Ernie Reyes Jr. Meets World

Summary

Pod Meets World: "Ernie Reyes Jr. Meets World"

Date: September 22, 2025
Host(s): Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, Ryder Strong
Guest: Ernie Reyes Jr.

Episode Overview

This episode spotlights the incredible career and enduring legacy of Ernie Reyes Jr., a martial arts prodigy who transitioned from karate championships to Hollywood stardom as a child. The hosts—Danielle, Will, and Ryder—explore Ernie's journey from martial arts tournaments to iconic roles in films like The Last Dragon, Red Sonja, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Surf Ninjas. They dig deep into themes of childhood sacrifice, fame, burnout, and resilience, while sharing personal stories about how Ernie’s films inspired them and millions of others.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Early Martial Arts and Family Influence

[18:19–19:29]

• Ernie grew up immersed in martial arts thanks to his legendary father and their West Coast World Martial Arts Studio in San Jose.
• “My hero was Bruce Lee. He kind of set the blueprint for what I wanted to do... and my dad was the one that facilitated making that happen.” – Ernie Reyes Jr. (18:49)
• Ernie’s martial arts career started before formal classes, leading to training from age 6–7.

2. Entry Into Hollywood

[20:38–24:52]

• Ernie’s demonstration team, the West Coast Demo Team, earned him a spot in The Last Dragon after performing for Barry Gordy.
• “We were very polished... it was all choreographed to music. Barry Gordy, on the spot, was like, okay, we’re gonna write this kid into the film.” – Ernie Reyes Jr. (22:06)
• Hollywood entry was facilitated years after being “discovered” by talent manager Sally Baker.

3. Martial Arts as Performance

[25:11–26:26]

• Ernie describes martial arts as both athletic discipline and live performance, blurring the line between competition and showmanship.
• Inspired by icons like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, Ernie developed a unique, comedic stage presence.
• “Pretty quickly [competition and performance] merged... it was all one thing pretty early on.” – Ernie Reyes Jr. (26:09)

4. Child Stardom: The Last Dragon, Red Sonja, & Sacrifice

[26:26–34:43]

• The Last Dragon was pivotal for Ernie and fans like Will Friedle:
  “You’re the best martial artist on screen. That’s all I want—I want to be that guy.” – Will Friedle (26:54)
• Ernie’s transition to Red Sonja involved living and training in Italy; his training was intense, thanks to his father's high expectations.
• “My dad never really took into consideration, ‘hey, this is a kid.’ He trained me as if he was training... So I definitely also felt like I was missing out on a childhood.” – Ernie Reyes Jr. (33:24)

5. TV Transition: Sidekicks and Schooling

[35:03–38:09]

• Sidekicks was developed as a star vehicle for Ernie by Motown and Disney.
• He balanced work with homeschooling and arduous training.
• His martial arts base included Taekwondo and exposure to many styles, thanks to traveling and working with the best.

6. Working on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

[46:58–56:19]

• Ernie was the stunt double for Donatello in the original film, enduring brutal conditions in a heavy, restrictive suit.
• “It was 100 degrees outside, 100% humidity, doing fight scenes all day... My body temperature got up to 102 degrees every day.” – Ernie Reyes Jr. (51:46)
• He proved himself to Golden Harvest and was written into the sequel as Kino, a dream realized.

7. TMNT II: The Secret of the Ooze and Cultural Impact

[56:24–63:56]

• Playing Kino, Ernie got to be both a lead and himself—no suit required, and he choreographed his own fights.
• The movie’s impact on kids and martial arts signups was explosive.
• Discussed the “Go Ninja, Go Ninja, Go!” scene with Vanilla Ice:
  “It was just a surreal, you know... I grew up in the early days of hip hop and now it was in the movie.” – Ernie Reyes Jr. (59:09)
• Didn’t become a superfan of TMNT outside of filming, as life and martial arts promotion kept him busy.

8. Surf Ninjas and Lessons in Hollywood Disappointment

[63:56–72:14]

• Surf Ninjas was built around Ernie as a star vehicle after his TMNT success.
• Despite extremely positive test screenings, it flopped at the box office but became a cult smash on VHS.
• “I saw the kids... they loved it. And then, why weren’t there any... why wasn’t there an audience inside the theater?” – Ernie Reyes Jr. (71:05)
• Only on the Comic Con circuit did Ernie realize the long-lasting, cross-generational appeal of both his TMNT films and Surf Ninjas.

9. Burnout, Resilience, and Shifting Dreams

[75:40–79:54]

• After Surf Ninjas bombed, Ernie openly stepped away and “went crazy” in his early 20s, seeking a more balanced life after years of intense pressure and missing out on normalcy.
• “Now you’re dealing with all the stuff that comes with having a huge amount of success as a child, and now you’re struggling, and now you’re trying to figure it out...” – Ernie Reyes Jr. (78:56)

10. The Long Climb Back and Later Career

[79:54–84:43]

• Extensive gaps between jobs—“between Surf Ninjas and The Rundown, that was like 15 years. I didn’t stop training and I never let go of my dream.” – Ernie Reyes Jr. (81:12)
• Stayed visible thanks to continued training and a strong reputation in the martial arts and stunt community, which led to roles in big budget action films like Rush Hour 2 and The Rundown.
• Nearly had an on-screen fight with Jackie Chan in Rush Hour 2, which was cut.

11. Continuing the Legacy: Family & Martial Arts

[84:43–86:03]

• Ernie’s daughter, Lotus Blossom, is finding her own way as a young performer.
• “She was kind of primed for that... she wanted to do commercials, and then we did a commercial” – (85:02)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Training With Arnold Schwarzenegger:
  “I got to lift weights with Arnold every day after work for like six months.” – Ernie Reyes Jr. (31:06)

• On Missing Childhood:
  “Every weekend we were traveling... I did miss out on a lot of the normal things, or maybe all the normal things that childhood consists of. And we were just training every day, all day long.” – Ernie Reyes Jr. (33:30)

• On Making The Last Dragon Impactful:
  “You’re the best martial artist on screen... My dad, because of this, signed me up for my first karate class, like two weeks after I saw The Last Dragon nine times in a row.” – Will Friedle (26:54)

• On the TMNT Suits:
  “It was pretty crazy. The suit was 30, 40 pounds... home latex rubber... the suit’s getting heavier and heavier as the day goes on... my body temperature got up to 102 degrees every day.” – Ernie Reyes Jr. (51:46)

• On Enduring Obscurity:
  “For 15 years between Surf Ninjas and The Rundown, there was nothing. Sometimes four years would go by with no audition.” – Ernie Reyes Jr. (82:47)

• On Industry Trends:
  “For the 80s and early 90s, young martial artists was a big thing... then it goes away. It’s totally cyclical.” – Will Friedle (88:04)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [18:19] – Martial arts roots, family background & Bruce Lee inspiration
• [22:06] – Martial arts demos lead to starring in The Last Dragon
• [26:54] – Fan impact of The Last Dragon (& Will Friedle’s karate story)
• [31:06] – Red Sonja filming stories and missing out on childhood
• [35:03] – Transition to TV with Sidekicks
• [46:58] – Stunt work and struggles during filming TMNT (Donatello)
• [56:24] – Becoming Kino in TMNT II
• [63:56] – Surf Ninjas origins and the paradox of VHS cult fame
• [75:40] – Burnout, stepping away, and finding balance
• [79:54] – The 15-year gap: persistence, stunts, and getting back to film
• [84:43] – Family legacy and next generation

---

Tone & Language

The conversation was enthusiastic, nostalgic, and candid. The hosts shared honest reflections about their own artistic growth, hero-worship, and the ups and downs of child fame. Ernie’s tone was humble, insightful, and sometimes bittersweet, discussing both his achievements and sacrifices with openness.

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Final Words

This episode offers both a nostalgic celebration and a thoughtful meditation on childhood stardom, perseverance, and artistic legacy. Ernie’s candid stories—from training with Arnold to sweating in latex as Donatello, and grappling with years of career drought—combine with the hosts’ personal fandom and mutual respect to create an inspiring, full-circle journey that will resonate with listeners of all ages.

Transcript

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

This is an I Heart podcast.

[Danielle Fishel]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Really?

[Ryder Strong]

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[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

You're right.

