Friday The 13th: The 9 Men Behind The Mask

By Gareth Bunkham /

8. Steve Daskawisz / Warrington Gillette - Friday The 13th Part II (1981)

For Part II of the Friday the 13th saga, Jason Voorhees was played by two men. Warrington Gillette received the credit for playing the unmasked Jason who leaps through the window at the end of the film. While stunt man Steve Daskawisz played Jason for most of the movie during the masked scenes. After parts in commercials, Warrington Gillette auditioned for the part of Paul in the first Friday the 13th sequel. Although unsuccessful, director Steve Miner liked Gillette so much he offered him the part of the unmasked Jason Voorhees. After his role as Jason, Gillette appeared in the movie Time Walker before leaving acting to become a successful entrepreneur. The media got a kick out of Jason becoming a successful entrepreneur; which gives me an awesome idea for how they can shake up the next season of Dragon€™s Den. Gillette spent time on Wall Street, launched a clothing line and is also involved in horse racing. His continued success in business has not kept him from attending conventions and meeting Jason fans around the world.

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Warrington Gillette even returned to acting in 2005€™s Penny Dreadful a film that also starred Mrs. Voorhees herself Betsy Palmer. He is also rumoured to be producing his own horror film entitled Bloody Social. Steve Daskawisz, now known as Steve Dash, was the man behind the mask during Friday the 13th Part II. The Jason stunt double did stunt work on Night Shift and the Bryan Brown starring camp cult classic F/X in the 80€™s following Friday the 13th Part II. He also appeared in minor acting roles throughout the 80€™s. Dash, who is also a retired New York cop, and Gillette have clashed in recent years on the convention circuit over who did what in the film. Dash claiming all Gillette did was the window scene at the end and Gillette claiming that Dash was only used for a few insert shots. Regardless of who did what under Jason€™s bagged head in Part II, both men will go down in horror folklore as the first men to play Jason Voorhees during his more aggressive years.