Danica Davidson
July 17, 2023 
The Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers is a major franchise, but that doesn’t mean the actors in it have been paid well. In fact, original Blue Ranger actor David Yost and Zordon actor David J. Fielding just shared a dystopian story . . . and one that Hollywood is still trying to do.
It started with Yost sharing this tweet:
Haim Saban must be leading the talks. SMH…where has decency & respect gone. @DavidJFielding (the face of Zordon) had a similar experience. He worked one day on Power Rangers & the same footage was used in every MMPR episode. https://t.co/YXt3kjXUuz
— David Yost (@David_Yost) July 14, 2023
Yes, you read that right. According to reports, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers wants to be able to pay background actors for one day of work and then “own that scan of their image, their likeness, and to be able to use it for the rest of eternity in any project they want with no consent and no compensation.”
After seeing Yost’s tweet, Fielding himself jumped into the conversation:
“I made less than $1000 on the show as a whole. It was non-union, so no residuals. I got paid $150 for the day I filmed, and they made a billion dollars the first year. But that’s fair, right?”
It’s been well established that the Power Rangers actors weren’t paid much, though the public may not have realized it went to this level. Meanwhile, the franchise itself reached more than a billion dollars very quickly.
Fielding continued, “I got paid $150 pre-tax rate ($75 per hour non-union standard, 2-hour minimum session time) for the few sessions I did to record several episodes at a time. My last VO for MMPR was Episode 31. Robert Manahan took over after I left – I have no idea what he was paid or how much. I was paid for the day I filmed and for each recording session I went to – not by episode. I was credited up to Episode 31, but when I left the show and LA, they removed me from the credits – which I assume is kind of standard or was back then.”
Source: ANN
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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