Hello there Hero-Club faithful, and welcome to an all-new interview! This time we have managed to snag Power Rangers Dino Charge/ Dino Super Charge’s Davi Santos. In the series, Davi Santos portrays the infamous Knight of Zandar, Sir Ivan, who is better known as the Dino Charge Gold Ranger. Now, in today’s interview we ask Mr. Santos how he started his career, behind-the-scenes on Power Rangers, and his thoughts on its overly active Power Rangers fandom. Nevertheless, let us get on with the interview…
Question 1: Being a first generation immigrant in the United States, what was it like growing up for you, especially living in New York City?
Answer: I loved growing up in New York City, my childhood had many cousins and friends of the family, so play dates were between other apartments and other houses; both in Astoria in the suburbs of Queens with actual yards, pools, and trampolines, and big gatherings. Then when I went to middle school in Midtown, Manhattan I started to have friends all over the city and they gave me a good exposure to different lifestyles. My dad used to take me to Central Park when I was little, and I would remember trips to see Broadway shows, the smell of the subway was associated with the expectation of adventure. My teens were always out and about soaking up culture.
Question 2: What inspired you to pursue a career in acting?
Answer: We have to bring back a budget for the Arts in schools, it’s a sad loss today in corporate America, because it was as a result of my drama club in my elementary school that I was exposed to acting and found at 11 that I loved it. Then my family found the professional performing arts school where I auditioned and started attending at 12.
Question 3: Now, one of your earliest known roles is as Carlos in Mr. Box-Office. Can you tell us about that experience, and what you learned about the acting business during that time?
Answer: Mr. Box-Office was a sweet time in my life because it was my first recurring role on a TV show, I had just moved to LA, and I was working with a hilarious cast of veterans in comedy. I broke the ice for a lot of procedures in sitcoms and only reinforced that I was where I needed to be, enjoying every moment of the set and working with my peers. It was a lot of fun.
Question 4: Also, was it intimidating to work with any of the actors from Mr. Box-Office, due their success in Hollywood?
Answer: You know there was a sense of respect, respect of their space, but different veterans took different members of the students in the cast as a kind of mentor, in fact overall it was very welcoming and inclusive, which made the experience all the richer because we were treated as equals- at least when it came to the moment of performance and relating on set.
Question 5: How did you become aware of the auditions for Power Rangers Dino Charge, and what was the audition process like? Furthermore, how effective was being a second Dan Black-Belt in Shotokan Karate towards the overall audition?
Answer: Funny enough my manager at the time had passed on the Power Rangers Audition because of the traction I was getting for network television, so I didn’t even know about it until a friend of mine told me that he had an audition for it. I thought the idea of working on a superhero show in New Zealand would be a blast so my management set me up for an appointment. Being a martial artist really helped because I didn’t have to prepare anything for the physical part of the audition. For the martial arts display, l was almost in as much of my element as I could be in.
Question 6: Side note, how often do you continue to practice karate, and are you currently working towards a higher degree?
Answer: I found a Muay Thai dojo very close to me and I practice there. I am not training to level up on a belt anymore, but instead get to focus on my body, and trying to adapt kickboxing to my karate technique.
Question 7: So, before proceeding with more in-depth Dino Charge related questions, were you a fan of the series as a kid? If so, what memories do you remember from being a fan, and did you ever expect you would be a Ranger?
Answer: I was a fan of the show when I was a little kid, I had pajamas and the toys. I dressed up as The Red Ranger for some Halloween or maybe it was a birthday, I think my favorite color was red because of it. I suppose I pretended to be one when I was little, but as an older kid I never expected to be a Power Ranger, if anything I was looking forward to being James Bond.
Question 8: When filming began on Dino Charge were you already with the cast since day one, and was there a bonding process?
Answer: I came in 10 episodes after the cast had started but they were totally inclusive and we were fast friends.
Question 9: Moving to New Zealand to film 40+ episodes, must have been hectic. However, what did you and your cast mates do when you weren’t filming?
