Jason Voorhees 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
Jason Voorhees Hodder felt his chances of reprising the role were even better: Hodder had worked as Cunningham's stunt coordinator for years. Regardless, Adam Marcus, the director for "Jason Goes to Hell", always intended to hire Hodder for the role. "Jason X" would mark Hodder's last performance as Jason, to date. Todd Farmer, who wrote the screenplay for "Jason X", knew Hodder would play Jason from the beginning. Jim Isaac was a fan of Hodder's work on the previous films, so hiring him was an easy decision. New Line believed "Freddy vs. Jason" needed a fresh start, and choose a new actor