Throughout the history of thePower Rangersfranchise, a wealth of different teenagers with attitude have been recruited to continue on the name and legacy, travelling through space, time and a plethora of cross-sectional mythologies.

It seems as though there is one sole constant – the presence of Tommy Oliver, as portrayed by Jason David Frank. Since arriving at Angel Grove High back in 1993, Tommy has served his time as four different Rangers, and appeared in a total of eight versions of the show. What has kept him morphing all this time? According to Frank, it’s about what Power Rangers has come to mean to him, as well as his still-dedicated following of fans.

“If you look at everything that’s going on with the Power Rangers franchise now, you’ll see that everyone wants to be a part of it,” he says. “I’m lucky that I have been a part of it since day one. I did four consecutive seasons of the show. I came back for Dino Thunder. The worth of my time doing all of that comes right back to me every single time I do one of these conventions. A lot of celebrities that come to these sort of things have somehow manifested this idea that the fans owe them something. I look out every time, and I just feel blessing after blessing that all of these people still care. I know that I owe it to the fans.”

He goes on to relay an immediate example from mere hours before this interview.“I’m visiting my mom at the moment, and this morning one of my mom’s friends told me a guy down at the gas station would love to meet me. I went down, took a photo, easy as that. For this guy, though, he was almost on the verge of breaking down. He was telling me that he had been depressed and even suicidal growing up, and Power Rangers was his escape that got him through. Meeting me was such a huge deal to him because of that. Whenever I’m struggling to get to the next flight, the next convention, the next whatever have you, I just remember that being a superhero on TV can change people’s lives – and those people have changed mine.”

As Frank alludes, there is considerable attention being paid to the Power Rangers franchise at present, due in no small part to the upcoming 2017 movie based on the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series, which will star Pitch Perfect’s Elizabeth Banks as the villainous Rita Repulsa and a whole new generation of up-and-comers to play Billy, Jason, Kimberly, Trini and Zack. As for what else we can expect, the original Green Ranger is keeping his cards close to his chest.

“I’m really close with [Power Rangers production company] Saban, and they’ve let me in on a lot of the top-secret stuff that’s going on with the movie,” says Frank. “I obviously can’t really say anything yet, but it’s all going to be out in the world next March, and you’ll all find out what’s been going on. It’s a big movie, man – it’s a $140 million movie. It’s going to be up against the biggest blockbusters of the year. I think people are really going to be surprised by it. If you’re a Power Rangers fan, I just know that you’re going to like what you see.”

Indeed, it was just over 20 years ago that the first-ever Power Rangers movie hit cinemas, starring Frank as the White Ranger. A lot of the movie, coincidentally enough, was shot here in Australia, where Frank will soon return for the Supanova conventions in Sydney and Perth. “I had an incredible time over there,” he recalls of shooting 1995’s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie. “When you’re young and you’re out of Los Angeles for the first time, the world is so exciting. Everything is new. We filmed in Kiama, which was beautiful, even though it was something like 113 degrees [Fahrenheit] most days! I remember we all went snorkelling, and that was such a beautiful experience. It’s just a beautiful part of the world.”

Of course, Frank’s life isn’t entirely dictated by his past. A keen MMA fighter and entrepreneur, Frank also runs a clothing line and does a web series entitled My Morphing Life, in which he allows an insight into both his public and personal life. Along for the ride is his daughter, Jenna, who knows all too well about the pros and cons of having an instantly recognisable dad.

“Jenna’s 12 now, so we go through stages,” says Frank with a laugh. “Some days, her dad being a Power Ranger is so cool. Other days, it’s really not. She’d definitely prefer it if she could be doing something at school, like a sports game or a play or something, and not have all the attention on me when I enter the room. Any time that I’m recognised in the street when I’m with her, she’ll just roll her eyes and go, ‘Oh gosh, here we go again!’ The important thing to me, though, is her knowing that it’s just me when I’m with her. The real me. To the rest of the world, I’m Tommy from Power Rangers. To my friends and family, I’m me. I’m Jason. I’m Dad.”

Jason David Frank appears at Supanova Pop Culture Expo 2016, held atSydney ShowgroundFriday June 17 – Sunday June 19, along withTravis Fimmel, Juliet Landau, Brianna Hildebrand, Sean Astin and more.

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