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Biography: "Jason Ritter is the son of actors John Ritter and Nancy Morgan, and was born in Los Angeles, CA. Ritter was a last-minute addition to the cast; he auditioned in L.A. and was quickly flown to Vancouver for a meeting with director Ronny Yu. Somewhere along the way, he read the script and discovered that his character Will (originally set to be played by Brad Renfro) fulfills a different function than the male leads in previous Freddy films. 'In the past, it has always been the girl who's the focus,' Ritter points out, adding that the boys are 'usually the guy the girl likes who gets killed early on, this time, it's a couple fighting Freddy together.'
For the young actor, playing Will has entailed more than the usual horror turns. 'He's not the typical horny teen who has sex and dies,' Ritter says. 'This has been a lot tougher to play. I mean, Will's a guy who's been drugged up and out of society for four years. He's had to deal with the fact that everybody's been telling him he's crazy. And then, all of a sudden, he breaks out and not only has to deal with Freddy and Jason but also being back in a big, loud, noisy world. Having a character deal with all that and making it believable in front of the camera is not easy.'
Appearing before the cameras would seem to be in Ritter's blood; his father even worked for Yu in another genre sequel, Bride of Chucky. 'Since both of my parents are actors, I was sort of around the business,' he explains. 'I wanted to get into it when I was real young. I wanted to be a child actor and drop out of elementary school. But my parents said that if I wanted to be an actor, I had to go to college and learn how to do it the right way.'
Because he needed 'immediate gratification,' Ritter stopped performing at that point, picking it up again in high school and then studying the craft at New York University. He found work immediately upon graduation in May 2024, turning up frequently on both TV and the stage, as well as in features Swimfan and Mumford. He also became a founding member of The Irreputable Theater Company in New York City. Although this is Ritter's first true fright flick, he is no stranger to the exploits of Freddy and Jason. 'I grew up on these movies,' he says. 'They gave me nightmares for years. And now I'm getting to face my demons in the flesh.'" - Freddy vs. Jason Magazine
Update: "Jason Ritter is currently starring in The Class, a new series for CBS. He won critical acclaim in Wendy Wasserstein's last play, Third, at Lincoln Center Theatre starring opposite Diane Weist and Charles Durning. He was recently honored with the prestigious Clarence Derwent Award for the theatre, an honor he shares with past recipient, Allison Janney.
His theater credits include the Off-Broadway production of The Beginning of August, also starring Mary Steenburgen, and the role of 'Tim' in the world premiere of Neil LaBute's play The Distance from Here at London's Almeida Theatre.
Ritter is a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied at the Atlantic Theatre Company. He also studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London." - Our Very Own movie website
Filmography
The Education of Charlie Banks (2007)
The Wicker Man (2006)
Lenexa, 1 Mile (2006)
Placebo (2005)
Our Very Own (2005)
Perceptions (2005)
Happy Endings (2004)
Raise Your Voice (2004)
Smash the Kitty (2003)
Freddy Vs. Jason (2003)
Swimfan (2002)
Earth Day (2000) (voice)
Mumford (1999)
Television
The Class (2006-07)
Who's Your Momma? (2004)
Joan of Arcadia (2003-05)
MTV's Undressed (2000)
The Dreamer of Oz (1990)
Television Guest Appearances
Player$ (2003)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2003)
Hack (2002)
Law & Order (2001)
Where Is He Now?: Jason Ritter continues to work in film and television, and can be currently seen on the CBS series, The Class.
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