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| Ken Kirzinger | |
|---|---|
 Kirzinger in 2015 | |
| Born | (1959-11-04) November 4, 1959 (age 65) Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Occupation | 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).
Career
Role as Jason Voorhees
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.
Additionally Kirzinger doubled as Jason for Kane Hodder on Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan in 2 scenes technically making Ken the 2nd actor to portray Jason more than once if counting doubling Jason.
Early career
Long before Kirzinger took over the role of Jason Voorhees from Kane Hodder, he had ties to Friday the 13th. He appeared in 1989's Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan as a New York cook 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 also served as a stunt coordinator for the film. Kirzinger is only the second person besides Hodder to play Jason more than once as he doubled for the latter in the same movie in a few short scenes.
Stunt scenes
According to Kirzinger, the hardest thing he went through while performing as Jason in Freddy vs. Jason (2003) was sinking into the lake. They shot the scene in a tank which was highly chlorinated and had debris to make it look like lake water. Director Ronny Yu wanted the close-up of Ken's eye and wanted him to sink into the water keeping his eye open. He also could not breathe because it would be visible on film. He was lying on top of the water and had to let himself sink down to the bottom of the tank without breathing and keeping his eye open. Kirzinger really held his breath, and the chlorine in the water burned his eyes.
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
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)
- 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)
- 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
Stunts Canada
Ken Kirzinger is a member of Stunts Canada.
Personal life
His brother, Dave Kirzinger, played for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League from 1978 to 1986. His known friends are Brad Loree, another member of Stunts Canada who notably played horror icon Michael Myers in Halloween: Resurrection, Robert Englund, who co-starred with him in Freddy vs Jason as Freddy Krueger, and Kane Hodder, the actor who played Jason Voorhees before him. Even though Hodder will sometimes state his disappointment at not being chosen to play Jason for the fifth time in Freddy vs. Jason, he and Kirzinger are very good friends and Kirzinger stated they enjoy seeing each other at conventions.
References
- Crystal Lake Memories book: Page 283
- Profile at Stunts Canada Archived 2007-10-18 at the Wayback Machine