Power Rangers: Good for the future of mankind, bad for sleep cycles.
Amy Jo Johnson, who played the original Pink Ranger from 1993 to 1995, garnered an immediate fandom for performing many of her own stunts as the show's gymnast, Kimberly. And though Johnson kicked ass on set, she was withdrawn behind the scenes, and told Oprah in a new edition of Where Are They Now? that playing the hero did a number on her psyche.
Johnson, whose role as Kimberly came after her first big audition in Hollywood, recalls in the clip above one huge fan engagement in the early '90s that boasted thousands of screaming fans. The experience traumatized her, and she says it roused an anxiety she didn't expect.
"I remember going home that night and having horrible, horrible, horrible nightmares," Johnson admits. "It scared the crap out of me. The amount of people who suddenly knew who I was, but I don’t know who they are — I think that really freaked me out."
Johnson adds the experience was increasingly strange, since she and her fellow Ranger co-stars were non-union and were making virtually no money — no one had expected the show to blow up as significantly as it did.
Since her time as a superhero, Johnson, who's now a filmmaker, has also maintained steady work as an actress on shows like Felicity and Flashpoint, but is happy her star has receded a little bit.
"As my daughter says: I was never that big of a hit, which is perfect if you're afraid of fame," she jokes.
Johnson also starred in a 1995 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie, which grossed nearly $70 million worldwide. A reboot movie is planned for 2017, and will star Elizabeth Banks, Bryan Cranston and Becky G.
Check Out a Collection of TV and Movie Casts Reunited:
Heroes Abound — Get to Know the New Rogue One Stars:
Are Celebs Entitled to Privacy? PopCrush Investigates:
ncG1vNJzZmion6Wws8HSoWWcp51krq7FjKOmZqKfnbu0u81mp6Kmm2K%2ForrGnqlmppmctbW5wKucrGWfpb%2BitIywn56qlWKus7GMrZ%2BesV2jvLh7