Kane Hodder

Biography

Kane Hodder (born 1955 in Auburn, California) is an American actor and stuntman, best known for playing Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th franchise. Working across horror and action films from the late 1980s onward, he became one of the most recognizable faces of the slasher genre, though his stunt work has been nearly as important to his career as his time in front of the camera.

Early in his career, he was badly burned during a fire stunt that left him with serious burns across much of his upper body. Those injuries reportedly led to his being considered for the role of Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street, a part that eventually went to Robert Englund, with whom he formed a lifelong friendship. Hodder was the first actor to play Jason Voorhees more than once, appearing in four consecutive films from Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood to Jason X, and he also played Leatherface through stunt work in the third film of the Texas Chainsaw series.

He offered to return as Jason in Freddy vs. Jason (2003), but director Ronny Yu cast stuntman Ken Kirzinger instead. The decision angered many fans, and Hodder has said he still feels resentment about it. His most personal role came in Hatchet (2006), where he played Victor Crowley, a deformed boy who returns from the dead to hunt intruders in his swamp, a character he went on to play in several sequels.

Away from the set, Hodder is known for his friendliness toward fans and for spending time with children in burn centers. In 2011 he co-wrote the autobiography Unmasked with author Michael Aloisi, which was later adapted into a web series. His legacy is tied to Jason Voorhees and to the cult slasher tradition.

Key films

• Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988): the first of his four consecutive appearances as Jason Voorhees.
• Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993): in addition to Jason, he played Freddy Krueger's clawed glove hand in the ending.
• Jason X (2001): closed out his run as Jason in the series.
• Wishmaster (1997): one of his roles outside the Friday the 13th franchise.
• Hatchet (2006): the role of Victor Crowley, which made him the lead of his own franchise.