Austin St. John

Last updated

Austin St. John
Austin St. John Photo Op GalaxyCon Austin 2023 (cropped).jpg
St. John at GalaxyCon Austin in 2023
Born
Jason Lawrence Geiger

(1974-09-17) September 17, 1974 (age 49)
Alma mater Concordia University
OccupationActor
Years active1993–present
Known for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers , Power Rangers Zeo , Power Rangers Wild Force , Power Rangers Beast Morphers portraying Jason Lee Scott
Website austinstjohn.biz

Jason Lawrence Geiger [1] (born September 17, 1974) professionally known as Austin St. John, is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Jason Lee Scott in the Power Rangers franchise. [2]

Contents

Early life

Austin St. John is the son of U.S. Marine and martial artist Steve John and his wife, Sharon. [3] He has one sibling, a brother named Stephen. With a parent in the armed forces, St. John lived all over the United States while growing up.[ citation needed ]

Career

Austin St. John's first acting role and most well-known role to date came to him when he was 19 years old, when he was cast as teen superhero Jason Lee Scott, the Red Power Ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers , the first installment of the Power Rangers franchise, which debuted on Fox Kids in 1993. For his role, he took the stage name Austin St. John, Austin coming from The Six Million Dollar Man's Steve Austin and St. John being a name of his own choosing. [4]

Like St. John, his character had a background in martial arts. Though the series was hugely successful and brought St. John international recognition as an actor, long hours on set combined with low pay and no union recognition presented real challenges for him. As a result, St. John, along with all of his other co-stars including Jason David Frank [5] agreed to leave the show during its second season if their employers rejected their pay demands and unionization attempts, but when time came, only Walter Emanuel Jones and Thuy Trang joined him in the ultimatum and ultimately left the show. St. John was replaced by Steve Cardenas as the Red Ranger. [6] [7]

St. John went on to reprise the role of Jason several times over, in both film and television, including a permanent role in Power Rangers Zeo , and making an appearance as the character in 2002, in an episode of Power Rangers Wild Force entitled "Forever Red". He also appeared alongside Jones, as himself, in the Power Rangers special The Lost Episode in 1999, which focused on the history of the franchise up to that point and showed the original pilot episode for the series, which had never before been aired.

St. John in 2014 Austin St. John by Gage Skidmore.jpg
St. John in 2014

In 2017, he made a cameo in the movie Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel. [8] In 2018, he was acting in the television movie Monsters At Large [8] and had a major role in the 2019 dramatic movie A Walk with Grace . [8]

In 2020, St. John reprised the role of Jason in a second season episode of Power Rangers Beast Morphers titled "Grid Connection". [9]

In 2022, he had the lead role in the film Tres Leches, directed by John Schneider. [10] The film is available for free on the official YouTube channel of John Schneider. [11]

Other ventures

Austin St. John began as a proficient martial artist, holding a second-degree black belt in Taekwondo, a first-degree black belt in Judo and a first-degree black belt in Kenpo and for a time, he worked as a martial arts instructor. [12] Additionally, he published a book on the subject, Karate Warrior: A Beginner's Guide to Martial Arts, in 1996. [13]

In February 2024, he announced plans to start a controversial clothing line featuring quotes from prominent historical figures — including Adolf Hitler. Drawing fierce condemnation from fans, as well as Amy Jo Johnson, who costarred in the series as Kimberly Hart, the Pink Ranger. As of publication, there is yet to be any appearance of this clothing line on St. John's website. [14]

Personal life

Austin St. John attended Robert Frost Middle School and W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax, VA, [15] before moving to Fullerton, California, where he attended Sunny Hills High School, but did not graduate. As an adult, he went on to earn his G.E.D. and ultimately obtained his undergraduate degree from Concordia University. [16]

