Power Rangers star Jason David Frank is inspired by the ultimate fighter Jesus: 'He didn't quit, He didn't give up'
Countless kids grew up trying to imitate his Power Ranger moves but the man behind the Green Power Ranger, Tommy Oliver, says he wasn't in it to steal the limelight.
Jason David Frank, a skilled martial artist in real life, still thrills fans with appearances at comic events two decades after he first took up the green mask for the hit kids show.
And it's a show that doesn't seem to have lost its popularity. After some time away, Frank has excited fans with a return for the finale of Power Rangers: Super Megaforce on Nickelodeon this Saturday.
Speaking to CBN News at the Wizard World Comic Con in Richmond, Virginia, he said he was happy for his character to take the limelight, rather than himself.
"I never wanted to become the leader. I did not take anyone's spot. I just created space for Tommy to be in that position," he said.
"And God definitely had His hand in His plan to say, 'I am going to lead you through a challenging life and kick downs and losses.'"
And life has thrown Frank some challenges, like the death of his older brother and Power Rangers co-star, Erik Ray Frank, in 2001.
It was in the painful aftermath that he went to church and found solace there.
"I didn't really understand what the whole church thing was about and then," Frank said. "When I lost my brother it was like people were telling me I need God and all that stuff, and I was like, 'If one more person tells me that, then that is what it is.'"
The unconventional ministry of his pastor Keenan Smith at Crosby Church, Texas, really appealed to him from the outset. Smith is the founder of Team Impact, a group of elite Christian athletes who tour churches to put on an amazing spectacle coupled with powerful testimony.
"I'm from Los Angeles, so this church is like cowboy boots. Pastor Keenan is breaking things and I was instantly attracted to him," said Frank.
"We sparred. We wrestled. And he used that to attract people to church."
In addition to sharing his faith and keeping busy with Power Rangers, Frank is the co-founder of the MMA clothing and fight gear line called Jesus Didn't Tap - the same words he has inked on his left arm.
Explaining the message behind the line, he told CBN: "That means he didn't quit, he didn't give up - tap out. He could have tapped, snapped any time. He could have just called thousands and thousands of angels if he wanted to.
"Tap out is an expression I can give mentally and physically, I give up, I give up. He never did that."