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[Ryder Strong]

So I didn't talk about it when we were interviewing Elisa, but Elisa Donovan. Elisa Donovan from Clueless and many other things because I was, I had to like, think it through and like, try to remember. But Clueless is one of those movies that I was such an idiot about and completely misread when I was a teenager.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Oh.

[Ryder Strong]

Like I walked out of the theater going, what a dumb, superficial, vapid. Like, I just missed all the irony. I don't know what was going on. I was probably what, 15, 16, like super serious rider mode. And it's so embarrassing. And I didn't, I should have just probably talked to her about it because I, I, I, I don't know. But now I've been thinking about it. I'm like, no, I have to admit this because here's what happened. So I saw it back then and I hated it. And I remember kind of just always rolling my eyes, like completely not getting it. And then whatever. Three years later in college, I signed up for a class. I ended up not sticking through that, but I signed up for a class called Women in Film.

[Danielle Fishel]

And it was actually through that one. Huh.

[Ryder Strong]

No, I wanted to, it was just my. But what happened also?

[Will Friedle]

Were you discriminated against?

[Ryder Strong]

Well, here's the thing. It was really interesting. So there's a sister college, Barnard to Columbia, which is an all girls school. Many right across the street from the campus. It's a campus right across the street and we can share classes. So you can take Barnard classes. Barnard can take Columbia classes. It's kind of ridiculous that it's a separate school.

[Danielle Fishel]

Are they calling it a.

[Ryder Strong]

Because it's like, it's, the idea is that it's like a safe space for women. It's like only, you know, then they let men in. No, not into that school, but you can take classes. So like I could sign up for a class there and they could sign up for classes at Columbia. So it's like they should, you know. But as far as dorms, as far as like, and all the like school stuff, it's completely separate. Yeah, it's a, it's a bizarre system. But I signed up for this Women in film class and I get there at Barnard and of course I, I am the only guy in a class of maybe like 50 women.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

50?

[Danielle Fishel]

I mean, sounds ideal.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Well, no, super interesting. But what I Realized is, like, very quickly I was, like, gonna become the voice of the man. Like, the voice of a male in the room. And I was like, I don't know how to play. Like, I don't know how to play against that or into that. Anyway, I only lasted, like, three classes, but the first movie we watched was Clueless. And it was so funny. Cause I'm sitting there going, oh, I hated this movie.

[Danielle Fishel]

This is.

[Ryder Strong]

This is going to be awful.

[Danielle Fishel]

I can't believe these women who want to study film. This is the movie they pick.

[Ryder Strong]

But I just didn't get it right.

[Danielle Fishel]

Exactly.

[Ryder Strong]

And then watched it and fell in love with it. This movie is brilliant. What the hell was I thinking? And of course, it is sort of this feminist masterpiece that has all this, like, you know, so we're. The discussion was incredible. And, like, hearing all these smart college women, like, talking about how much this movie meant to. That it was like. But anyway, it was like one of those examples of, like. And I don't have many of these where I've completely misread something and gone back and been like, oh, I was so wrong about that book or that movie. Have you guys ever had this experience?

[Will Friedle]

I got a great one.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, yeah, Tell us.

[Will Friedle]

So it was not long after 9 11. And everybody's just trying to. I know. And everyone's trying to get 9 11. Yeah. Some. Their life kind of back a little bit, and. And so Greg and I were like, let's go to the movies. You know, I was living with my brother at the time. Like, let's get out and go to the movies and try to have some semblance of normalcy again. And we sat in there and watched this movie staring at each other like, this is the worst thing I've ever seen in my life. How does anyone find this funny? And then when we watched it again at home, we're howling and we're like, this is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. Zoolander.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, yeah.

[Will Friedle]

The first time we saw Zoolander, we were looking at each other like, what is happening? This.

[Ryder Strong]

Which a lot of people felt that way because it bombed, right? Like, it didn't do. It's a cult classic. No, it's like one of those films that, like, I remember if you get the DVD for it, because I love that movie. And I remember watching the dvd and it. It's the. Like, when you click on the extras page, you hear Ben Stiller as Zoolander go. Like, if you're watching this page, you're One of hundreds of people who wanted more from Zoolander. It's so great.

[Will Friedle]

It's like.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah, but it is.

[Will Friedle]

I mean it. The second time we saw it, we were crying, laughing, like howling and looking at each other going, how did we not get this? And we figured it was. I can tell you exactly how, because we were. It was. We were in a weird headspace. We were in the theater. It was like the first time, kind of out in public. And somebody left a backpack near us and then got up and left the theater probably to go to the bathroom or get candy or something. And you're just meeting each other and, like, staring at this whole thing going on. So there was a lot going on. So the next time we saw it, though, we were just crying.

[Ryder Strong]

I feel like this happens with comedy though, right? Like, sometimes you just miss it. And then other times you're like in the right headspace or the right age or whatever and you just love it.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Jensen walked out of the movie. Step Brothers was like, this is so bad. I'm walking out of it. And now it is one of his all time favorite comedies.

[Will Friedle]

Great movie.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

That's great.

[Will Friedle]

I have. If we're not just talking about films and stuff, though, I found something very strange lately where all of a sudden, out of nowhere. I love fish.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

What?

[Will Friedle]

Never before. Always, like watching fish, feeding fish.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Eating fish.

[Will Friedle]

I never, like, I was like, oh, I'm not a fish guy. I could eat salmon and I could eat sushi and that was it. Some tuna fish. But now somebody puts fish in front of me and I'm like, it's. Oh, my God. I'd love.

[Ryder Strong]

What about fish? The band. Bounce around the room a little bit again.

[Will Friedle]

Trey Anastasio. So I'm at the Greek. Yeah.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

So, wow.

[Danielle Fishel]

So listen, you're wrong. You were wrong about fish. And now. Yeah.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Fish fan.

[Danielle Fishel]

I've never been wrong about anything, so I can't participate in this conversation.

[Ryder Strong]

But that's fair.

[Will Friedle]

That's fair.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Sorry, something's caught my throat.

[Danielle Fishel]

That's so weird. You know what? I don't like a lot of Bill Murray movies. And I don't think. I don't think I'm wrong about them, though. That's like.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, not even old Bill Murray movies like Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters is fine.

[Danielle Fishel]

Like the Life Aquatic.

[Will Friedle]

No, I wasn't.

[Danielle Fishel]

I don't enjoy that movie.

[Will Friedle]

I wasn't a huge fan of those either.

[Ryder Strong]

It's.

[Danielle Fishel]

What's the other movie where he's like chasing after Scarlett Johansson or something? I didn't like that movie. Translation?

[Ryder Strong]

That one doesn't age very well.

[Danielle Fishel]

I like it.

[Ryder Strong]

I loved it at the time, but I've tried to watch it since, and I'm like, this feels very 2002ish or whatever.

[Danielle Fishel]

It just feels very. Like it felt very 2002. In 2002, I was like, I, this is just not for me. Maybe.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

And yet I know there are a lot of people who love those movies. And I haven't watched them since I watched them the first time because it's hard enough to get me to watch a movie. You try to get me to watch a movie again that I already didn't like.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, my God.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

I couldn't imagine. Well, here's what I would say, because I kind of agree with you. And I bet you you'd probably agree with me in this. I much prefer Blockbuster Bill Murray to independent Bill Murray.

[Danielle Fishel]

100%. But you know me, I miss Blockbuster.

[Will Friedle]

I love a blockbuster. Same. I prefer Ghostbusters Bill Murray to Life Aquatic Bill Murray.

[Danielle Fishel]

Totally. Yeah, totally.

[Will Friedle]

I'm that same way.

[Danielle Fishel]

Welcome to Pod Meats World. I'm Danielle Fishel.

[Ryder Strong]

I'm Ryder Strong.

[Will Friedle]

And I'm Will Friedel. Dunk, dunk, dunk a dunk.

[Danielle Fishel]

Start doing this I heart music.

[Will Friedle]

I'm going to start doing the I heart music myself.

[Danielle Fishel]

Anyone else ever get that nagging feeling your dog is bored? Like, my brunchie just stares at me sometimes with that really again? Look. And I instantly feel guilty.

[Will Friedle]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Danielle Fishel]

No, thanks. And look, our dog is our little prince. Which is why I'm committed to giving him the best. I serve Nom Nom and you should too.

[Will Friedle]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Your music deserves it.

