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Biography: "C.J. Graham auditioned for the part of Jason in Friday The 13th Part VI: Jason Lives on a whim. Though the actor thought that he was the clear frontrunner, he was not too disappointed when the job went to somebody else. But he was downright surprised when, five days later, he received a telephone call from the filmmakers.
'The stuntman they had hired was not coming across with the power and force that the director wanted,' says the nightclub manager-turned-actor. 'It was Friday. They wanted me in costume and on the set Monday. . . I was taken aside before each stunt and told exactly what would occur,' he says. 'I knew precisely what the impact of going through a wall or a door would feel like before I did it, so there was no surprise or fear.'
Graham's biggest jolt during Friday VI was a literal one - specifically, during the bit in which Jason gets hit by a shotgun blast. 'The jerk cable I was tied to was set to hit me with 300 pounds of pressure,' he reveals, 'which could have done some serious damage if I did not have an idea of what was coming. I started out with practice jolts of 100 and then 200 pounds, so I could gradually work up to the required impact.'
The actor had no such luxury during the film's fire-in-the-lake finale. 'That was a one-taker,' he says. 'My entire back was on fire, but fortunately, I was waist-deep in water at the time. So if it got too hot, all I had to do was dunk myself. Unfortunately, when I did that, I ended up getting covered with leeches - which wasn't too much fun.'
Graham donned another ugly mask as Hellcop in last year's amusing, Highway to Hell. However, his Crystal Lake memories remained the fondest. 'I wasn't a serious actor at the time - I just did it as a lark,' he concludes. 'The role of Jason was basically dumped in my lap. But I would put on the mask in a minute if they asked me to do it again.'" - Jason Goes to Hell magazine
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