Jason James Richter (born January 29, 1980) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his role in the Free Willy film series as Jesse, the boy who befriends Willy the orca.
Biography from TMDB.
- January 29, 1980 (46)
- Medford, Oregon, USA
- Actor, also producer
- 18 on MovieCove · 26 credits in all
Known for
What are Jason James Richter's films like?
Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 14
A split, not a type: Light 6 · Serious 3 · Dark 6
Grounded 13 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 1
Gentle 3 · Charged 8 · Intense 4
Steady 5 · Shifting 10 · Whiplash 0
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 9 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 2
Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 9 · Relentless 0
Casual 10 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 5 · Affecting 7 · Heavy 3
Resolved 12 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 1
Roles they play
Usually the Hero: 6 of 10 analyzed roles.
Show the 10 rolesHide the roles
- Heroas Jesse in Free Willy (1993)
- Heroas Kevin Robberson in Cops and Robbersons (1994)
- Heroas Bastian in The NeverEnding Story III (1994)
- Heroas Jesse in Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995)
- Heroas Jesse in Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997)
- Heroas Zach Raymond in Laserhawk (1997)
- Allyas Jeff in Vicious (2016)
- Shadowas Aaron Graybor in Inhumane (2018)
- Allyas Alexander Hutchins in Driver (2018)
- Allyas John Olson in The Brawler (2019)
Moods and endings
- Happy7
- Bittersweet4
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous3
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Jason James Richter's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 11 of their 18 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (8).
Subscription and free streaming for Jason James Richter's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
26 credits, 18 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

Final Heist (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

Nothing to See Here (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

Natty Knocks(2023)
Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films
Dolphin Boy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

Last Call(2021)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
The Little Things(2021)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
Ghost in the Graveyard(2019)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films
The Brawler(2019)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
Driver(2018)
Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films
818 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

High & Outside: A Baseball Noir (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

Inhumane(2018)
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films
The Last Rampage(2017)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Vicious(2016)
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
Bones(2005)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows
Ricochet River (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

Free Willy 3: The Rescue(1997)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
Laserhawk(1997)
Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films
Cops and Robbersons(1994)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
Free Willy(1993)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
Rugrats(1991)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all shows
The Last Days of Belle Starr (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

The Stolen Child (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
Star power in the 96th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 26 titles, 24 of them dated from 1991 to 2024; peak year 1993.
Film career
Peak 1993 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Top draw in 3 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1993Screen debut· Free Willy
- 1993First top-billed film· Free Willy
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.
How do Jason James Richter's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 16th percentile, the median of all 15; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 17th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th5
- Below 25th11
Shape of the crowd
10 of their 18 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Panned2
- Divisive1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed10
Reviewers score the acting 51/100 in their films, across 14 reviewed titles; fans 71, detractors 33. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Jason James Richter's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, every category sits near the median of all films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Jason James Richter work with?
People who share at least 2 of Jason James Richter's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Dwight H. Little shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Dwight H. LittleShared titles: Natty Knocks (2023), The Last Rampage (2017), Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995)See all 3 shared titles with Dwight H. Little

Writers
- Keith WalkerShared titles: Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997), Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Free Willy (1993)See all 3 shared titles with Keith Walker

- Jason RosenblattShared titles: The Last Rampage (2017), Vicious (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Jason Rosenblatt

- John MattsonShared titles: Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997), Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995)See all 2 shared titles with John Mattson
- Corey BlechmanShared titles: Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Free Willy (1993)See all 2 shared titles with Corey Blechman
Actors
- August SchellenbergShared titles: Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997), Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Free Willy (1993)See all 3 shared titles with August Schellenberg

- Taryn ManningShared titles: Last Call (2021), The Brawler (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Taryn Manning

- Zach McGowanShared titles: Last Call (2021), The Brawler (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Zach McGowan

- Jayne AtkinsonShared titles: Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Free Willy (1993)See all 2 shared titles with Jayne Atkinson

Composers and editors
- Bill LynchShared titles: Natty Knocks (2023), The Last Rampage (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Bill Lynch

- Basil PoledourisShared titles: Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Free Willy (1993)See all 2 shared titles with Basil Poledouris

Producers
- Rob SimmonsShared titles: Last Call (2021), Ghost in the Graveyard (2019), The Brawler (2019)See all 3 shared titles with Rob Simmons
- Arnon MilchanShared titles: Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997), Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Free Willy (1993)See all 3 shared titles with Arnon Milchan

- Douglas C. MerrifieldShared titles: Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997), Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Free Willy (1993)See all 3 shared titles with Douglas C. Merrifield

- Jennie Lew TugendShared titles: Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997), Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Free Willy (1993)See all 3 shared titles with Jennie Lew Tugend

Mixed roles
- William ShockleyShared titles: Natty Knocks (2023), The Last Rampage (2017)See all 2 shared titles with William Shockley