[Will Friedle]

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[Danielle Fishel]

We often talk about what it takes to be a child star. Determination, a bubbly personality, a family willing to give up a large chunk of their personal lives, and in the of this week's guest, the ability to kill another man with his bare hands at the ripe old age of 11. Yep, the martial arts prodigy went straight from the karate mat at his dad's studio to Hollywood, first appearing in the 1985 cult classic the Last Dragon, Don't.

[Will Friedle]

Get Me Started, a movie that Will.

[Danielle Fishel]

Has repeatedly professed his love for. And then he turned that role into a run of movies that cemented him as the kid you called when you needed a karate master. Whether it was sharing the screen with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Red Sonja or starring in the TV show Sidekicks, or yes, hanging out with the freaking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as their human best friend. The industry found a little action star and audiences fell in love with him. You'd also see him on TV shows like highway to Heaven, MacGyver, Charmed, and Superstore, and movies like Rush Hour 2, the Rundown, and say It With Me Surf Ninjas.

[Ryder Strong]

I have no idea.

[Danielle Fishel]

This week we welcome the toughest person we have ever had on the show. Sorry, Bonnie Bartlett, it is Ernie Reyes Jr. Yay. How are you?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Good. How are you guys?

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh man, we are great. It's so good to see you again. Ryder was not with Will and I when we ran into you at the Austin Comic Con.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yes.

[Danielle Fishel]

And you were the absolute highlight of that weekend for us.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah. Thank you.

[Danielle Fishel]

So we are so happy that you decided to join us on our podcast today. As far as we're aware, you are the first black belt to ever be on Pod Meets World. But I do have to warn you.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Okay.

[Danielle Fishel]

Will and I recently went to about two karate classes, and then we. And then we quit at the same time. So I'm just. I just. I'm just putting that out there for you.

[Will Friedle]

I realized my self defense, I just had to outrun Danielle, and so that. That was pretty easy. After this, I was like, why am I paying for this? I just have to push her down and run that way. So.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, not a problem.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Well, I appreciate you guys having me, and nice to meet you. Better.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, you too.

[Danielle Fishel]

So let's talk martial arts before we get into your acting. So your father is a legendary taekwondo champion, and he had Ernie Reyes West Coast World Martial Arts Studio here in la. Right.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

It's actually based in Northern California in San Jose.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay. So did you. Did you always feel as a kid like you had to live in his shadow or had to. Had to grow up to be like him?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

I. I don't think so. You know, when I was a kid, you know, my. And still my. My hero was Bruce Lee. And so from a very early age, you know, he kind of set the blueprint for what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. And that was to be, you know, a martial arts action star like Bruce Lee. And my dad was the one that facilitated making that happen because I actually had the lifestyle that it would take in order for me to accomplish that. So I didn't feel like I was living in his shadow, but I definitely felt like, you know, he was supporting me in basically my lifelong dream.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, I love that.

[Will Friedle]

Can I ask, when's the first time Bruce Lee came on your radar? Was it a movie or were you a Green Hornet fan? When's the first time you saw him?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

No, Greenhorn was a little bit before my time. I think the first time was actually seeing, you know, Enter the Dragon, and I think I actually saw it in the drive in movie theater. Oh, that's cool.

[Will Friedle]

Those were great.

[Danielle Fishel]

And so how old were you when you first got on the mat?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Well, I mean, my father had a martial arts school prior to me being born, so I literally came out kicking. But, you know, so prior to actually taking formal classes, you're just around it all the time. So you're just running while everybody else is, you know, practicing, basically. But I think that I actually started, like, formally training and around six. Six years old. Seven years old.

[Danielle Fishel]

Wow, that's amazing. And so your. Was your family's introduction to Hollywood when your father appeared in and was then subsequently hired to choreograph the martial arts sequences in the Last Dragon?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Well, no, actually, so what, you know, we. My father had a kind of famous martial arts demonstration team called the West Coast Demo Team. And what we would do is, is we would travel every weekend all across the country competing in martial arts tournaments. But we also would be, you know, at the nighttime finals, we would also do a demonstration. So we would compete during the day. And how it works in martial arts tournaments back then was is you would compete during the day. If you won your division, then everybody would come back for the nighttime finals to compete for, like, a grand championship. So we would compete during the day most of the time, win our divisions, come back at night, perform as entertainment, and then also compete. And so we did that, you know, every weekend for probably five years before I even got into movies or television. And they were filming the Barry Gordy's the Last Dragon, and they were about three weeks away from finishing production, and they were. They had yet to film the climactic fight scene, and they were looking to kind of bump up the action. So we flew out to New York and basically did a martial arts demonstration for Barry Gordy, all choreographed to music. Now, this is something that we had been doing the last five years every weekend in front of live audiences. So we were very polished when it came to performing. And it was all choreographed to music prior to. I'd say that, you know, the late 70s martial arts demonstrations were very sterile, very serious. It was very quiet, you know. And then we came on and it was like disco music and all choreographed, and we're doing skits and wearing wigs and really made it more of a show. So we. We performed for, you know, Barry Gordy, and on the spot, he was like, okay, we're gonna write this kid into the film. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

So I was gonna say, you were not just in the final scene. You're a pretty major character in the film by the end.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah, yeah, they. They went back and, you know, kind of figured out different little ways to incorporate me into the movie. And the cool part about that was, is my first film was a movie that actually Bruce Lee was in. Yeah. And he wasn't even live at that point. It Was pretty. It was pretty wild.

[Danielle Fishel]

Who introduced you guys to Barry Gordy?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

So I was doing a martial arts demonstration in Las Vegas. And after the martial arts, after the demonstration, you know, the crowd was kind of going crazy. And a lady came up to my dad and said, does he speak English?

[Will Friedle]

Yes, he's from California. He lives in San Jose.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

So she introduced herself. Her name was Sally Baker. She's a long time, you know, vet in Hollywood. She had shows, you know, from the the 60s called Hobo Kelly. She was just a long time, like, industry veteran. And she said, you know, I'm a manager and my husband and I work in the industry. We think that your kid has talent. We'd love to represent you, your kid, and see if there's something that we can do for him. At that time, I was still competing and we were still traveling. So as much as, like, the dream was there, we weren't really in any position to, like, pursue Hollywood career. And so we said, thank you very much, but, you know, we're really not equipped to do anything like that at this point, you know. And so five years went by and we had kind of run our course in terms of competing and doing demonstrations. And now it was like, we're looking to do the next step. And my dad had kept her card and calls her up five years later and says, you know, we. We basically told her, now's the time that we would like to, you know, pursue, you know, an entertainment career. And she was like, well, you know, has he grown any? And my dad's like, nope.

[Danielle Fishel]

Exactly the same size.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yes, I was five years ago.

[Will Friedle]

One thing children are known for, it's not growing.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, exactly.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah. And so she was the one who really ushered me into Hollywood, had, you know, the relationships with Motown and Suzanne DePass executive over there. And she was the one that got the ball rolling.

[Ryder Strong]

I'm so. It's so fascinating to me to think about martial arts as performance, you know, like, because it sounds like you didn't really separate the two. You know, you were competing and doing shows. And I just feel like the, like, we think about that with dancing, for instance, pretty. You know, if you're a dancer, you're also an actor. If you're a singer, you're also an actor usually. But this is so cool that. Were you. Were you separating them? Were you more into competition before you. You started doing the film work? Or was it always kind of just the same skill?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah, no, I mean, I always was. Yeah. And again, it goes back to Bruce Lee for me. You Know, it was just like he had set the bar so high, and he was a real martial artist, even though he was a performing artist as well. And so I was, in the beginning, was really just trying to be the best martial artist I could be. I was like, I want to be like Bruce Lee. And it was more about the skill set than it was about, like, performing. But then they all. They pretty, like, quickly merged together, and then it was just, I need to get my skill level to the highest level it possibly can be. And then that also supports me as a performer, entertainer. So it kind of just was all one thing pretty early on.

[Will Friedle]

Well, that's. I mean, so Last Dragon was hugely important in my life. It's massively important to me. It was one of the first real marsh. That and Shokosugi's movies, like Revenge of the Ninja and things like that, just helped to craft who I was. And the thing that was so cool about the Last Dragon, it came out, what, 85. So I was nine. You were the best martial artist on screen. So there's a kid. You were what, 11 at the time?

