Stephen Antonio Cardenas was born on May 29, 1974, at the Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia. Cardenas spent his early childhood as a military brat in San Antonio, Texas. His ancestors are Puerto Rican and Spanish.
He began martial arts training when he was about 12 years old and attained a black belt in Taekwondo at the age of 16. Steve Cardenas has been practicing martial arts for the past 28 years. He holds a fifth-degree black belt in Taekwondo as well as a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
What are Steve Cardenas’ name and role in Power Rangers?
Steve Cardenas (Rocky DeSantos) is the main character in the Power Rangers series. He was the Red Mighty Morphin’ Ranger’s second appearance, as well as the Red Ninja Ranger and Zeo Ranger III Blue. He took over as the second Red Ranger, succeeding Jason Lee Scott.
Cardenas moved to Los Angeles at the age of 20 to audition for a Mighty Morphin Power Rangers role that would change his life. Rocky DeSantos, his character, took over as the Red Ranger in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TV series, and later as the Blue Zeo Ranger in Power Rangers Zeo. He had no acting background and had to learn on the job.
Due to contract disagreements and possibly to focus on his martial arts career, Cardenas left the Power Rangers series and retired from acting during Power Rangers Turbo. Many years later, beginning with the 2007 Power Morphicon convention, he began appearing at conventions with other former cast members.