CARES Act indictment

In May 2022, St. John was indicted on federal fraud charges related to the CARES Act. He allegedly conspired in a $3.5 million scheme to create businesses or use an existing business to submit applications to fraudulently obtain Paycheck Protection Program funding. Prosecutors said participants in the conspiracy would file false supporting documentation and misrepresent key details, including the number of their employees and the amount of their payroll, causing the Small Business Administration and financial institutions to issue loans. Prosecutors allege St. John and co-defendants paid the ringleaders of the scheme, and spent the money on personal purchases. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison. [1] [17]

Since the indictment, St. John has agreed to be put on pre-trial release. He is only allowed to leave the state of Texas for work, with the permission of the court. This includes his previously scheduled convention appearances. [18] On May 25, 2022, St. John released a video confirming these recent events as true and reiterated his legal inability to discuss said events at his entertainment-based public appearances. [19]

Filmography

Film

YearFilmPortrayingNotes
1995Encyclopedia of Martial Arts: Hollywood CelebritiesHimself
1997 Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie Jason Lee Scott
2009Steps Toward The SunCowboyShort film
2016Gideon's FrontierSimon Kenton
Tres Leches [8] Officer Jed
2017The OrderJackUnreleased
Survival's End [8]
Monsters At Large [8] Sean Parker
A Gift of The Heart [8]
2019 A Walk with Grace Duane Shaffer
2023 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always Jason Lee Scott / Red Power Ranger30th Anniversary Special (archival footage & audio)

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1993–1994 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Jason Lee Scott / Red Power RangerStarring role (79 episodes)
1994Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Alpha's Magical ChristmasVideo short (archival footage)
1996 Power Rangers Zeo Jason Lee Scott / Gold Zeo RangerStarring role (17 episodes)
1998ExposéDetective AndersonTV film
1999Power Rangers: The Lost EpisodeHimself / Jason Lee Scott Co-host / Co-star (original pilot)
2002 Power Rangers Wild Force Jason Lee Scott / Red Power RangerGuest star ("Forever Red")
2020 Power Rangers Beast Morphers Guest star ("Grid Connection")

Video games

YearGamePortrayingNotes
2019 Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid Jason Lee Scott / Red Power RangerVoice-over role [20]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason David Frank</span> American actor (1973–2022)

Jason David Frank was an American actor, model and mixed martial artist best known for his role as Tommy Oliver in the Power Rangers television franchise.

Zachary "Zack" Taylor is a fictional character in the Power Rangers universe, appearing in the television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. He is the first on-screen Black Ranger of Power Rangers. He would be succeeded as the Black Ranger by Adam Park. A reimagined version of Zack, now Chinese-American, would appear in the 2017 reboot film, played by Canadian actor Ludi Lin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Oliver</span> Fictional character from the Power Rangers franchise

Dr. Thomas "Tommy" Oliver is a fictional character and the overarching main protagonist of the American live-action television franchise Power Rangers. He is best known as being the original Green Ranger and the first evil Ranger who fought and nearly defeated the original Power Rangers while under the control of Rita Repulsa. He was eventually freed from Rita’s spell and aligned himself with the other Power Rangers. He is a main character in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TV series, as well as four of its successive incarnations Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, Power Rangers Zeo, Power Rangers Turbo, and Power Rangers Dino Thunder. He also appeared in the Power Rangers Wild Force episode "Forever Red", the Power Rangers S.P.D. episode "Wormhole", the Power Rangers Super Megaforce episode "Legendary Battle", and in the Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel episode "Dimensions in Danger". He was portrayed by actor Jason David Frank in all of his appearances from the Zordon era until Saban Brands era's seasons of the franchise prior to his death in November 2022, with the exception of the episode "Wormhole", where he appeared only in Ranger form and was voiced by actor Jeffrey Parazzo. He was also infrequently portrayed by actor Michael Gotto in instances where the story required the character during childhood, such as in the series Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers.

<i>Power Rangers Zeo</i> American television series from 1996

Power Rangers Zeo is a television series and the fourth season of the Power Rangers franchise, based on the 19th Super Sentai series Chouriki Sentai Ohranger. It is the continuation of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, which aired in 1996.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimberly Hart</span> Fictional character in Power Rangers

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  11. "Tres Leches The Movie" via www.youtube.com.
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