[Ryder Strong]

12?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah, I was. I was 12. Yeah. I looked like I was 6. You did.

[Will Friedle]

You looked a lot younger, but you're 12. And so I'm watching a kid who's by far the best martial artist in the movie. I mean, I still. I can picture the double kick you do right now where you jump off the stage and you kick the two guys at the same time. And at nine years old, I'm sitting there watching, going, that's. That's all I want. I want to be that guy. I want to be that guy right there. And I. My dad, because of this, signed me up for my first karate class, like, two weeks after I saw the Last Dragon nine times in a row. But the thing that was so great is not only were you the best martial artist in the film, but you're one of the funniest characters in the film. You were actually really funny. And the idea that this was your first movie is insane to me. So if you guys have not seen Last Dragon, you've got to go. You have to go watch it. He steals the movie. The martial arts is absolutely incredible. And then on top of that, I learned how much I love women, because vanity walks on screen, and my life was forever changed. So martial arts and vanity. And then, I'm sure Daniel will get into it, but we got a chance to work with the great Julius Cary, who was on our show, and he must have hated me by the end of working together, because I was just going, okay, what then? What was it like working on Last Dragon? What was the next day like? It has it. So I just wanted to tell you how important that movie, and you specifically were to me as a little kid. It was so awesome. Changed my life. It really did change my life.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

That's awesome, man. I really appreciate that. That's very great.

[Ryder Strong]

So, Ernie, did you end up. Did you take any sort of acting classes or did you kind of just learn that you could do this on the fly?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah, I mean, that was the thing is. So when we did these martial arts demonstrations, you know, I, I was kind of like the center of attention when it came to that. And so what we would do is, is we would create these fight scenes or skits, basically. So I had a lot of, like, live performance where you get the feedback instantaneously. And we definitely involved a lot of comedy, you know, in our, in our, you know, fight scenes. And, you know, taking a cue from people like Jackie Chan and, and, and people like that. And also even just at a young age realizing, hey, that Jackie Chan had influences like Charlie Chaplin and Buster and all these. So I really got. I mean, that was like where I kind of cut my teeth in terms of just performing. And so I, I knew how to be funny and how to do the things that I know would get a reaction from the audiences. And that's really where it all came from. And, and then just watching movies. Yeah, but then I was a very confident kid, so I thought I could pretty much do anything. And yeah, I didn't really get into like any kind of formal acting training or anything until, like, way later and probably into my, like, 20s.

[Danielle Fishel]

So that same year that you were in the Last Dragon, you're in Red Sonja with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Brigitte Nielsen, a pair of wild action stars in the 80s who apparently may or may not have been having an affair during the shoot. What memories do you have of filming that movie?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

You know what? It was actually like one of my favorite movie making experiences. You know, we filmed. It was Dina De Laurentiis production. So we're filming in Italy at this amazing Italian movie studio where the wardrobe designers were like these serious craftsmen. And, you know, I got to go horseback riding every day in the countryside. I got to, you know, practice sword fights. You know, I. After work every day. My dad had me really training like a man at a very early age, you know, doing. He didn't. That was one of the things in terms of my training was he never really took into consideration, like, hey, this is a kid. I just pretty much had the same. He trained me as if he was training.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

So there was no kind of like, oh, well, we're gonna modify this and make it a little easier for you. Or less, you know, strenuous. I was just training all the time, so it was very cool. I got to lift weights with Arnold Schwarzenegger every day after for, like, six months. And I would show him his routines and, like, you know, and you get a kick out of that. So that was amazing. And then Bridget Nielsen, you know, at 19 years old, she was about six foot two. I think I was four foot two or something. So, like, it was just like, the best possible. And, you know, this is pre cgi, so all the effects were practical, all the sets were built. And so I was literally running around like a, you know, a tyrant prince with my own castle and servants. And, I mean, it was wild, but it was. It was, like, definitely an amazing core memory. Just growing up as a kid, like, you couldn't beat it in terms of just the whole filmmaking process and everything like that.

[Will Friedle]

Now was this. This was between. Is it between or after Destroyer. So it was Barbarian, then Ren, Sonia, then Destroyer.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Right. I think that. I think that it was. I'm not quite sure on that. Yeah. But, yeah, it was, you know, in the early days of Arnold, you know, becoming. Prior to becoming the biggest movie star in the world. One day coming, we had finished work, and his mom was visiting on the set, and so we went to say goodbye in his dressing room, and he gave us a VHS copy of a VHS tape. And he said, you know, I just filmed this movie right before this one, and it's coming out this summer. This was in around Christmas time. And so my dad and I went back to our hotel room and popped in the vhs and up comes Terminator. We got to see Terminator on VHS, like, six months before the world did. And, you know, that sent him into. Yeah, superstardom. And I was like, I want to.

[Ryder Strong]

Do movies like that, dad.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Amazing.

[Danielle Fishel]

You mentioned that your dad didn't train you like a kid who was training. You were just any old other adult he would have trained or himself. Was that hard for you? Or did you love it? Did you want it? Or did you ever feel like you were missing out on a childhood?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Oh, I mean, I definitely wanted it, but I definitely also felt like I was missing out on a childhood.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Because every weekend we were traveling, and that was our focus of life. Like, it really was. And so I did. I did miss out on a lot of the normal things, or maybe all the normal things that childhood consists of. And we were just training every day, all day long, you know, and then traveling on the weekends. A lot of times I would miss school on a Friday so that we could get to the tournament on a Saturday, wherever it was. And, yeah, so I. I definitely felt like that it's like, oh, I, you know, my friend, and there just not. Wasn't any of that. And it was also, you know, it kind of prepped me for the life that I was going to live as I continued into Hollywood. Because then you again, miss out on all these kind of normal childhood. So I wanted it. And I definitely felt like I missed out on a lot of stuff, you know, as I was growing up. And, you know, I just kind of processed it as, like, that was the sacrifice that I had to make in order to do what I wanted to do. And, you know, my dad was like, you know, all the other kids are doing normal things, but they're also not getting to do the things that you're getting to do. So you have to kind of choose one, one way or the other.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

That's a good way of thinking about it. Not any. Not everyone is weightlifting with Arnold Schwarzenegger or running around an Italian villa. So few of us for you.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, so few of us have that opportunity.

[Danielle Fishel]

So were you also attending traditional school and auditioning and competing? What was your schooling situation?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

So, yeah, I was, like, up until about the sixth grade was like, my regular schooling situation. And then after that, it was just homeschooling before homeschooling and a tutor when I was on set and everything.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay. Wow, Scott, you. I mean, how did you. You were so busy.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah, I mean, I was, like, busy and working really hard, too. What, you know, wasn't just, like, busy, busy. It was, like, busy, but also very strenuous, you know? Yeah, it was. It was a lot of work. I mean, I. I worked really hard as a kid.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay. So now we're at around the time of Sidekicks, and here you enter our world of TV child acting. So the synopsis was an ordinary cop tutors a young boy who insists on helping him in cases with his mastery of martial arts. I mean, this truly feels like it was written for you. Was it written for you?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yes. So what happened was, is after the Last Dragon, Motown wanted to develop a television series for me. And at that time, you know, they weren't going to be able to get a network television deal in Hollywood. So they partnered up with Disney, and it was a co production between Motown and Disney. And so everything was. I mean, my name was Ernie in the show.

[Danielle Fishel]

Wow.

[Will Friedle]

That's when you know you've made it. When the show's about you and it's like you're Raven or you're Ernie or it's like they're not even changing your name anymore.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Right, yeah, exactly. So, yeah, it was. It was there. And we were, you know, I was there when we were pitching the shows and we were going to the exit, all the different networks, and I'd be in Brandon Tartikov's office and would move the furniture out of the way, and my dad would attack me, and then I'd beat my dad up. And the executives were like, whoa. You know, we did our demo in all these executive offices and in the networks, and then we finally landed over at abc.

[Will Friedle]

So again, watching this as a little kid, just sitting there watching this, seeing him do that, I was like, that. I want to do that. I want to do that.

[Danielle Fishel]

How were you so good?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah, I mean, it's just. Honestly, it was like a lot of training. You know, obviously I had, like, physical, you know, gifts in terms of just athleticism. But, yeah, it was just a lot of training. You know, I trained and trained and trained and trained and. And I was motivated. You know, I was inspired by Bruce Lee. So it wasn't just like, hey, I'm going to karate class or whatever. I was trying to. I was trying to be as good as Bruce Lee. I mean, he. You can see my performance that I was doing.

