Ken Kirzinger | |
|---|---|
 Kirzinger in 2015 | |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, stuntman |
| Years active | 1983–present |
Kenneth Kirzinger (born November 4, 1959) is a Canadian actor and stuntman best known for his portrayals of Jason Voorhees in Freddy vs. Jason (2003), Pa in Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007) and Rusty Nail in Joy Ride 3: Roadkill (2014).
Kirzinger started his career as a stunt performer in the early 1980s, appearing in Superman III. He also worked as an actor in TV movies like Brotherly Love and Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge. Although he continued acting, Kirzinger became a prolific stunt performer and coordinator through the 80s and 90s working on films like Shoot to Kill, Look Who's Talking, Bird on a Wire, and It, as well as TV shows like 21 Jump Street and The Commish.
In 1989, Kirzinger had a small role as a New York cook on Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan who gets in Jason's way while pursuing Rennie Wickham (Jensen Daggett) and Sean Robertson (Scott Reeves). Jason, played by Kane Hodder, threw Kirzinger over the counter. In addition to his role as the cook, Kirzinger served as a stunt coordinator for the film and also doubled for Jason during a few short scenes. This would make him only the second person besides Hodder to play Jason more than once during the course of the franchise.[1]
In 2003, Kirzinger was chosen over Kane Hodder to play Jason Voorhees in the film Freddy vs. Jason. The decision was mostly based on him being slightly taller than Hodder. Although he was disappointed, Hodder and Kirzinger still remain friends.[2] During filming of Freddy vs. Jason, director Ronny Yu tried to limit Kirzinger's stunts on the film as much as possible. Because of this stuntman Glenn Ennis was called in to perform a series of stunts, including a stunt showing Jason walking through a field killing teenagers while on fire.
Kirzinger has performed stunts, or worked on the following:
