Walter Emanuel Jones (born November 30, 1970 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American actor, martial artist, and dancer best known for playing Zach Taylor/the Black Ranger in Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.
A native of Detroit, Michigan - he was a dancer for most of his life and spent much of his pre-Power Rangers career performing as a dancer and singer on cruise ships. He had been planning to go for an audition for the reality series Star Search as part of a group. Unfortunately (or perhaps not), he lost his voice on the way there, and the group naturally lost. But while he was on the way there, a friend told him about an open casting looking for actors, martial artists, dancers and gymnasts. Able to demonstrate three of those four skills, he was eventually cast as Zack Taylor, the Black Ranger. Despite the eternal controversy over that, Walter jokes that he never had a problem with it, because black was his favourite colour anyway.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was an instant success, shown in over forty countries around the world, and generating billions in merchandise. Unfortunately, due to the show being a non-union project, the actors were frequently underpaid and overworked. Having been acting the longest of his fellow Rangers, Walter started discussions about making it a union show in the hopes of getting better pay and working conditions for the cast and crew. These negotiations eventually fell through, and Walter walked off the show in protest, along with Austin St. John and Thuy Trang. This resulted in obvious Fake Shemping until Zack, Jason and Trini were Put on a Bus and gave their powers to three replacements. Although never reprising his role as Zack until 2023, he has returned to the franchise providing voiceovers for various monsters in different seasons.
He's also part of the website Fanward
along with Austin St John and Peter Pan actor Jeremy Sumpter.
Film Roles
- White Men Can't Jump as Guy on Watts sideline (Uncredited Role)
- Malcolm X as Barber's customer
- Backyard Dogs as Lee Takura
- American Gun as J.B.
- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 as various voices
- Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping as Angry fan
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always as Zack Taylor
Television Roles
- Beverly Hills, 90210 as Guy in Hall (1 episode)
- Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers as Zack Taylor (1993-1994)
- Step by Step as Joe (1 episode)
- The Parent 'Hood as Jared King (1 episode)
- Family Matters as Kissel (1 episode)
- Malibu Shores as Michael Hammon (10 episodes)
- Space Cases as Harlan Band
- The Burning Zone as Marcus Dawson (1 episode)
- Sabrina the Teenage Witch as Dolrimple (1 episode)
- Early Edition as Crazy H (1 episode)
- In the House as Walter (1 episode)
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Edward ("Fear Itself")
- Power Rangers Lost Galaxy as Nightmare Monster (1 episode)
- NYPD Blue as Raymond Young (1 episode)
- Moesha as Jay (2 episode)
- Spyder Games as Dean (4 episodes)
- Off Centre as Cheddar (1 episode)
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Street Racer (1 episode)
- Power Rangers Wild Force as Gerrock (voice) ("Forever Red")
- The Shield as Rondell Robinson (4 episodes)
- Prime Suspect as Randall Hughes (1 episode)
- Pair of Kings as Tough Poet (1 episode)
- Mighty Med as Doctor (1 episode)
Tropes associated with his work:
- Actor-Inspired Element: While he was cast as Zack, he theorises that he ended up as the Black Ranger to better match up with the stock footage - since the Blue Ranger was The Smart Guy, David Yost was best suited in that role, and he knew he wouldn't be The Leader, so that was the most likely option.
- Awesome, Dear Boy: He did Malibu Shores because Aaron Spelling was attached and "everything Aaron Spelling touches turns to gold".
- The Cast Show Off: Many Power Rangers episodes would feature Zack dancing for fun or having dance-offs, allowing Walter to show off his training.
- Dance Battler: As a dancer and martial artist, this was incorporated into Zack's personal fighting style 'Hip Hop Kido'.
- Dawson Casting:
- Zack Taylor may have been a teenager with attitude, but Walter was 22.
- He himself laughs at how on Space Cases he was playing 16 when he was 29, and acting alongside actual 13-year-olds.
- He was also playing a high schooler in the horror film Talisman, which was released when he was nearly 30!
- Discredited Meme: He's shot down the repeated joke that he was an African-American playing the Black Ranger, instead pointing out that the show had a diverse cast, and it was one of the few times he was allowed to play a heroic role in his acting career."I got to be a role model in forty countries around the world, so I didn't have a problem with it."
- Disowned Adaptation: When it came to Power Rangers (2017), he wasn't wild about Zack not having the Hip Hop Kido fighting style (granted Ludi Lin is not a dancer like Walter was), and disliked that all the original cast members weren't given cameos in the film. He also wasn't thrilled with Jason David Frank and Amy Jo Johnson's cameos in the film itself.
- Flip-Flop of God: There have been conflicting sources that say Walter was supposed to play the Blue Ranger and just asked to play the Black Ranger instead, or he was always auditioning for Zack and didn't know which colour he'd be playing.
- He Also Did: He's surprised people say they saw him in Beverly Hills, 90210, since he was just an extra.
- I Am Not Spock: It's safe to say he's best remembered as Zack Taylor. Not that he minds.
- Mr. Fanservice: Not as much as Jason and Tommy, but the "Big Sisters" episode gives Zack a Shirtless Scene as he's training. He also appears shirtless in Talisman, and occasionally posts shirtless pictures to his Instagram.
- Older Than They Look: He turned fifty in 2020, and has barely aged since the 90s."Well, you know, Zack don't crack."
- Playing Against Type: He recalls Power Rangers being one of the only times he got to play a heroic character; usually being cast as gangsters or criminals. Although, since that's the role he's best known for, his grittier roles on the likes of The Shield would arguably be the against-type ones.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: An infamous contract dispute led to Walter, Austin St John and Thuy Trang being Put on a Bus and replaced with Johnny Yong Bosch, Steve Cardenas and Karan Ashley in the second season of Power Rangers. The three of them had also been booked to do Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, but naturally were dropped from it.
- What Could Have Been:
- He was asked to appear in Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie along with Austin St John and Amy Jo Johnson but, because it was a non-union film, appearing in it would mean giving up his SAG card.
- Right before his Power Rangers audition, he had also auditioned for the reality show Star Search as part of his band. He caught a cold on the flight over, and was unable to sing lead vocals, so they didn't get in.
- You Look Familiar: He actually voiced two monsters in Power Rangers after leaving; the Nightmare Monster in Lost Galaxy's "Dream Battle" and Gerrok in Wild Force's "Forever Red".