[Ryder Strong]

Channeling.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yes. And it was important to me. You know, I. At a very early age, it was very important to me that, you know, I represented, you know, standard of excellence because that's what Bruce Lee meant to me. You know. Wow. Wow. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Did you only study Taekwondo or because of. Of Bruce Lee, did you try jeet kune do? Or did you go to hopkido? Or was it just one style? Mostly?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah, I mean, I. My primary base was Taekwondo. That's where you get all the kicking and all of that stuff. But, you know, we were boxing and kickboxing and doing Filipino martial arts. Had a little bit of ex, you know, training with Dan Inosantos, you know, who was Bruce Lee's student and training partner. So, I mean, we. And I was also exposed to. I was also exposed to all the greatest martial artists, at least in our country. So I had a reference point. And so we would travel, doing seminars with, you know, a panel of the greatest like martial artists in America at the time. So I was exposed to it all.

[Danielle Fishel]

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[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah, it was amazing. I mean, you know, first of all, I I hadn't seen the Show. But I, I, I knew who Buck Rogers was, and I was like, this is pretty cool, you know, and at that time, I think he had taken like a hiatus from, you know, the entertainment business for a while and was, like, coming back. So that was cool. And he, you know, he was Buck Rogers. I mean, he, you know, I mean, he was like, the first time that I kind of felt that, like, hey, this guy is, you know, from in, it's from a TV perspective, like, hey, this is like a star. And Arnold and all the people prior to that were not established at that time, so even Arnold, yeah, he was a star, but he wasn't like a superstar. Buck Rogers had already had like an entire career, you know, sidekick. So I definitely was able to kind of feel, feel that in just his presence. But he's a great guy and I, I really enjoyed working with him.

[Danielle Fishel]

How is your dad? What is your, what was your dad's thoughts and feelings? Did he express them to you? Seeing you go from, you know, a martial artist who was training every weekend and working really hard, but then all of a sudden accomplishing his other dream of becoming a movie star and now a TV star? How was your dad feeling through all this?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

You know, I don't know. I don't know exactly. I know that he's super proud of me, you know. You know, and it was a reflection of his, it's a reflection of him as a martial arts teacher as well. And so that I think that he was very proud of that, you know, but my dad, we were on a mission, so it was always very like, you know, we were very, it was very serious. You know, we were having, I was having fun, but it was a very serious thing. And then coupled, you know, and that's how entertainment business is, right? There's a lot going on. But then coupled with it is like, I'm this martial arts guy, so it's all very like, like focused and, you know, and again, that's where you miss out on a lot of the other things that are just like, more fun and that kind of stuff. But yeah, I think that he's, he's just generally was very proud of me, you know, and what we were accomplishing. And we worked, you know, up and, you know, we also were. Corey. So he was working on the show, so it wasn't just like a regular set parent who's just like, there and whatever, right? He was hiding involved in the production aspect of it. So he's going to production meetings, has having, working with the stunt coordinators and Then he was the choreographer for Sidekicks as well. So all the stuff that I did when I was a kid, you know, he was choreographing all of that stuff, and I was To a lot of it, to be honest. But that was his position. We would work together, and I would say, what about this and what about that? But he. That was his position, was the choreographer. So we were working together sideways versus, you know. You know, just being a parent and being there just because the child needs to have somebody. An adult on set.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes. Okay, so let's get into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In the first movie, you are the stunt double for Donatello, right?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yes. Yes.

[Danielle Fishel]

You were in the foam latex costume fighting members of the Foot Clan. Please tell us how that came to be.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah. So Golden Harvest comes back to Bruce Lee again.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Who's responsible for, you know, Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Jackie Chan. So after Sidekicks got. You know, after Sidekicks got canceled, then I went back to kind of being like a regular teenager, and I actually went to a small school, but it was. And it was for actors and actresses and models and people like that that were in the industry and working. But I was now in a school again, and. Okay, for people there, and I was making friends, at least during school time, you know. Oh, yeah. So Golden Harvest. And so there was that time period where I wasn't working, and I was just enjoying being, like, a young teenager. And. And so Pat Johnson, who was the stunt coordinator, so Golden Harvest was bringing four Hong Kong stunt guys to work on the first American production. And during that time, like in the 80s, especially for martial arts films, like, the Hong Kong guys were, like, up here in terms of, like, the action output that they were doing. And so they were bringing four. Golden Harvest was bringing four Hong Kong guys to do all the action for the Turtles. One of the guys broke his back in in pre production. So Pat Johnson, the stunt coordinator, called me up, and I had known Pat from way back in the day. He used to be judge me as a young kid in my martial arts competitions and things like that. And he said, listen, this is not an acting job, but this is a stunt job. Are you willing to come in? And I was like, golden Harvest? Are you kidding me? Like, yes, absolutely. And so now I'm, like, going. And immediately I go to. They. They fly me out to London to the Jim Henson Creature Shop, and I get a full cast, and, you know, I'm seeing all the stuff that they've worked on. I mean, I'm like, this is magical. Right then I actually knew, like, okay, I'm doing something very cool here. I wasn't too familiar with the Ninja Turtles in terms of the property or whatever. I was kind of familiar with the toys. But now I'm at the Jim Henson creature shop, and I'm getting a full body cast, you know, and we fly out, and then I go from there and I go straight to North Carolina, where we were filming, and. And. And started working with, you know, the Hong Kong guys. And that was amazing. It was. It was really special. But I was really, like. The really hook for me was Golden Harvest, and it just went back to Bruce Lee again. I was like, I'm actually getting to work with the company that made me. And you know that the Golden Harvest has such an iconic logo.

[Will Friedle]

The logo, right when it pops up, you know exactly what you're. It goes. It's right underneath the Lucasfilm limited. Like, the Lucasfilm comes up for Star Wars. Golden Harvest comes up. It's like, oh, yes. This is going to be a fun 90 minutes. Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

So were there other kids in the suits, or were you the only kid?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

I was the only kid. Yeah. The Hong Kong guys were just men. And I was. I was so. I was 17 in between. It was the summer in between my junior and senior year of high school. Wow.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, my gosh.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

And I was emancipated, so I could go and work, and I didn't need an adult. And also, this was the first time that my dad wasn't with me. Oh. And so this was, like, a big deal for me. I was like, okay, I'm a stuntman. I was a stunt boy, I guess you could say, you know, I'm away. And the cool part about it is, is that I got to choreograph, you know, all of my own stuff. So now I'm doing what I used to do with just me and my dad, and I'm getting to do it myself. And so basically, you know, the stunt coordinator would break down a scene. We're like, okay, we're going to do the rooftop fight scene or whatever. And then I would go and come up with the choreography, and then I'd present it to the stunt coordinator, and 10 out of 10 times, he was like, perfect. You know, the choreography then. So it's like, all of that, you know, was a pretty special moment for me.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

And when you're court and when you're doing the choreography, are you wearing the suit to, like, know what you can do or can't do or.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Well, preliminary, we just Go and kind of work stuff out. And then. Yeah, then you're going, okay, now we have to try it with a suit. It was pretty crazy. The suit was, like, you know, 30, 40 pounds. Oh, my God. Home latex rubber, you know. Could you breathe? No. I mean, my body type, first of all, was in North Carolina is like, 100 degrees outside.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, my gosh.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

100 humidity. And we're, you know, doing fight scenes all day long, like, literally 12, 14, 16 hours a day. Oh, my gosh. Imagine like, a Nerf football. You know, you dunk it in the water. It's just like a giant sponge. So you're going, you're sweating, and it's just the suit's getting heavier and heavier as the day goes on, and you're basically squashing around and you're sweating sweat for, like, 14 hours a day. I mean, it was hard work. My body temperature got up to 102 degrees every day.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, no, there's.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

There's like, hey, guys.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, there's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle stories about the. The first filming of that movie where they were, like, right on the line of safety for a lot of that film, apparently.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah. Big time. Yeah, man.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, my gosh.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah. Crazy. But that's where all that training comes in. You know, it's just mental and physical that it's like, all right, this is like. I always kind of looked at it on the first movie like it was like a black belt test. It was like you already knew what you were getting into, like, every single day. And it was just a matter of, like, controlling your mind, basically, because a big part of it is just, like, mental, you know?

