last Call (2021 film)|Last Call]]''
| Saville
|
|-
| 2023
| ''Natty Knocks''
| Leo
|
|-
| 2023
| ''Nothing to See Here''
| Daniel
|
|-
| 2024
| ''Final Heist''
| {{TBA}}
|
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+Television
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1995
| ''Movie Magic''
| Himself
| Episode: "Aqua Animatronics"
|-
| 1996
| ''[[The Client (TV series)|The Client]]'' 
| Chris Love  
| Episode: "The Morning After" 
|-
| 1997
| ''[[Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996 TV series)|Sabrina the Teenage Witch]]'' 
| Dante  
| Episode: "Dante's Inferno"
|-
| 1997
| ''[[Rugrats]]'' 
| Ringo the Bull  
| Episode: "He Saw, She Saw/Piggy's Pizza Palace"  
|-
| 2001
| ''[[Mega Movie Magic]]''
| Himself (archive footage)
| Episode: "Free Willy 2/Independence Day"
|-
| 2009
| ''[[Bones (TV series)|Bones]]'' 
| Clown No. 2
| Episode: "Double Trouble in the Panhandle"
|-
| 2011
|''[[Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior]]'' 
| Matthew Keane 
| Episode: "Nighthawk"  
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+Music videos
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Artist
! Director
|-
| 1995
| "[[Childhood (Michael Jackson song)|Childhood]]"
| Jesse
| [[Michael Jackson]]
| Nicholas Brandt
|-
| 2018
| "Pink Honey"
| Tall Man
| Houses
| Brook Linder
|}

==Awards and nominations==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col"|Award
! scope="col"|Year
! scope="col"|Category
! scope="col"|Nominated<br />work
! scope="col"|Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable"|{{abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
! scope="row"|[[Young Artist Awards]]
| [[15th Youth in Film Awards|1994]]
| Best Youth Actor Leading Role in a Motion Picture: Drama
| ''[[Free Willy]]'' {{small|(shared with [[Edward Furlong]] for ''[[A Home of Our Own]]'')}}
| {{won}}
| align="center"|<ref>{{cite web| title=Fifteenth Annual Youth in Film Awards 1992–1993| url=http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms15.htm| website=youngartistawards.org| access-date=September 28, 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110403132553/http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms15.htm| archive-date=April 3, 2011}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"|[[MTV Movie & TV Awards]]
| rowspan="2"|[[1994 MTV Movie Awards|1994]]
| Breakthrough Performance 
| ''Free Willy''
| {{nom}}
| align="center"|<ref>{{cite web| title=Free Willy MTV Awards, 1994| url=https://en.kinorium.com/97489/awards/| website=en.kinorium.com| access-date=September 28, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| Best Kiss
| ''Free Willy'' {{small|(shared with [[Keiko (orca)|Keiko]])}}
| {{nom}}
|  align="center"|<ref>{{cite web| title=All 26 MTV Movie Awards “Best Kiss” Winners, Ranked| url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/news/a6365/mtv-movie-awards-best-kiss-ranking/| website=[[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan]]| date=June 17, 2017| access-date=September 28, 2024}}</ref>
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0725284}}
* {{Instagram|jason_james_richter}}

{{Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richter, Jason James}}
[[Category:1980 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century American male actors]]
[[Category:American male child actors]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:Musicians from San Diego]]
[[Category:Male actors from San Diego]]