The 1990s were a much similar time for movies.
We didn’t need superheroes or Star Wars. Just a lonely child, who befriends a cute animal. Beethoven. Air Bud. Flipper. Dunston Checks In.
And king of them all was Free Will. The story of 12 year old Jesse, a foster child who rescues the titular killer whale from a theme park, it grossed $153 million worldwide, and spawned three sequels. It co-starred Michael Madsen from Reservoir Dogs and even had a theme song by Michael Jackson.
Child star Jason James Richter reprised the role of Jesse in Free Willy II & III, and also appeared in The Neverending Story III, and episodes of Rugrats and Sabrina The Teenage Witch. He stopped acting in the late 90s though, and tried his hand at a music career.
In 2009 he started to return to the screen, appearing in the Tekken movie and an episode of Bones. And recently he has started acting more, with his latest movie being the indie drama Last Rampage.
Here’s what Richter looks like now:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Beid1GEB14z
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZmZ6JghIT0
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZW3vCUBB0U
He is also now a film producer, and worth $500,000 (£355k), according to Metro.
We also couldn’t mention Free Willy without featuring this classic moment either.
