So, you want to talk about Ricardo Medina Jr.—the guy who played a super-powered dinosaur ranger and then took a very hard left turn into true crime headlines. Buckle up, because this is weirder than finding a Megazord in your laundry basket. We’re diving into the career of a man who went from saving the world on Saturday mornings to starring in a real-life courtroom drama.
First, the good stuff. Ricardo Medina Jr. is best known for two iconic TV shows: Power Rangers Wild Force and Power Rangers Samurai. In Wild Force, he played Cole Evans, the Red Ranger—basically a feral jungle boy who rode a giant falcon and shouted “Wild Access!” like it was his rent bill. If you were a kid in the early 2000s, you probably tried to clone his hair with a mix of gel and desperation.
But here’s the kicker: he didn’t start as a Ranger. Medina’s first acting gig was as a generically menacing henchman on an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yep, before he was a hero, he was a monster-of-the-week who got dusted by a teenage vampire slayer with better cheekbones. Talk about a career upgrade.
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The Power Rangers Peak
Wild Force was a big deal—it celebrated the Rangers’ 10th anniversary and featured a crossover with all the previous Red Rangers. Medina was suddenly hanging out with legends like Jason David Frank. Imagine your first day at a new job and your boss is a guy who once karate-chopped an alien and made it look cool.
He also voiced the Red Ranger in Power Rangers: Dino Thunder (2004), where he teamed up with a literal T-Rex. That’s the kind of résumé line you don’t see in a LinkedIn profile. “Collaborated with a prehistoric apex predator to prevent planetary annihilation.” No big deal.
Ricardo Medina Jr. | Power rangers samurai, Power rangers, Ricardo
After a break, he returned in Power Rangers Samurai (2011) as Xandred, the main villain. He went from wearing spandex to wearing a giant demon suit that looked like a rejected Godzilla villain. The guy played both sides—hero and monster—which is basically the actor’s version of eating your cake and having it too.
Movies? Yeah, There’s a Couple
Medina’s film career is like a C-list buffet: small bites, mostly forgettable. He starred in Vampire Assassin (2005), a movie so low-budget the vampires probably carried coupons for blood. He also appeared in Killer Holiday (2013), a slasher flick where the scariest thing might have been the acting.
Photo : Ricardo Medina Jr jouait Cole Evans (aka Force Rouge) dans la
You know how some actors say they “choose roles that challenge them”? Medina clearly chose roles that paid in pizza and gas money. And honestly? Respect. We all gotta hustle.
Surprising fact: He trained in martial arts since childhood, which is why his fight scenes actually look like he’s fighting, not flailing. That’s more than I can say for my attempts at doing a spinning kick in my living room—I still owe my bookshelf an apology.
The Plot Twist Nobody Saw Coming
Here’s where the story turns from “fun trivia” to “true crime podcast material.” In 2015, Medina was involved in a fatal stabbing incident at his home. The victim was his roommate, and the details are grim. He claimed self-defense, saying the roommate attacked him with a sword. Yeah, a sword. Because when you’re a Power Ranger, apparently your life doesn’t stop having weapons involved.
Power Ranger Actor Kills Roommate With Sword 60 Photos
He was initially charged with murder, but in 2017, he pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter. He got six years in prison. The media went wild—headlines screamed “Power Ranger Kills Roommate!” as if that was the synopsis of a lost episode. Suddenly, his old Wild Force catchphrase “Follow your heart” felt deeply ironic.
Now, I’m not here to judge the legal outcome. But it’s a massive contrast: one day you’re a kids’ hero, the next you’re wearing different stripes. It’s like if Barney the Dinosaur started a rap beef with Big Bird. Just surreal.
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Where Is He Now?
As of this writing, Medina is out of prison (released in 2021). He’s kept a low profile, which is smart—I doubt he’d get a warm welcome at Comic-Con. There’s no word on acting comebacks, but honestly, his life story has more drama than most scripts he read for.
He still has fans who separate the art from the artist. Some argue that his Red Ranger era was a highlight of the franchise. Others can’t separate the sword from the man. It’s messy, like a spilled smoothie at a power ranger battle.
So there you have it: the saga of Ricardo Medina Jr. He brought us joy, nostalgia, and a cautionary tale about roommates and swords. If you ever meet a Power Ranger at a convention, maybe don’t ask him for self-defense tips. Stick to asking about the dinosaur.