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Steve Cardenas

Steve Cardenas

Actor · Born May 29, 1974 (52) · Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, U.S.

Stephen Antonio Cardenas (born May 29, 1974) is a former Mexican-American actor and martial artist, perhaps most noted for playing Rocky DeSantos in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TV series. Cardenas was born at Langley Air Force Base, in Hampton, Virginia, U.S. and is of half Mexican descent.[1] His character, Rocky, replaced Jason Lee Scott (played by Austin St. John) as the Red Ranger in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TV series, and he later became the Blue Ranger for Power Rangers Zeo. Cardenas left the Power Rangers series at the beginning of the Turbo season, after he was really injured while filming the last episode of Power Rangers Zeo. Cardenas started training in martial arts when he was about 12 years old. He appeared at the 2007 Power Morphicon convention along with other veteran cast members, including Austin St. John, Walter Jones, Johnny Yong Bosch, and Daniel Southworth.[2] He also appeared at Anime Expo 2009 along with fellow veteran Power Rangers actors, Walter Emanuel Jones, Karan Ashley, Blake Foster, Barbara Goodson, and Robert Axelrod, who are best known for their voice actor roles as Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd, Catherine Sutherland, Selwyn Ward, Patricia Ja Lee, Nakia Burrise, and Daniel Southworth. Description above from the Wikipedia article Steve Cardenas, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
May 29, 1974 (52)
From
Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, U.S.
Works as
Actor
Titles
6 on Motif · 15 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Up 2% in 30 days

What are Steve Cardenas' films like?

Across their 5 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Power.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
30%
Power
22%
Morality
14%
Survival
13%
Society
13%
Ideas
7%
Family bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 5 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 3 · Serious 2 · Dark 0

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 0 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 2

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 2 · Charged 2 · Intense 1

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 3 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 5 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

3 analyzed roles
Ally
1 of 3
Shadow
1 of 3
Hero
1 of 3

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
3
Thrilling
2
Hopeful
3
Joyful
2
Dread
1

How their films linger

Hopeful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy4
  • Bittersweet1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Steve Cardenas' films?

As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 6 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (3).

Subscription and free streaming for Steve Cardenas' titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

15 credits, 6 with a Motif page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always(2023)

    as Rocky DeSantos

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • Enuattii(2017)

    as Evans

    Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films

  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Best of Blue (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2017)

    as Rocky DeSantos

  • The Order (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2016)

    as Dax

  • Power Rangers Super Samurai: A Christmas Wish (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2013)

    as Rocky DeSantos

  • Power Rangers: Trickster Treat (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2012)

    as Rocky DeSantos

  • Power Rangers Dino Thunder: Legacy of Power (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2004)

    as Rocky DeSantos (archive footage) (uncredited)

  • Power Rangers Holiday Special (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2000)

    as Rocky DeSantos

  • Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie(1997)

    as Rocky DeSantos

    Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films

  • Power Rangers Zeo: Zeo Quest(1996)

    as Rocky DeSantos

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Live: The World Tour Live-on-Stage (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1996)

    as Rocky DeSantos

  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Ninja Quest (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1996)

    as Rocky DeSantos

  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie(1995)

    as Rocky DeSantos / Red Ranger

    Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all films

  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Alpha's Magical Christmas (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1994)

    as Rocky DeSantos (uncredited)

  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers(1993)

    Show 148 episodes · as Rocky DeSantos

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all shows

Career shape

Star power in the 83rd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 15 titles from 1993 to 2023; peak year 1996.

Biggest box office

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995)

$66M worldwide

Highest rated

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always (2023)

Midcredits 44th

Most popular right now

Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (1997)

Film career

19932023

Peak 1996 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

  • 1993Screen debut· Power Rangers
  • 1995First film· Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting15 of 15: 15 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score35th

By decade

1990s7 · acting2000s2 · acting2010s5 · acting2020s1 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored.

How do Steve Cardenas' films land?

Their typical Motif film has a Midcredits score in the 34th percentile, the median of all 5; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 33rd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

33rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Approval · how many liked their films

36thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Reach · how many have seen their films

90thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Midcredits score across 6 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up1
  • 25th to 49th3
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

4 of their 6 titles are Mixed.

  • Loved with Detractors1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Mixed4

Most divisive · actor

Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (1997)

89th percentile spread · 57% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Power Rangers Zeo: Zeo Quest (1996)

Midcredits 77th · 67% liked

Reviewers score the acting 34/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles; fans 50, detractors 24. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their Motif titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Steve Cardenas work with?

People who share at least 2 of Steve Cardenas' Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Johnny Yong Bosch shares the most, 4.

Writers

Actors

Composers

Producers