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).
Career
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.
Role as Jason Voorhees
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. 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.
Appearances
Kirzinger has performed stunts, or worked on the following:
TV shows
Till Dad Do Us Part
Boy Meets Girl
Room Mates
Sirens
Sea Hunt
MacGyver
Bordertown (co-coordinator) Danger Bay (co-coordinator) Cadillac Neon Rider (co-coordinator) Memories of Murder Fly by Night (co-coordinator) Day Glow Warrior Rescue 911 Max Glick Shame The X-Files Supernatural Psych (2 acting roles)
Movies
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) Stay Tuned (re-shoots) (1992) White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf (co-coordinator) (1994) Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995) Bad Moon (1996) Futuresport (1998) Firestorm (1998) The 13th Warrior (1999) Cats & Dogs (2001) Thirteen Ghosts (2001) Camouflage (2001) The Santa Clause 2 (2002) Insomnia (2002) Freddy vs. Jason (2003) Hot Rod (2007) Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007) Stan Helsing (2009) Joy Ride 3: Roadkill (2014) The Assignment (2016)
Movies for television with stunt performance credits
Still Not Quite Human
Omen IV: The Awakening
My Son Johnny
Blind Man's Bluff
Brotherly Love
Going for the Gold
Betrayal of Trust
General Alarm
Sirens
The Indestructible Man
Perry Mason
Force III
It
Deadly Intentions... Again? Barrington Christmas Comes to Willow Creek Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge Return of the Shaggy Dog Davy Crockett TV pilot Wiseguy TV pilot Stranger in My Bed Glory Days TV pilot Deadly Intentions Season of Fear A Mother's Justice Jumpin' Joe I Still Dream of Jeannie Diagnosis of Murder Love Binds