Ari Lehman
Biography
Ari Lehman is an American actor, composer, and performing artist. Born in New York City and raised in Westport, Connecticut, he studied classical and jazz piano and received an All-State Award for Excellence in Jazz Piano plus a scholarship to Berklee School of Music. His first film work was in Sean S. Cunningham's Manny's Orphans, which led to his casting as the child Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th (1980); he was the first actor to play that horror icon. Lehman later attended New York University for jazz piano and big band orchestration, then toured and recorded as a keyboardist with reggae and African artists. He formed the Ari Ben Moses Band and in 2004 created First Jason, a punk metal band that released Jason is Watching! (2009) and Heed My Warning (2013). He also composed music for independent films and appears in archive footage in Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984).
61years old
Turns 62 on May 2in 201 days
- Born New York City
- Star sign: TaurusThe sign runs April 20 to May 20
Movie Career
- Films
- 4
- Career span
- 42 years1980 to 2022
Every film, newest first
- 2022Apetite for SinIMDb rating 5.2
- 2022The Barn Part IIIMDb rating 5.2
- 2016The BarnIMDb rating 5.1
- 1980Friday the 13thIMDb rating 6.4
Genres
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A first
Ari Lehman is known for his role as the young Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th, a Paramount horror film. He became the first actor to portray that horror icon.
Big break
Lehman heard about a Westport audition for Manny's Orphans, directed by Sean S. Cunningham, snuck in, and landed the role of Roger. That role led Cunningham to call him for Friday the 13th.
Big break
Lehman got the call from Sean S. Cunningham to play Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th. At his audition, the director asked him one key question: could he swim?
Early training
After Friday the 13th was released, Lehman went back to New York City and enrolled at New York University, where he concentrated on Jazz Piano and Big Band Orchestration and studied with Vladimir Shafranov.
Beyond film
In 2019, Lehman sang vocals on an acoustic take of Thank God It's Friday, a track from the Ice Nine Kills album The Silver Scream Final Cut.
Behind the camera
Ari Lehman wrote, played and recorded music for several independent films. These include Alexia Anastasio's all-female "Salome" and Vamp Films' "Vampire the Movie", which took the 2007 Rondo Award for Best Independent Feature.
Ari Lehman movies on Netflix
Most often with
Justin M. Seaman directed two of these films. Linnea Quigley appears in three of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Linnea Quigley's page
Sable Griedel's page
Mitchell Musolino's page
Lexi Dripps's page
Will Stout's page
All films by Justin M. Seaman
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.