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

How did. Did you fit in with the Golden Harvest guys, or did it take a little bit?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

I mean, you must have been nervous, right?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah, No, I mean, this was, like, the dream come true. And honestly, in my mind, I was like, this is my opportunity to demonstrate what I can do. That was like. I went into that with that mindset, and it worked out pretty much like I had hoped for.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, well, I mean, it was a smash that when it first came out, I remember, I think I saw it three times in the theater. Like, it was. This was comic books and martial arts together for the first time. But it was also the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which was a little bit more subversive of a comic book than a lot of people knew. Like, if you knew, you knew, but if you didn't, I mean, most of the actors that were cast in the film didn't know what Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was. So it's one of those things where it was a real, if you know, you know, moment. And so for somebody who was a fan, seeing it brought to life and the puppetry was decent, it was good. So it was. You figured it was, oh, it's gonna look like crappy foam suits, or. Everybody was worried. The fans were worried beforehand. And then this first pictures kind of leaked, and there was no online. So it was just kind of like, you know, what's gonna. Well, I heard this. I heard that. Well, I heard it's gonna. And then next thing you know, I have a strange connection with the film where the.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

The.

[Will Friedle]

The human kid played by Michael Turney.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

Michael's mom was my manager for years, so whenever Michael wanted to get out of New York City, she would send him to our house in Connecticut. So he was like. He and I would hang out together. And so he's telling me all about, yeah, I'm doing this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. So I, like. I already knew. I was like, oh, my God, they're doing the Ninja Turtles. And then when it came out, it was like a phenomenon right at the time.

[Danielle Fishel]

I mean, yeah, massive hit.

[Will Friedle]

Sparked the whole thing again. Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

So was that then. Was there any part of it that was hard because it's a. Obviously a massive hit, but nobody could see you inside the suit. Did you have that feeling of like, I'm a massive reason this movie is so successful and yet no one even knows it was me?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah, it's. Well, it's interesting. So, you know, going back to the martial arts community. There's a whole martial arts community right. All across the. The country, and it's pretty. Well, it's pretty much like a kind of subculture at that time.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

You know, but they had been following my career since the last dragon. And so now here we are, how many ever years later. And so there was a. At least in my martial arts world, they knew that. Hey. And we were kind of promoting it as such. But on the last day of filming, the executive producer from Golden Harvest, who, you know, they took a liking to me. There was four Hong Kong stunt guys, three Hong Kong stunt guys and me. The. The Hong Kong guys couldn't even speak English. So when the Golden Harvest met me and they could see that I could do the martial arts and compete with all the best guys at Golden Harvest, and I spoke English and was just like a California kid. Yeah. On the last day of filming, the executive producer says to me, hey, we're gonna. In the sequel. They Already knew that they had a smash hit on it their hands. And last day they said, hey, we're gonna write you into the second movie as a human character. So I was like, okay, my plan worked. Yes.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, my God, that's the. A great segue to the Secret of The Ooze Part 2.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Part 2.

[Danielle Fishel]

It's the 1991 sequel. And you play Kino, the smart mouthed pizza delivery boy slash Karate kid who becomes best friends with the turtles to fight the evil Shredder. So this had to be every kid's dream come true. You are now best friends with the Ninja Turtles. What was it like for to go from being in that. That awful suit to now you're. You're.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

You get to be you.

[Danielle Fishel]

What was that like?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah, well, it was a lot cooler. Like literally. Yeah, I mean, it was amazing, you know, and so what happened was, is after the second movie, I mean, after the first movie, then they basically, one of my friends, you know, from the martial arts community replaced me inside the suit. And now I'm like, human character. So I already knew what the workload was like inside the costume.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, yeah.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Just that alone made me a happy camper, you know. And no, it was amazing. I mean, it was very surreal. And you know, it was also kind of like my part of my plan. I was like, hey, now I'm actually getting to do what I want to do. And. And I'm actually human character. I mean, it was. It was amazing Now. So it was in between my junior and senior year of high school that we filmed the movie came out. Now I just graduated high school. Yes. Starring in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie. I mean, it was like awesome, you know, peak, just peak frenzy. Good times. It was just like the dream come true, really. It was like a dream come true. Like, it was amazing. Like there was. It's just unbelievable, really, you know. And yeah, so they replaced the. The Hong Kong guys with American guys, a lot of the guys who were competing on the martial arts circuits, because that's kind of where I had come from. And so then they. They brought in all American guys and. And then again, you know, I got to choreograph my own, you know, fight scenes, which was like, for me, as the Marshall, the outside of the acting and everybody seeing me really being able to perform martial arts choreography that I was personally choreographing. And then we have that opening mall sequence and I mean, it was just like, I couldn't ask for anything better, really, to tell you the truth. Like, it was.

[Will Friedle]

Well, the Only thing you could ask for better is to also have a song by Vanilla Ice.

[Ryder Strong]

Go, ninja go ninja go ninja Go.

[Will Friedle]

Ninja go which is, I mean, cinematic glory is sitting there watching Vanilla Ice dancing with the turtles. It's got to be pretty awesome.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah, I mean, it was. It was crazy. I mean, it was all just kind of like a surreal, you know, a surreal, you know, and I had kind of, you know, I grew up like in a hip hop generation, like the early days of hip hop and seeing where it was and now it was in the movie and. Yeah, it was just. Yeah, it was pretty wild. Like Vanilla Eyes. And he was like, peak.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Height of his popularity.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, yeah.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

At that time.

[Danielle Fishel]

So what was Vanilla Ice like on set?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

No, you know, I didn't get to spend too much time with him because the only stuff that I did that we were working together was the. The scene, the end sequence where they're in the club and they're dancing. But really I just come in towards the end. So I didn't actually get a lot of, like, work time.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

With him.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay, cool. How long would you say rehearsals for big fight scenes usually take?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah, well, you know, in. Yeah, that's a good question. There's probably. I mean, you get a. Probably a few weeks ahead of the production, and that's kind of just like to start planning stuff and like. Yeah. Just kind of planning things out. But in my reality, like in my mind, as soon as I was reading the script, before we even got to the set, like, I was like, like putting it all together in my head. As soon as I read the script the first time, I was kind of imagining what all the stuff could be. So when, by the time I got to the actual production, like, I pretty much knew what I wanted to do and had it all kind of planned out and written out in my script and had it all prepared, you know, beforehand. So for me, like, the rehearsal time was more for the other people. Like, I'd grown. Grown up doing martial arts fight scenes. Right. I can on the spot, like, do.

[Ryder Strong]

Whatever for sure for you, but I'm.

[Danielle Fishel]

Sure everyone else needs some work.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah. And it's a. It's a, you know, it's a dance routine, it's a choreography. It's by numbers and beats and. And that kind of thing. And. But the. The guys were great. The stunt guys were great that I got to work with and, you know, we didn't have a lot of time, I'll put it that way. It wasn't like this long, you know, and Golden Harvest. They're not, you know, it's not like, hey, it's like, you know.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

In between the first movie and the second movie, did you deep dive the Ninja Turtles? Like by that point, were you just grabbing everything you could about the, the. The. All the comic books, all the books, everything you could see?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

No, not really, to tell you the truth. I mean, in between, after the first movie, I went on like a whole promo tour in the martial arts community. And so we were. I mean, I would be like opening martial arts there. That was like one of the most special parts about being in the Ninja Turtles is how much of an impact that it made on the martial arts industry.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

You know, thousands and thousands and thousands of kids signed up for martial arts because of the Ninja Turtles. And yeah, we were, we weren't a. We weren't on the, you know, on the outside. We were. We came from that world and had a whole long history at that point. So we came back to all the tournaments that I used to. All the like, you know, five star rated tournaments. We came back and I was making appearances and promoting and martial arts schools were popping up all over the country and I would go to grand openings and literally they'll be like, on the grand opening, this, the school owner would sign up a hundred people, like from scratch, just. And I was there. I mean, it was. It was really wild. So even though I was in the costume, the martial arts community, once the movie became a hit, they knew that I had done all the martial arts for the character Donatello. And so in between the movies, I basically was out in the martial arts community promoting martial arts, promoting martial arts for kids as a positive way of life. And, you know, all of that in. In between. So there wasn't much time to sit down and read a comic. Yeah, exactly.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, here we are in 2025, and after all the popularity of the Ninja Turtles, it seems to me that the level of nostalgia is actually highest for a movie released three years after Turtles 2 Surf Ninjas. This was another vehicle for you alongside Rob Schneider, your dad Philip Tan, and a Boy Meets World guest star, Keoni Young.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

So yay.

[Will Friedle]

Yes.

[Danielle Fishel]

So was this project also built around you?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah. So New Line on the first Ninja Turtles. New Line Cinema was not the New Line Cinema that did Lord of Rings or anything like that was a small indie film. And the first Ninja Turtle movie, when, you know, when it was released, was the highest grossing independent film of all. Of all time in the history of movie making. And so New Line on the Monday After Secret of the Ooze came out, I had like a front cover of the LA Times calendar section. And it was like Ninja Turtles mania or whatever. And so New Line called, you know, my team and was like, we want to make movies with Ernie. And so that's how that whole thing, you know, transpired. So it went from, you know, the first Ninja Turtles in the suit to starring alongside the Turtles, all within the same company. And then New Line developing and producing a movie for me as a vehicle for me to star in. Wow.

[Ryder Strong]

So cool.

[Danielle Fishel]

Was it incredibly popular when it came out, or did it really get its legs in vhs?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

It got its legs in vhs. So, like, I remember going to the. The market the Monday and I could kind of like, the writing is. Was a little bit on the wall in terms of. Well, first of all, we did test screenings. I did it and I showed up to about 10 test screenings of Surf Ninja. So in the test screenings, you have a full, full house. They don't know what they're about to see, but it's packed in there. And I'm sitting next to Bob Shea, you know, the CEO of New Line Cinema. And the kids are going crazy. They're in their chairs. They're what? They're jumping up and down. They're singing the song. They're like, it's going crazy. And the test ratings was 98 to 100. Good to excellent. It was testing higher than both Ninja Turtle movies. And so when it came out, it was definitely. So I go to the market, but I could kind of see the writing on the wall just like, like. And, you know, you kind of drive around town the weekend at the movies, and you're kind of like, looking around. You're like. And you can feel it. Just like you can feel the build up, you know. And so I go to the market and I, I open up the Hollywood Reporter and it's like, Surf Ninjas wipes out at the box office. Yeah, it was, it was pretty crazy moment because. Because, you know, it's the. You have this plan and it's all work and it's all going well. And now the vehicle. Now this is where if you, if you, if, if this hits. Now you're into.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, right.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Like you really are. That was. My goal is like, okay. You know, because I grew up in it. By that time, I had already graduated high school. And independent movie making was like. It was like the golden era. Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez and, you know, all those things. And people are making movies just on their. By themselves, you know, and so.

[Commercial Announcer 1]

I.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Was like, this is going to be my opportunity. And I had, you know, when I went into New Line to meet with them, I had a vision of making family action martial arts movies. You know, that was kind of my pitch to them. And I've been thinking about this for quite a. Quite some time. And so I was like, man, if this thing hits, I'm gonna get to do what it is that I want to do, which is more family action martial arts movies. And so when that didn't happen, that was like, a huge blow to the whole thing. I was like, oh, my God. But, you know, as time moves forward, it was a huge hit at Blockbuster. Every weekend, it was sold out at Blockbuster. And. And. But you don't really know what, like, what that really means, you know, because there was no Internet, really, so you don't really get any of that feedback other than, hey, I'm going to my Blockbuster on Sunset over here, and it's sold out every single week. And somebody's buying this. Somebody's renting this thing. Right. Only until I started doing the Comic Cons that I realized how popular.

[Will Friedle]

Yep.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Because then now I'm like, they're promoting me, you know, as, you know, from the Ninja turtles. But then 70 of the people are like, hey, yeah, of course, Ninja Turtles. But, dude, Surf Ninja. That's my movie. Like, and so only then have I realized, like, how popular it is. I mean, I go to travel these days, these Comic Cons, like, now almost every single weekend. And Surf Ninjas is, like, a huge part of what people are like talking to me about Ninja Turtles is. Is what it is. It's, like, undeniable. But, you know, I was very surprised and continued to be to see how many people, like, love that movie. And so those kids that were all in those test screenings. Yeah. You know, that were cheering that I thought, oh, man, we did it. Like, that was what our goal was, was to do what we did. What I see the kids responding to. And in between that and the marketing and the opening of the movie, something happened. And there were no kids in the theaters. Right. But, you know, all those kids ended up watching it on, you know, VHS and then dvd. And so it's really cool to. To be. It's kind of like a sweet, you know, sweet revenge to know that it's like, oh, God, they really actually. What we set out to do, we actually accomplished it. It just didn't happen in the way that traditional, you know.

[Ryder Strong]

So you say something happened, but have you been able to figure out like, was it a marketing problem? Did New Line mess up?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Did.

[Ryder Strong]

Was it another film that came out that weekend? Do you know, like, have you been.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

I think that it was a marketing thing. You know, it's a few years, you know, all along the way, we were kind of constant deliberation of like, who the audience was. You know, if you watch the movie, there's a lot of like, adult jokes in there too, like.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Hidden amongst everything. Right. So we were trying to like, lock in on the tone. And I just, you know, when I initially first saw the poster, I was like, I what? I didn't know if that was really the poster that was gonna get the audience. It just seemed a little too campy and a little too cheeky and a little bit like it's kind of trying to ride on the. The back of Ninja Turtles. And I don't know what exactly, but I. I feel like it's somewhere in the marketing of it, you know, that it didn't happen because like I said, I saw the kids, like, I saw the test 10 test screenings when marketing wasn't a thing. And it was just about the kids being in the theater. They were there, they loved it.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

And then why weren't there any, you know, why wasn't there an audience inside the theater those week that weekend?

[Danielle Fishel]

Right.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

So to me, plus you saw it.

[Ryder Strong]

On the other side too, went the video rental. So, yeah, it clearly was working and.

[Danielle Fishel]

For the movie itself was great. Yeah.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

And it's still like, people come up to me still. And now like the Ninja Turtles, even with surf ninjas, these kids who grew up on these movies are introducing their kids to these movies. And now I've got, you know, 8, 9 and 10 year olds that are going quantity, dude, like they love, you know, So I think that for what we set out to accomplish with the movie, we accomplished that. And so it's nice to see that, you know, with the advent of, you know, the Internet and social media that it's getting in. Literally just last year, you know, was it streaming for the first time? It wasn't streaming anywhere either. And just last year. So now we're getting a whole new audience, you know, and a lot of them are kids, so that's cool.

[Danielle Fishel]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Well, that's kind of. That's that, you know. So Surf Ninjas wipes out at the box office. You know that was my cue where it was like, all right, you know, now it's time to have some fun. Yeah. So I'd been working my whole life. Now I'm like, 21 years old, and, you know, it was time to just put all that behind me, you know. You know, in a certain way. I, at that point, though, also my dream of independent filmmaking and all of that kind of stuff was really fueling me, like, artistically. But it wasn't about, like, popularity and. And all the things like chasing Hollywood. And it made me even kind of more like, you know, gravitate towards independent filmmaking, which is like, hey, okay, peace to Hollywood. Let me just go try to do my own thing or just, I'm done with Hollywood, basically. Like. Like, I've done everything. I've committed. I sacrificed it. It didn't pan out the way that I wanted, and now I'm just gonna go crazy, you know, live life and figure it out. So, like, the burnout kind of like, it just. The process alone stopped it for me.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

So it's like, before I could get to that point, it was like, well, okay, we kind of flopped at the box office. No one's talking to you right now. So I guess it's time to just, you know, leave all of that behind. And so I just kind of went into life and, yeah, to be honest, like, you know, you're now in your early 20s and you've had success and, you know, you're dealing with all the stuff that we deal with, having a huge amount of success as a child, and now you're struggling, and now you're trying to figure it out, and now you're like, I can't even get a normal job. Like, you know what I mean? You're just. You go through the insanity, literal insanity, of trying to figure out life and all the things that were kind of. That weren't developed because you didn't have the normal growing up period. You just have to do it in your 20s now. And so you're just. I went through that whole process, which was, you know, just crazy, basically. Wow.

