Actor Jason Ritter says that his first job in Hollywood was totally due to nepotism, thanks to his dad, John Ritter. Jason appeared on the SiriusXM show The Jess Cagle Show. He talked about getting his first acting job at age 6 in The Real Story of O Christmas Tree. Jason Ritter gives total credit to his late father for picking up the role.
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“I will say, without any hesitation, this was like a full-on nepotism hire,” Jason Ritter said. “I will admit that. He for sure got me the job. I did try to stay away from that later. But yeah, I got to play Little Acorn in ‘The Real Story of O Christmas Tree’ and he played my Uncle Piney.”
Jason Ritter Said He Laughed At A Recording Of His Voice As A Child
Ritter said he laughed at a recording of the project when he got older. He says that “they must have sped up my voice to make it that high.” But to his surprise, his dad and mom Nancy Morgan told him that wasn’t the case, TODAY reports.
“Both my mom and dad were like, ‘No, you were — it was pretty high. Jason, that was your voice,'” he said with a laugh.
Ritter Loved Going On Sets Where His Late Father, John Ritter, Was Working
Jason Ritter said as a child it was “always a special experience” seeing his dad on set. “I remember the first time I went, I don’t even know what he was shooting, but it was a night shoot … So like the idea of staying up all night was so exciting and so crazy to me,” he said. Ritter recalled that he was about 8 years old when he first set foot on his dad’s set.
The Raising Dion star said his fascination with acting didn’t end there. He said that he especially enjoyed the way his dad’s night shoots were done and watching his dad dress in “all kinds of bizarre costumes.”
After John Ritter’s death in 2003 from an undiagnosed aortic dissection at age 54, Jason Ritter later opened up about his dad’s legacy and influence.
Jason Ritter told ET Canada in August 2020 that the one thing he continues to pass down from his parents to his now four-year-old daughter is the way they made him feel loved. Ritter said that he heard it many times from his own parents that he was loved.
