13 Things You Didn't Know About Friday The 13th Part 2
6. Three Different People Played Jason In The Film
An actor glorying in the name of Warrington Gillette had originally auditioned for the role of Paul Holt, guidance counselor to the trainee guidance counselors, but was beaten to it by John Furey. However, Gillette had claimed to be trained by the Hollywood Stuntman's School and so was offered the role of Jason instead.
Unfortunately, two weeks in it became apparent that Gillette might have been exaggerating his credentials, having proven incapable of performing the stunts required of the masked Jason.
Stunt coordinator Cliff Cudney called Steven Daskawisz, better known as Steve Dash, and asked him to take over - and aside from some hand inserts, walking through water and that climactic mask-free scene, every instance of the masked Jason on screen is Dash, not Gillette.
The production was slapdash (heh): alongside the aforementioned stitches in his finger, Daskawisz broke his ribs and suffered burns to his shoulder, each requiring hospital treatment; he also received 'rug burns' around the eyes from the rough sack mask, which had to be taped to his face so that he could see properly.
However, the very first appearance of Jason in the film - his legs as he walks across the street towards the house Alice is staying in - was filmed using costume designer Ellen Lutter (nowadays the go-to costume designer for all of Adam Sandler's movies), the only time Jason was ever played by a woman.
That's because the film's prologue was shot after the completion of principal photography, and the main crew were no longer available.