Jason David Frank Once Played Valiant's Bloodshot
Jason David Frank, who sadly has passed away, made a career out of playing the hero in both the movies and on television. And, for the better part of three decades, it was "Morphin Time" for the actor, according to IMDb. In 1994, Frank suited up as the Green Ranger rocking giant, silver shoulder pads in the short film, "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Alpha's Magical Christmas." However, Frank was attired in the full-blown White Ranger costume just a year later in the first full-length film adaptation, "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers."
Frank's character, Tommy Oliver, showed up in a variety of differently colored suits over the years, including the Red Turbo and the Black DinoThunder costumes, and Frank found his acting chops and stamina tested by the success of the franchise right from the start of the original 1993 series. "'Power Rangers' was a full-time, six days a week, 14-hour days," Frank said in an interview (via YouTube). "It's kind of like if you're going to race, or you're going to do a marathon. I had to do a marathon the whole entire season." While Frank is best known for his vast contributions to the "Power Rangers" mythos, fewer remember that Frank also got the opportunity to play the role of the nanite-enhanced Bloodshot from the Valiant comic books.
Frank portrayed Bloodshot in Ninjak vs the Valiant Universe
Jason David Frank's acting certainly wasn't adversely affected by the superhero types he portrayed on film and in television. After portraying a number of different heroes in the "Power Rangers" mythology for over 25 years (via IMDb), Frank temporarily took up the mantle of the Gray Jedi, the Valiant Comics character Bloodshot, in the short-lived 2018 television series "Ninjak vs. the Valiant Universe."
Clearly, Frank held a deep reverence for the comic book anti-hero. "My job is just do the best I can for Bloodshot," Frank said during his "My Morphing Life" vlog (per YouTube). "And continue the growth for Valiant Comics. And, hopefully, that the people that are hardcore, diehard fans of Bloodshot can see that this is a real live-action character versus a cosplay character."
Stunt coordinator and choreographer Alvin Hsing worked closely with Frank, according to the same vlog, to bring Bloodshot's uniquely "brutal" fighting style to life on the TV show. And Frank's extensive background in martial arts made Bloodshot's journey from comic books to television much more believable. "He [Frank] comes from a long lineage of martial artists and martial artists specifically that have been in the film industry," Hsing said in an interview (via YouTube). "So, he knows a bit more than any, of the average, MMA fighter or martial artist in terms of cinematic language and where to be: Feeling the camera, to sell the hits."