Jason James Richter (born January 29, 1980 in Medford, Oregon) is an American actor.

At the age of three, he and his family moved to Hawaii, where a Japanese casting agency discovered him and signed him up for three TV spots. In 1989, his family moved back to Los Angeles, where he could pursue his career. He starred in Free Willy, in which he was chosen out of more than 4,000 candidates to play the lead role of Jesse. Other movies include Cops and Robbersons, The NeverEnding Story III, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, Laserhawk, Free Willy 3: The Rescue, and The Setting Son. He also made a cameo appearance in the music video for Michael Jackson’s “Childhood”. His most recent film appearance was in Ricochet River, along with John Cullum. Between the Free Willy roles, he had TV guest roles on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and The Client. He also played rhythm guitar in the Southern California band, Blueroot, from 2000 to January 2005, and is currently bassist for the up-and-coming band “Fermata”.