How Power Rangers' Bulk Managed To Both Star In And Direct Episodes
Along with the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" themselves and the rogues gallery of incredible villains, fans of the long-running series no doubt have a soft spot for the show's inept bullies Bulk and Skull. The duo have appeared in over 300 episodes of various incarnations of the "Power Rangers" brand over the course of the last three decades. Bulk is played by actor Paul Schrier, who also starred in films such as "Wicked Game" from 2002 and in episodes of shows like "Silk Stalkings" in 1996.
In addition to being a steadily working actor, Schrier also is an experienced director. He directed several episodes in the "Power Rangers" franchise, episodes of the "Hello Kitty" animated series, and a short film. Within each of the "Power Rangers" episodes he directed, he also appeared as Bulk, proving the actor/director is capable of wearing many hats.
In an interview with Conventional Relations, Schrier talked about being the only person in the history of the "Power Rangers" franchise to both act in the show and direct at the same time. He said about the working towards the experience, "If you spend more than two years doing anything anywhere and you don't ask enough questions about how does this work and what the hell does this mean and why are you doing this and what is this equipment, then you're kind of a dork." Even though he asked a significant amount of questions, he still had to prove himself before he was given the opportunity to direct any episodes.
The Power Rangers team initially declined Paul Schrier's offer to direct
The Bulk half of Bulk and Skull from "Power Rangers," Paul Schrier, wanted to direct an episode of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," but it wasn't an easy task to get there. When he went to the show's producers to inform them of his itch to direct, they straight up told him no. He said the team gave him an assignment before he would be given the keys to an episode, "They said if you want to direct, shoot a short film, which I did. It was called 'An Easy Thing' and it starred a bunch of 'Power Rangers' crew members and Jason Narvy [Skull in the show] as bank robbers who failed in their bank robbery and then killed each other like wolves in the den.
Unfortunately, the short film has never appeared online. It's a shame because Schrier said of the short, "It's pretty cool." However, it was enough to present to the crew behind "Power Rangers" to secure Schrier a job directing an episode. The rest, as they say, is history. The actor/director said, "After that I was in and I did quite a bit of it." He directed two episodes of the original "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" series, an episode of "Power Rangers Zeo," three episodes of "Power Rangers Turbo," and an episode of "Power Rangers Lost Galaxy." He has no new directing projects in the works at this time, but he can often be seen alongside his real-life best friend Jason Narvy on the convention circuit ready to sign Bulk and Skull merch.