The guy who played the Green Ranger was kicked out of the 'Power Rangers' premiere
Mild spoiler alert: Actor Jason David Frank was accused of piracy and escorted out by security
The guy who came to define the Power Rangers like no other actor, Jason David Frank, has admitted that he managed to get himself ejected from the premiere of the gritty new reboot movie before his own character appeared.
Frank, who appeared as Tommy Oliver (later Dr Tommy Oliver) in six separate Power Rangers series and two other films, was removed because security thought he was filming Power Rangers on his phone. He maintains (probably truthfully to be fair) that he had been attempting to record the reaction of the crowd when they saw his cameo, alongside Amy Jo Johnson, the original Pink Ranger.
"I'm the guy in the movie theater who wanted to get a reaction shot of the audience reacting to Amy and me when our cameo appeared," a sheepish Frank told the Hollywood Reporter.
"Right after our cameo appeared, I got escorted out by security because I had a camera in the movie. I didn't see the end of the movie, because security was arguing with me outside and I was trying to tell security, 'That's me in the movie!' And they said, 'I need your phone!' I'm like, 'You're not getting my phone!'"
In his long and illustrious career as a Mighty Morphin’ Power Ranger, Frank’s character has been the Green Ranger, the White Ranger, Zeo Ranger V–Red, the Red Turbo Ranger, and the Dino Thunder Black Ranger. In the new movie, however, he and Johnson played citizens of Angel Grove, the fictional Californian town where the first six of the show’s various seasons are based.
And though he did get to see himself appear in the new film, tragically for a man who loves his character this much, Frank missed the post-credits scene which mentioned Oliver by name.
"I didn't get to see the end of the movie when they called Tommy. I was so upset," he said, admitting that he still hadn’t had the chance.
Still, despite mixed reviews, Power Rangers took a respectable $60 million in its first weekend, and there are six sequels planned. Frank likely won’t return as the Green Ranger himself, and there’s even a movement to have the character return as a woman. Frank doesn’t mind a bit, commenting: "The Green Ranger kicks butt. The Green Ranger has always been the most popular.
"No matter what Haim Saban does, people are going to love it. He would not allow something that fans will not like. After watching the movie, anything is possible. It doesn't matter what color your skin is. It doesn't matter if you're female or you're male."
