Actor Jonathan Tison Learned He Was Playing Jason Voorhees Only on Arrival at the Studio

Jonathan Tison, 26, plays the grown-up Jason Voorhees in Crystal Lake, the Peacock series whose first season closes with an episode called "The Final Chapter." He did not know that was his part when he signed on. He thought he was playing a character named Joey, in a project codenamed Mama's Boy, and found out his real role only after he reached the production studio, Deadline reports.

Crystal Lake is a prequel, meaning it tells a story that happens before the films people already know. It is set around Camp Crystal Lake, the place that became the setting of the Friday the 13th horror films. The series was created by Brad Caleb Kane, and all of its episodes are streaming on Peacock.

Tison's Jason is the burlap sack-wearing version from Friday the 13th: Part 2, released in 1981. Tison has said he had never seen any of the Friday the 13th films before taking the role. He started watching them once he learned who he was playing.

The look is demanding. Tison's prosthetics include a piece placed inside the mouth and another in the eye. Those pieces affected his hearing in one ear and his vision in one eye. He praised his co-stars, Linda Cardellini as Pamela Voorhees and Hamish Linklater as Elias Wittering, as strong scene partners.

Callum Vinson plays young Jason, who drowns at Camp Crystal Lake in the first episode. Cardellini's Pam is Jason's mother, a single parent grieving her sickly son. Peacock's own blog says Pam receives confirmation in the finale that Jason is alive, and describes the episode as bringing major revelations and vindication for her.

Fans have responded strongly to Tison's reveal, he told Deadline, adding that the reaction has "been crazy." On October 20, he posted behind-the-scenes material about the role on his Instagram account, calling it his debut as the older Jason. A talent agency, Sean Clark Official, announced on Facebook on October 16 that Tison had joined its roster as its newest client.

The finale is the last episode of the first season, meaning the season's closing chapter. Peacock and Deadline both describe the series as available to stream, and Deadline reports that every episode is on the platform. Any further season has not been announced.

For a cast member who had never watched the films, the role meant a crash course in the franchise. It also meant learning the part in a studio he had walked into under a different name.