Free Willy star unrecognisable three decades after hit 90s movie as he reunites with co-star
FREE Willy has left a lasting legacy since hitting the box office in the 90s.
The movie led the way for ending whale captivity after the world fell in love with young orphan Jesse and his quest to free an orca called Willy.
Willy was living in an adventure park in America’s Portland in the flick and 12-year-old Jesse – played by Jason James Richter – managed to save him from being killed by his captors and reunited him with his family.
Child star Jason was just 13 when he took on the leading role of Jesse and it propelled him to global stardom.
He won several movie awards for his part in Free Willy and went on to reprise the role of Jesse in Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home in 1995, and 1997’s Free Willy 3: The Rescue.
Now 44, Jason has continued to act and has starred in a string of movies and television shows since his big break in 1993.
But the movie that made him famous is never far from his mind.
Jason has now reunited with his co-star from the film franchise, Debi Derryberry – who is also the voice of American cartoon character Jimmy Neutron.
Posing alongside Debi for an Instagram snap, he has revealed that she was his stunt double when shooting Free Willy.
What happened to the whale from Free Willy?
Willy was played by a male orca called Keiko, who was captured aged two in Iceland.
Keiko was sold to the Icelandic Aquarium in Hafnarfjörður before later being moved to a park in Canada.
He was then sold again and transported to Mexico City, where he would perform in a tiny pool at an amusement park.
In 1993, Keiko was chosen to play Willy in Free Willy and he shot to stardom. As a result, public pressure for him to be released into the wild – just like his character – quickly grew.
In 1996, moviemakers Warner Brothers joined forces with the International Marine Mammal Project to free Keiko and return him to the wild Icelandic waters.
During the summers of 2000, 2001, and 2002, Keiko was trained to follow his caretakers’ boats in Iceland and practice taking open ocean swims.
Human contact was also limited to help Keiko get used to ocean life.
But despite being given state of the art rehabilitation, Keiko struggled to integrate with other killer whales and he eventually stopped eating fish.
In December 2003, Keiko sadly died from pneumonia.
In one scene, Debi played Jesse as the character fell into Willy’s tank by accident during the night. Moments later, Willy swam Jesse up to the surface and saved his life.
Writing on Instagram, Jason said: “It was so wonderful to reconnect with the multi talented @debiderryberry!
“A little #Freewilly #90s #Trivia Debi was my stunt double for the first film! How cool is that?
“You probably know her though as the voice of many of your favourite cartoon characters including #jimmyneutron.”
Last year, Jason celebrated the 30th anniversary of the movie release of Free Willy – aka Free Willy Day.
In a video, he told fans: “So today marks 30 years since the release of Free Willy in theatres.
“On behalf of myself and everybody involved in production, thank you all for continuing to carry the message of the film and to spread the ideas that the film instilled in your generation.
“It’s humbling to see how the film has reverberated from one generation to the next.
“I know that I’m deeply grateful for the experience and very proud of it. So Happy Anniversary Free Willy.”