Ari Lehman

Ari Lehman (born May 2, 1965) is an American performing artist, composer and actor. He is known for playing the child Jason Voorhees in the Paramount horror film Friday the 13th, becoming the first actor to portray the horror film icon. As of 2018, Lehman performs in a punk rock/heavy metal band, First Jason.

Biography A native New Yorker, Ari Lehman grew up in Westport, Connecticut, where he trained in Classical Music and Jazz Piano. Lehman was presented with an All-State Award for Excellence in Jazz Piano and a scholarship to Berklee School of Music by jazz educator, Dr. Billy Taylor. about a group of inner-city orphans who play soccer, directed by Sean S. Cunningham. Lehman snuck into the audition and landed the role of "Roger". This role led to Lehman getting the call to play Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th from Sean S. Cunningham. "For his audition Lehman was asked one key question by the director, ‘Can you swim?’"

Lehman went on to form his own world rock and reggae band Ari Ben Moses Band, and gained acclaim

Film career Lehman made his film debut in Sean S. Cunningham's film Manny's Orphans. He then played the role of a child Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th, appearing in Pamela Voorhees's flashback and Alice Hardy's dream – the final scene of the horror film.

Lehman also appears in archive footage, uncredited, in Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984).

Music career In 2004, Lehman formed his punk metal band whose name, First Jason, is based upon his role as Jason Voorhees. First Jason has independently released two albums: Jason is Watching! (2009), with Chuck Lescewicz "Nefarious" from Chicago death metal band Macabre playing bass, and Amit Shamir "Cleaver" from New York hardcore punk band Cro-Mags on drums; and "Heed My Warning,"(2013), described by Uber Rock (UK) as "a brand of thinking man's horror-themed rock." In 2019, he performed vocals for the acoustic version of the song Thank God It's Friday from Ice Nine Kills album The Silver Scream Final Cut.

Lehman has also composed, performed and recorded a number of soundtracks for independent films, including Alexia Anastasio's critically acclaimed all-female "Salome", and Vamp Films "Vampire the Movie", "which won the 2007 Rondo Award for Best Independent Feature."

Filmography

Title Year Role Notes/ref Manny's Orphans 1978 Roger Feature film Also distributed under the name Kick Friday the 13th 1980 Jason Voorhees Horror feature film 2006 Delbert Eaton Three Thug Mice 2008 voiceover Animated short Hell-ephone 2008 Professor/Circuit Maker Terror Overload 2009 Ray Rae His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th 2009 Himself Documentary film Night On Has Been Mountain 2010 Invisible Man The Girl 2011 The Man Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th 2013 Himself Documentary film Easter Sunday 2014 Postman The Wicked One 2014 Count Creepy The Barn 2016 Rock Horror feature film Rock Paper Dead 2017 Jason Horror feature film The Lurker 2019 Dr. Stratton Horror feature film