The screenwriter of 
Jason X revealed that David Cronenberg, who had a small role in the movie, insisted that he be cast and even rewrote some of his dialogue. 2002’s 
Jason X is the tenth movie in the long-running 
Friday the 13th franchise, following the hockey-masked serial killer Jason Voorhees as he is frozen at the futuristic Crystal Lake Research Facility and thawed off to wreak havoc on the Grendel starship in the year 2463. The cast of the film, in addition to Cronenberg, includes Kane Hodder, Lisa Ryder, Melyssa Ade, Chuck Campbell, and Lexa Doig, who has most recently been seen in yet another slasher franchise entry: SyFy’s 
Chucky season 1.,One of the strangest elements in the very strange movie is the fact that the cast includes Cronenberg at all. Although he has over three dozen acting credits, including a seven-episode stint on the Paramount+ series 
Star Trek: Discovery, he is best known for his directorial work, especially in the body horror genre with films like 1986’s 
The Fly and 1983’s 
Videodrome. For fans at the time, it was quite a surprise to see the renowned filmmaker in the role of Dr. Aloysius Wimmer, a Crystal Lake Research Facility employee who wants to study Voorhees’ regenerative powers.,Related: Jason X Proved That Space-Set Slashers Never Work,For the 20th anniversary of 
Jason X, 
The AV Club sat down with one of the key figures in the making of the film: the screenwriter, Todd Farmer. Farmer revealed that 
Jason X director Jim Isaac was a former effects specialist who frequently worked with Cronenberg. When Isaac asked to use Cronenberg’s effects team, the director agreed on the surprise condition that he would be cast in the movie. Farmer was then informed that ”
Cronenberg’s rewriting all of your lines,” which secretly thrilled him. Read the full quote below:,What’s especially interesting about Cronenberg’s involvement in 
Jason X is that it came at the tail end of his involvement in the horror genre. He would follow up his performance with 2002’s 
Spider, but after that, the director mostly transitioned to lurid dramas including 2014’s 
Maps to the Stars, which features Robert Pattinson. Indeed, he more or less completely stepped away for two decades, a hiatus he is now breaking with his upcoming film 
Crimes of the Future.,Jason X certainly wasn’t responsible for Cronenberg’s horror hiatus, but it’s an interesting bookend to his career as a master in the genre. It’s not a well-regarded entry in the franchise, nor would it have been at the time. However, Cronenberg had helmed an episode of 
Friday the 13th: The Series in 1988 so perhaps he felt a kinship with the franchise even in its later years.,Next: Why Jason X Was Friday The 13th’s Biggest Failure,Source: The AV Club