[Danielle Fishel]

So then I want to. I have so many questions. I could literally talk to you forever, but I have to get to the fact that you are in, literally a perfect movie. You're in Rush Hour 2, and you're also in the great rock movie the Rundown. When you do these movies and you are around stunt teams and martial arts experts, they must be huge fans of you. Like, you and your dad helped pave the way. So what is that? Like when you're on the. Are they all big fans of yours?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah, I don't know. I'm not sure. Like, definitely the stunt community, you know, I'm not so, so sure about the stars themselves.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

But the people that are surrounding the people that are in the production that are surrounding the stunt guys, the choreographers, they definitely have been tracking with me the whole time and, you know, are fans of the stuff that, that, that we did from, you know, day one. The one thing that I will say is, so after Surf Ninjas, I didn't really give up. I went a little crazy, just, like, trying to figure out life and like, like being a child actor and all that stuff. But I kept training, you know, in between. In between Surf Ninjas and the Rundown. That was like 15 years. Okay. Wow.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

And I, I didn't stop training and I didn't really let go of, you know, I never really let go of, like, my dream, you know, I just thought that I would have to figure it out some other way, basically making it happen. So. Yeah, and, and mind you, like, no auditions. Like 15 years. Like, there are times where like four or five years, you know, I look a certain way. I'm like my, My whole thing, there's not a lot of stuff that's going to be that I'm perfect for or whatever. And so for 15 years between surf Ninjas and the Rundown, there was nothing. Nothing. You know, I. I entered into the theater company. So that's where it kind of like actually started trying to work on my, like, acting shops a little bit. Because prior to that point, I was like, well, I've just been kind of resting on my. Yeah, just my own ability as an entertainer. Wasn't really like an actor per se, even though I had been acting my, My whole life. So I got into the theater and I. And I did stuff like that, but I was training the whole time, you know, with the idea that, you know, I'm gonna get another shot. So at some point. And so even as an actor and, you know, sometimes you have bad reputation, you know, you. You end up having to, you know, all the people that were working with you, now nothing's going on, and now you get dropped and now you're this and that. Next thing you know, you got some flaky agent trying to like.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

And like, there's times where it's like, like four years. There was a stretch of four years, there wasn't even an audition. Crazy.

[Danielle Fishel]

Wow.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Right? And I'm still just training all day long going, man, I got to be prepared when the moment comes. So, you know, when you get to a movie like the Rundown, all the people inside of the. Inside of the. You know, the stunt team and the choreographer and the stunt coordinator, they see you. You know, it's pretty small community, too, in la, you know, everyone goes to similar places to train, and so they see, like, hey, I've been. I'm still on the top of my game right now. And so, you know, that helps, you know, when you get into a situation where, like the Rundown, for instance, where it's like, okay, the stunt coordinator knows me. He sees me training over at Valley College every Tuesday and Friday night. He sees me over here. He sees me over there. So, you know, that. That plays its part, you know, in the process. But. But, you know, I don't know, it's. You know, with the Rush Hour thing, it was. That's a crazy story, too. You know, I was supposed to have this whole fight scene with Jackie Chan, and. And somehow it just didn't happen for whatever reason, you know, I don't know what the reason is, but I know that I was, you know, at the peak of just my physical prowess, and I was ready to go like, oh.

[Will Friedle]

Fight with Jackie Chan. I mean, come on, that's crazy.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

He. Yeah. I mean, so. And Jackie, at that point, to be honest, like, you know, he was a little older. I mean, you know, from the time that he was. I've been watching Jackie chan since the 80s or whatever. Now you're talking about, like, a whole other time period. I was still. I was like, probably in my. Somewhere in my 30s or so when we did Rush Hour, but I was ready to go. I was super excited. I was like, man, this is it. Fight scene with me and Jackie Chan. This is going to be amazing. And it didn't happen for whatever reason, so. But, you know, I was happy. I'm happy to have had the moment.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, now the family business continues. Your adorable daughter, Lotus Blossom, who started her career in a very memorable T mobile commercial where she was yelling out hidden costs at her lemonade stand. Did. Did she always want to be a performer like you were as a child?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

I think so. Like, she grew up, like, you know, at that time, like, she had seen all the movies that I'd done, and, like, we had done like, a whole kind of tour at the Alamo Draft Houses, where, you know, they were playing the Last Dragon and surf ninjas and Ninja Turtles and all that. So she. She was kind of primed for that. And. And she had done a few demos with me and my dad up in Northern California, so she had some experience. And yeah, just. And yeah, it. It. At some point, I mean, you know, she. We. She wanted to do commercials, and then we did a commercial. And I think that she more than my son, was like, more influenced by, like, following in my footsteps, you know?

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah. Is your son also in the business?

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Not yet. He's kind of like on the periphery, you know, but he. He will at some point.

[Danielle Fishel]

So this will be three generations of Reyes projects.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yes. Yes.

[Danielle Fishel]

It's pretty exciting. Well, Ernie, what an incredible career you continue to have. I know our listeners are huge fans and so are the three of us of just your career and you as a person. Thank you so much for joining us today. It has been a pleasure to talk to you and learn from you and hear your experiences. So we thank you. Thank you.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Well, thank you very much for having me. I really appreciate you guys. Thank you.

[Will Friedle]

I'm sure we'll see you at a con.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes. See you soon.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Bye. Bye.

[Ryder Strong]

What a career.

[Will Friedle]

I also didn't realize how much. How much he's done that meant so much to me, especially, like one after another of stuff. Of projects that I used to just watch over and over and over again.

[Ryder Strong]

The ups and downs, too, like, you know, the fact that he didn't work. Like, they're making TV shows and movies around him, and then he goes through this whole period of like. Well, doesn't mean anything. Yep. You know, also imagine martial arts only.

[Danielle Fishel]

Imagine any other world where you make the Last Dragon Red, Sonja, two Ninja Turtles movies, and then multiple TV shows that are all successful. And then you do one movie that isn't successful. And for 15 years, no one will. No one will tell you you're working.

[Ryder Strong]

Just as hard the entire time.

[Will Friedle]

You know what I mean?

[Ryder Strong]

Like, it doesn't matter for you.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

The experience is still waking up every day, training, focusing on your career, like, having the same ambition and committing to it with the same amount of intensity. And like, you just don't know.

[Danielle Fishel]

You probably didn't do anything different in that project that you had done in all the successful ones. But somehow you're.

[Ryder Strong]

You'll get blamed the blame.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

Yeah, yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

For. And no. Everyone's like, whoa, he. He's not the vehicle maker anymore. It's like, what. It's. It's just crazy.

[Ryder Strong]

It's a maddening industry, guys.

[Will Friedle]

It's also. But it's also a trendy industry. And for the 80s and early 90s, young martial artists was a big thing, right?

[Ryder Strong]

So you wasn't anymore three ninjas and.

[Will Friedle]

Surf ninjas and Revenge of the Ninja and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. I mean, it was like one after that and then it goes away. It's like, oh, we don't do martial arts anymore.

[Ryder Strong]

And then it comes back.

[Ernie Reyes Jr.]

And then it'll come back. And then it comes back.

[Will Friedle]

It does. So it's totally cyclical. Cyclical. So you just don't know when it's going to come or what's going to come. I mean, the 90s, super hot right now. You just, you never know what's coming back.

[Danielle Fishel]

Wow. Well, thank you all for joining us for this episode of Pod Meets World. As always, you can follow us on Instagram Pod Meets World show. You can send us your emails podmeetsworldshowmail.com and we've got Merch.

[Will Friedle]

Go Merchie. Go Merchie. Go, go. Go Merchi. Go Merchi. Go, go, go, go. Thank you.

[Danielle Fishel]

Wow. Pretty good. Pod meetsworldshow.com writer, send us out.

[Ryder Strong]

We love you all. Pod dismissed. Pod Meets World is an iHeart podcast produced and hosted by Danielle Fishel, Wilfred L and Ryder Strong, executive producers Jensen Karp and Amy Sugarman, executive in charge of production Danielle Romo, producer and editor Tara Sudbash, producer Matty Moore, engineer and Boy Meets World super Van Easton Allen. Our theme song is by Kyle Morton of Typhoon. Follow us on Instagram odmeatsworldshow or email us at. Podmeatsworldshowmail.com.

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