# Derek Mears

Derek Mears (born April 29, 1972) is an American actor and stuntman. Often appearing in horror and science-fiction titles, he came to prominence for portraying Jason Voorhees in the 2009 reboot of Friday the 13th. His film roles also include The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007), Predators (2010), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013), and Alita: Battle Angel (2019). On television, he played the title character on the DC Universe series Swamp Thing (2019).

## Life and career

Mears was born on April 29, 1972, in Bakersfield, California. He performed improv comedy at ComedySportz in Bakersfield. He graduated from Highland High School in Bakersfield in 1990. Early on in life, Mears had a severe case of the auto-immune disease alopecia, causing him to lose almost all his body hair.
Mears has numerous credits both as a stuntman and as an actor. He had minor roles in The Tick, ER, Alias, Nash Bridges, Men in Black II, The Shield, CSI: NY, My Name Is Earl, Mr. & Mrs Smith, CSI: Miami, Community, and The Hills Have Eyes 2. His stunt credits include the films Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Blades of Glory, and TV series such as Angel and Bones.
Mears had his breakthrough lead role in the 2009 Friday the 13th film. He was recommended to the producers, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form of Platinum Dunes, by make-up and special effects guru Scott Stoddard, who created the new look for Mears' character, Jason Voorhees. Due to Mears' height at 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) he is one of the tallest actors who have portrayed Jason, beside Ken Kirzinger, who stands at a similar height to Mears. He was nominated for an MTV Movie Award in the category for Best Villain for his portrayal of Voorhees, but lost to Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight.
Mears did a lot of research on child development to flesh out the role of Camp Crystal Lake's notorious resident serial killer:
   In the script, Jason watches his mother die in front of him. So I did research on, when you're that age how do your cognitive processes happen? How is the child supposed to be developing? I found out that at that age you're starting to be integrating into society, whether it's through group sports or group activities so that you find out you're not alone. I discovered that he missed that aspect. He was already an outcast from society for looking different and being disfigured, and his only connection to love and reality is his mother.
He is contracted to return for either another Friday the 13th sequel or another film by Platinum Dunes. If Mears reprises his role as Jason, he will be only the second person to portray the character more than once, next to Kane Hodder. He portrayed a Predator in the 2010 science fiction horror film sequel Predators.
Mears appeared in Ultraforce 2 on the Superego podcast. He also appeared in the American sitcom Community in the episode "Romantic Expressionism". He appeared as a zombie, credited as "Master-at-Arms", in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
Mears appeared with other horror actor Tyler Mane of Rob Zombie's Halloween in Compound Fracture.
On June 5, 2013, it was reported that Warner Bros. had relinquished their film rights to the Friday the 13th series to Paramount as part of a deal that allowed Warner Bros. to co-produce Interstellar. One week later, Mears revealed that Paramount was working with Platinum Dunes to make a new installment "as fast as possible".
In a series of adverts for the insurance company Direct Line shown in 2021, Mears portrayed the character RoboCop.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1995 | The Demolitionist | Chuck 'Chuck X' | |
| 1999 | Wild Wild West | 'Metal Head' / Stunts | |
| 2003 | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | Cursed crew member | |
| 2004 | The Shield | Crazyhouse | TV series (one episode) |
| 2004 | E.R. | Joseph | TV series (one episode) |
| 2005 | Cursed | Werewolf | Minor role |
| 2005 | Zathura: A Space Adventure | Lead Zorgon | |
| 2006 | The Hills Have Eyes | Larry | |
| 2006 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | Assistant of Davy Jones | |
| 2006 | Pro-Life | The Father | |
| 2007 | Blades of Glory | Josh | Cameo |
| 2007 | The Hills Have Eyes 2 | Chameleon | Minor role |
| 2008 | Semi-Pro | Himself | |
| 2008 | Resident Evil: Degeneration | Curtis Miller/G | |
| 2009 | Friday the 13th | Jason Voorhees | Lead role |
| 2009 | His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th | Himself | Documentary |
| 2010 | Predators | Classic Predator | Lead role |
| 2010–2011 | Community | Kickpuncher | Episodes: "Intro to Political Science" "Romantic Expressionism" |
| 2011 | Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | Master-at-Arms | |
| 2011 | Arena | Brutus Jackson | |
| 2013 | Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters | Edward | |
| 2013 | Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters | Cyclops | |
| 2013 | Truth In Journalism | Bullseye | |
| 2013 | Hatchet III | Tyler Hawes | |
| 2013 | Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th | Himself | Documentary film |
| 2013–2014 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Irate Fan / Executioner / Mr. Hellman | Episodes: "Pee Wee Herman Wears a Halloween Costume" "Patton Oswalt Wears a Black Blazer & Dress Shoes" "Lizzy Caplan Wears All Black & Powder Blue Espadrilles" |
| 2013 | Grimm | Krampus | Episode: Twelve Days of Krampus |
| 2014 | Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead | Stavarin | |
| 2014 | Mighty Med | Catastrophe | Episode: There's a Storm Coming |
| 2014 | Lost Time | Mr. Elliot | PsyTerror / Aliens |
| 2014 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Dojo Ninja | |
| 2015 | Freaks of Nature | Wolf | |
| 2016 | Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping | Limo Driver | |
| 2016 | Live by Night | Donnie Gishler | |
| 2016 | Red vs. Blue | Ruben Lozano | Voice (web series); Episodes: "Call" "Consequences" |
| 2016 | RWBY | Corsac Albain | Voice; Web series Episode: "Menagerie" |
| 2016 | Phantasm: Ravager | Tall Dwarf | Deleted Scene |
| 2017 | From Jennifer | Butch Valentine | |
| 2017 | Twin Peaks | Renzo | TV series |
| 2017 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Kree Captain | Episode: "Orientation: Part 1" |
| 2018 | The Flash | Sylbert Rundine / Dwarfstar | Episodes: "Honey I Shrunk Team Flash" "True Colors" |
| 2019 | Alita: Battle Angel | Romo | |
| 2019 | Swamp Thing | Swamp Thing | Main role |
| 2020 | Legends of Tomorrow | Swamp Thing | Cameo, "Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part 5" |
| 2022 | The Guardians of Justice | Awesome Man | TV series |
| 2024 | 'Salem's Lot | Hubert Marsten | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2009 | MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Villain | Friday the 13th | Nominated |
| 2009 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture ((shared with the stunt cast) | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Nominated |