While vampires, werewolves, and especially zombies have dominated the horror genre over the last several years, the iconography of the slasher film Friday the 13th‘s Jason Voorhies still sends shivers up the spine.
Ari Lehman now 51, played young Jason Voorhees (the boy in the lake) in the original Friday the 13th, released in 1980. Recently he chatted with us ahead of his appearance at Fan Expo Canada about his on-going affiliation with the franchise and how his passion for music has been helped along by his iconic role.
The image evoked in most people’s minds when the name Jason Voorhees is mentioned is that of the hockey mask-wearing, machete-wielding antagonist of the series. In truth the character sported neither until actor Richard Brooker donned it in Part Three. Created by Victor Miller with contributions by Ron Kurz, Sean S. Cunningham, the director of the 1980 original, and Tom Savini, there was no intention for Jason to carry the series forward.
As the special effects maestro on the original film, Savini inspired young Ari to appreciate the work of the greats like Bela Lugosi, and Vincent Price in establishing enduring characters.
Released shortly after the success of such under-worldy films as Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist and Carrie, Lehman credits Jaws with changing the genre. “I’d like to think after Jaws came along it changed everyone’s perspective. Remember how you liked just a monster, taking a peaceful place like a beach and making it a scary place is like what they did again with the summer camp and the woodsy setting.”
As a young boy, Lehman was a big fan of jazz, but caught the acting bug when he was in high school. In summer camp, he brought the house down with his rendition of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof.
However, today, the Brooklyn, N.Y native is far more comfortable playing music than acting. In 2002 while attending New York University (NYU) Lehman jumped into the professional music world and ended up in the reggae and African music scene. After getting married, he started the band Ari Ben Moses in 2002 with a sound that preceded Matisyahu.
After they disbanded two years later, Lehman formed punk-metal group First Jason and has been shredding his Keytar with them ever since.
It’s all coming full circle for Lehman now, as he will star in another Victor Miller written creation taking on a small role as an orderly named Jason in Rock Paper Dead, and will also be seen as a book seller in the upcoming feature Black Book.