At the age of 3, he and his family moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, where a Japanese casting agency discovered him and signed him up for three TV spots.
In 1989, his family moved back to the mainland, settling in San Diego, California.
[citation needed] Richter starred as Jesse in Free Willy (1993), a role for which he was chosen out of more than 4,000 candidates.
He also reprised his role as Jesse in the music video for Michael Jackson's "Childhood", which was featured in Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home.
Following his appearance in Ricochet River, Richter took a decade long hiatus from acting where he was the bassist Fermata.