<P> When it came time to cast the role of Jason, Ari Lehman, who had received a part in Sean Cunningham's Manny's Orphans, arrived to read for the character of Jack . Before he could get started, Cunningham walked in and offered him a different part: Jason . Without having read a single word, Cunningham just looked at Ari and said, "You're the right size, you've got it ." In the original Friday the 13th, Ari Lehman is seen only in a brief flashback as the surprise ending . Subsequent actors who portrayed a young Jason include Timothy Burr Mirkovich in Jason Takes Manhattan and Spencer Stump in Freddy vs. Jason . The adult role of Jason Voorhees has been played by various actors, some not credited, others taking great pride in their parts . Due to the physical demands the adult character requires, and the lack of emotional depth depicted, many of the actors since have been stuntmen . The most well - known among them is Kane Hodder, who is cited as the best to play the role . </P> <P> Many ideas were suggested for the sequel to Friday the 13th, including making the title part of a serialized film series, where each succeeding film would be its own story and not related to any previous film under the Friday the 13th moniker . It was Phil Scuderi, one of the producers for the original film, who suggested bringing Jason back for the sequel . The director Steve Miner felt it was the obvious direction to take the series, as he felt the audience wanted to know more about the child who attacked Alice in the lake . Miner decided to pretend as if Alice did not see the "real Jason" in her dream, and Jason had survived his drowning as a boy and had grown up . After killing Jason in The Final Chapter, it was the director Joseph Zito's intention to leave the door open for the studio to make more films with Tommy Jarvis as the main antagonist . Screenwriter Barney Cohen felt Jarvis would become a substitute for Jason, but the idea was never fully developed in A New Beginning . Director and co-screenwriter Danny Steinmann disliked the idea of Jason not being the killer, but decided to use Tommy's fear of Jason as the primary story . This idea was immediately abandoned in Jason Lives, when A New Beginning did not spark the "creative success" the studio was looking for . Executive producer Frank Mancuso Jr. wanted to bring Jason back, and he did not care how it was achieved . In yet another alteration of the series' continuity, Tom McLoughlin chose to ignore the idea that Jason had survived his drowning, instead presenting him as always having been some sort of supernatural force . Since A New Beginning, no sequel has attempted to replace Jason as the main antagonist . Miller, who has not seen any of the sequels, took issue with all of them because they made Jason the villain . Miller believes the best part of his screenplay was that it was about a mother avenging the senseless death of her son . Miller stated, "Jason was dead from the very beginning; he was a victim, not a villain ." </P> <P>--Steve Daskawisz, on losing screen credit </P> <P> Jason Voorhees went from deceased child to full - grown man for Friday the 13th Part 2, and Warrington Gillette was hired to play the role . Gillette auditioned for the role of Paul; that role eventually went to John Furey . Under the belief that he had attended the Hollywood Stuntman's School, Gillette was offered the role of Jason Voorhees . Initially Gillette was unsure about the character, but the idea of starring in his first film grew on Gillette, and he also thought the role was amusing . It became apparent Gillette could not perform the necessary stunts, so the stunt coordinator Cliff Cudney brought in Steve Daskawisz . Daskawisz filmed all of the scenes except the opening sequence and the unmasking shot at the end; Gillette returned for the unmasking scenes . Gillette received credit for playing Jason, while Daskawisz was given credit as the stunt double . When Part 3 was released the following year, Daskawisz was credited as Jason for the reused footage from the climax of the film . Initially, Daskawisz was asked to return to the role for Part 3, but it would have required him to pay for his own transportation and housing during filming . Having secured a part on Guiding Light, Daskawisz declined . </P>

What does jason look like when he was a kid