"From the Bulldogs to Hollywood" - Meet Jason Faunt (Class of 1997)

Story by Mike Gore

            The UNC Asheville baseball program has produced many individual success stories since the Bulldogs began playing ball in 1985.

            Three different Bulldogs have played major league baseball with one making an All-Star team. A former player and assistant coach, Mike Shildt, is the reigning National League Manager of the Year with the St. Louis Cardinals.

            And there have been numerous stories of successful high school and college coaches on the diamond. In addition, there are plenty of success stories away from the diamond as former Bulldogs have become captains of industry and leaders in their cities and towns.

            Jason Faunt is another success story but his is a unique story that can't be shared by too many others.

            He's a Power Ranger and on June 1 his action figure will be re-released.

            Jason's story of becoming a Bulldog starts in the summer of 1994 when he transferred to UNC Asheville. He was a recruit of then head baseball coach Jim Bretz.

            "I grew up in the Chicago area and wanted to head south to play baseball," said Faunt. "It's cold in Chicago in the winter and early spring. I wanted to go somewhere where it was going to be a lot warmer and I could play baseball in a nicer climate.

            But on his first day of being an Asheville baseball player, he got a big surprise.

            "We had a team meeting. Coach Bretz welcomed us and then said he was leaving to take a job at the University of Hartford," remembered Jason from his home in Los Angeles. "It was quite a first day."

            Things calmed down a little bit when then Athletics Director Tom Hunnicutt brought Shildt back to manage the team during the fall season. The future major league manager had been away from the Bulldog program for a year. Faunt bonded well with Shildt.

            "I loved playing for Coach Shildt," said Faunt. "He came in, settled us down and did a great job running our team during the fall. He was a great coach and I am so happy for his success in the major leagues."

            The Bulldogs would hire Bill Hillier from Duke to be their next head coach and Faunt would be a starter at shortstop for Asheville in the 1995 season and then played in the outfield during the 1996 campaign. Jason would complete his studies by graduating in 1997 with a degree in business.

            "I was slated to start at shortstop my senior year but a freshman by the name of Ty Wigginton beat me out," explained Faunt. "He did okay in my place."

            Wigginton would play for the Bulldogs for three years before being drafted by the New York Mets. He would become the first Asheville player to make the major leagues and would go on to have an 11-year career in the "show," making the All-Star team in 2010 with the Baltimore Orioles.

            Jason moved back home and decided to make another move.

            "I came back home after graduating from UNC Asheville and decided to move to Los Angeles," declared Faunt. "I packed up a truck with everything I owned and told my mom that I'm moving to Los Angeles and I'm going to be an actor.

            "I had a friend that lived out there and I just decided that's what I wanted to do," he added. "I didn't have any experience or any leads but I decided to move out west and just go for it."

            Success was not immediate.

            "I waited tables when I first got there like so many people who come to Los Angeles to become an actor," Jason stated. "But I also started taking acting classes and I really dove into those classes. I enjoyed taking those classes and learned a great deal."

            And while there was acting classes and waiting tables, Jason began to get a couple of callbacks.

            "I was still waiting tables but I received a couple of opportunities. I got called back for a commercial and a couple of soap operas," remembered Faunt. "You're constantly auditioning as your agent tries to get you as many auditions as possible and you never know when you'll get called back."

            He then got a call to audition for a new series called the Power Rangers.

            "I went to audition for the Power Rangers and I thought it went really, really well," commented Jason. "It was the first year of the series and I thought I might get a call back but I didn't.

            "I got another call to audition for the next season and again I thought it went well," he added. "But again I didn't get called back for the series."

            The third time was the charm for Jason and his life would change dramatically.

            "I auditioned again and it went well but I didn't think too much about it after the first two years," said the ex-Bulldog shortstop and outfielder. "But I got a call to come back and I earned the role of Wesley Collins of the Power Rangers.

            "I was fortunate that they called me back and I was able to get the role and then the show ended up having its most popular season," said Faunt. "It changed my life forever though not right away."

            Faunt was Wesley Collins for 40 episodes of the Power Rangers in 2001. When the episodes started, they were immediately popular but it didn't quite change things for Jason.

            "The show was on the air and people were seeing me on TV but I was still living in an apartment with three other guys," remembered Faunt. "I may have been on TV but I was still doing laundry in the laundry room of our apartment complex."

            The show only got more popular as the season went on and it caused a seismic change for the life of Jason Faunt.

            "The last 20 years of my life have never been the same after that season playing Wesley Collins," said Faunt. "The fans loved the show and when we do reunion tours, kids that liked the show are now parents and they have younger children who have become fans. It's been a remarkable experience. I've been blessed."

            Jason admits though the life of an actor isn't easy.

            "There's a lot of ups and downs when you have an acting career," he admitted. "You get used to being told no. You just have to keep an even keel and don't get too high or too low. I am fortunate to have the Wesley Collins role on my resume. Sometimes that gives me a leg up when I go for other roles but you still have to earn it. Nothing is given to you."

            While mainly being known as Wesley Collins of the Power Rangers, Jason has had other roles. He played Alexander the Great in a TV series and has been in productions about teen warlocks and a talking pony.

            He has two daughters, Keira and Makayla, and it took awhile for them to be impressed with their dad's acting career.

            "My daughters really didn't care about my having been on TV as a Power Ranger. They just weren't impressed," stated Jason. "But when their friends started coming over wanting my autograph and their teachers wanted photos, then they began to think my job was pretty cool after all."

            Jason is still a hit with the Power Rangers and attends fan conventions. He has made appearances in their movies and TV show. He has his own website – jasonfaunt.com. Right now, Jason is excited about a couple of projects that he has worked on over the past year.

            "I just finished a project called Honeymoon in Paradise that people will see soon hopefully. I then did a TV pilot in Buffalo called For Nothing. It's a fictional story of the New York mafia vs. the Buffalo mafia. I'm excited about this series as I got to act with Daniel Baldwin and Michael Madsen," explained Faunt. "We hope it'll be on Netflix.

            "I'm also involved with a kick starter project called The Legend of White Dragon," he added. "It's a privately funded feature that we're raising money to try and film."

            While it's been more than 20 years since he graduated from UNC Asheville, Jason knows his days in the Land of the Sky helped his acting career.

            "I remember when I was at UNC Asheville that we did a lot of group projects. We worked in group settings, and you had to learn to work with other people," commented Faunt. "We would then have to give presentations where all of us would have to talk in front of other people. That's a pretty good preparation for acting, working with other people and having to talk to other groups."

"I loved living in Asheville and the South because there's an extra layer of kindness there," he also said. 'I'm glad I went to UNC Asheville. I received a great education in an absolutely beautiful setting."

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

"From the Bulldogs to Hollywood" - Meet Jason Faunt (Class of 1997)

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