Answer: I was the oddball out living by myself. Whereas, the rest of the cast lived all together, but I really enjoyed that. Being a theater nerd I was watching at least three plays a week: indies and classical music concerts. I was making friends with the real knight of New Zealand, basically soaking up as much of the culture as I could living in the middle of town.
Question 10: What difficulties did you have portraying Sir Ivan? In addition, what scenes or stunts do you recall being the hardest to perform?
Answer: Sir Ivan was really a character I think existed before Power Rangers, elements of his voice I would do for fun with my friends. He was kind of an alternate personality I had that I would use to entertain myself and my close friends… Then there was one director who made us do about 35 takes for a very simple base scene that he insisted had complex camera movement, and that was very frustrating because none of us had many lines. We were all required to be there and it was just so many stopping starts and at the end of the day we were all drained and tired that we couldn’t find the justification. I think we almost went crazy trying to keep our head in the game.
Question 11: Do you have a specific favorite episode or scene from either Dino Charge or Super Dino Charge?
Answer: Dune day! Surfing down the dunes, the most agreeable work day of my life.
Question 12: How did the Power Rangers Beast Morphers crossover come about, and were there any indications during Dino Charge that you’d be asked back for a special?
Answer: Chip dropped the idea a long time ago, but I learned never to take any of that too seriously because things change so often. However, a heads up came about that it was really possible, and that turned into potential dates, which turned into clearing the schedule, and of course I was really happy to go back to the country and work with a new cast and revisit the role.
Question 13: What’s your impression of the series being often regarded as the best of the ‘Neo Saban Era’ by the Power Rangers fandom?
Answer: It’s terrific! We felt like we were doing something special and having seen previous seasons, there was a sense of integrity that we felt was intrinsic to ours, not in a competitive way, but in such a way that it was sweet and vibed well with us. The only thing better than that is when the fandom appreciates it like we did, and we all get to celebrate it together.
Question 14: Also, what’s it like for you being embraced by the fandom, and attending conventions like Power Morphicon where you get to meet your fans?
Answer: It’s generally my opportunity to meet the real fans, because it’s so different to talk to someone live than read a quick message on Instagram that is sent on the fly. People who buy tickets, dress up and come to share with you their favorite moments, it’s heartfelt and rare, so I appreciate the opportunity to get to connect with the fans during those conventions.
Question 15: Would mind telling us about either the first time a kid recognized as the Gold Ranger, or any cool interactions with fans by the way?
Answer: I remember I was going to a film festival uptown with two friends and we stopped in front of a brownstone, and as we checked our phone for directions. Someone came out of the basement apartment to greet me, recognizing me from the show, which overall we were all thinking was such a bizarre and seemingly random experience, but it was an unexpected charm.
Question 16: What advice do you have for those seeking to become an actor?
Answer: Study, maximize your opportunities by doing the work, learn about yourself, people, be proactive and be kind to yourself, but most of all, be prepared!
Question 17: In your own words, could you please tell us why you think superheroes are important, or tell us what superheroes mean to you?
Answer: Superheroes are demigods, they are the leaders, the gifted, but like the Greeks‘ or Seth Rogen‘s show “The Boys,” we learned that superheroes like anybody else are ultimately human and fallible. So, they should be an inspiration for us to find the “super” in us, and be mindful along the way.
Question 18: Finally, do you have any projects, whatsoever, that you’d like to promote with us?
Answer: Last night, Tell Me a Story premiered on The CW Network. Whereas, Something Like Summer started streaming last month, and my next movie is called 13 Minutes…
So, this concludes our interview with Power Rangers Dino Charge’s Davi Santos! We hope our readers enjoyed the time we had with Mr. Santos, and they look forward to his upcoming projects. Fans can follow or contact Davi Santos on social media through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. In addition, for those who are introduced to Power Rangers Dino Charge through our interview can stream the series on Netflix. Anyways, readers please stay tuned to Hero-Club for more news and all upcoming interviews!
