Ernie Reyes Jr.

This article is about the actor and martial artist. For his father, the martial artist and stuntman, see Ernie Reyes Sr.

Ernie Reyes Jr.
Ernie Reyes Jr. at a 2009 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 25th anniversary
Born	Ernie E. Reyes Jr. (1972-01-15) January 15, 1972 (age 52) San Jose, California, United States
Occupation(s)	Actor, martial artist
Years active	1985–present

Ernie Reyes Jr. (born January 15, 1972)^[1] is an American actor and martial artist, known for his acting work in films such as The Last Dragon, Red Sonja (1985), as Donatello's stuntman in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991), Surf Ninjas (1993) and The Rundown (2003). He has also done stunt work in films such as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, as well as motion capture stunts in films such as Avatar and Alice in Wonderland. His TV work includes season 3 episode 4 of Highway to Heaven, dramas such as the short-lived Sidekicks (in which he co-starred with Gil Gerard), and NCIS: Los Angeles and reality TV series such as Final Fu.

Early life

Reyes was born in San Jose, California, to actor/stuntman Ernie Reyes Sr. and is the grandson of Filipino immigrants.^[2][3] He has three brothers and two sisters, one of whom, Lee, is a boxer and another, Santino Ramos, is a filmmaker/artist. By age 6, Reyes had joined his father's West Coast Demo Team.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Reyes made his film debut at age 13 in the 1985 film The Last Dragon. The same year he shared the screen with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Brigitte Nielsen in Red Sonja. During this time, he also had his own television series, Sidekicks, a spin-off of the original Walt Disney one-time special The Last Electric Knight, alongside Gil Gerard presented by Michael Eisner.^[2] He also appeared in an episode of the hit television series MacGyver in 1988.^[4] Reyes had starring roles in Surf Ninjas, and notably as Keno, the pizza delivery boy, in the second Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, The Secret of the Ooze. He also served as the martial arts stunt double for Donatello in the first Ninja Turtles film.^[5] He later appeared in films such as Rush Hour 2 playing Zing^[6] and in The Rundown alongside WWE wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.^[5] Reyes guest starred in three episodes of the TV series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues alongside David Carradine.^[7]

In 2006, Reyes hosted the MTV martial arts reality show Final Fu.^[8]

Reyes has a professional fight record of 3–0 in Strikeforce which was a large mixed martial arts organization but started out as a Muay Thai and kickboxing organization. Ernie fought Anthony Elkaim the WKA ISKA Champion. Reyes knocked out the champion in the 3rd round. His next two fights would be won by decision, including a unanimous decision over Veasna Thach,^[9] which aired on ESPN. Ernie Reyes Jr.'s fight against the champion Anthony Elkaim also aired on ESPN.^{[10][11][12][13]}

Reyes has done motion capture stunts for blockbuster films such as Avatar and Alice in Wonderland.^[14] He also played a cemetery warrior in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull who gets killed by his own poison dart. Reyes guest starred on NCIS: Los Angeles "The Frozen Lake" playing "Jay Thapa", a Nepalese soldier who is an expert in knife-fighting.

Personal life

In June 2015, it was reported that Reyes was suffering from kidney failure and was in need of a transplant. According to his sister, Reyes undergoes dialysis three times per week for four hours each day. His family set up a GoFundMe campaign to help raise $75,000 for his medical expenses.^[15][16] In August 2022, Reyes revealed that the transplant had been successful and that he was healthy.^{[citation needed]}

Reyes married his wife Lisa in 2009. They have two children, Lotus Blossom and Phoenix.^[17]

Filmography

As actor

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	The Last Dragon	Tai (Karate Student)
	Red Sonja	Prince Tarn
1986	Sidekicks	Ernie Lee
1988	MacGyver	Luke Chen
1989	Ernie and Master Kim	Ernie
1990	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Donatello	As martial arts stunt double
1991	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze	Keno
	Secret Bodyguard	Ernie Rey
1993	Kung Fu: The Legend Continues	Emperor Sing Ling
	Surf Ninjas	Johnny	Also associate producer
1995	White Wolves II: Legend of the Wild	Steve
1996	Paper Dragons
	Small Time	Marty
1998	The Ultimate Fight a.k.a. The Process	Jesse	Also Director
2001	Rush Hour 2	Zing
2002	Poolhall Junkies	Tang
2003	The Rundown	Manito
2007	Redline	Ernie
2008	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull	Cemetery Warrior
2009	The Red Canvas a.k.a. The Art of Submission	Johnny Sanchez	Also Executive Producer
2013–15	NCIS: Los Angeles	Jay Thapa	2 episodes: "The Frozen Lake" and "Expiration Date"
2014	Ninja Apocalypse	Hiroshi
2017	The Librarians	Monkey King	Episode: "And the Fatal Separation"
2018	Brooklyn Nine-Nine	Bob #2	Episode: "The Negotiation"
2018	The Next Kill	Badass Blue-Shirt-Wearing Pizza-Loving Surfer Dude
2018-2021	Superstore	Customer; Ernesto; Candle customer	3 episodes: "Toxic Workplace" "Cloud 9 Academy" and "Perfect Store"
2018	Uncharted Live Action Fan Film	El Tigre

As stunt performer

Year	Title	Role
1990	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Fight/Stunt Double: Donatello
1991	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze	Fight/Performer: Keno
2009	Avatar	Utility Stunts
2010	Alice in Wonderland	Stunt Double: Tweedledee
2011	Act of Valor	Stunts

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing record

3 Wins (1 KO), 0 Losses
Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Location	Method	Round	Time	Record
2005-10-00	Win	Ryan Fotheringham	Strikeforce	San Jose, California, US	Decision	5	3:00	3-0
1999-00-00	Win	Veasna Thach	Strikeforce	San Jose, California, US	Decision (unanimous)	5	3:00	2-0
1998-00-00	Win	Anthony Elkaim	Strikeforce	Milan, Italy	KO	3		1-0
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

See also

• Patusan

References

1. "Ernie Reyes Jr". AllMovie. Archived from the original on 2018-07-22. Retrieved 2018-07-22.
2. Wiltens, Jim (June 1987). "Big and Little Ernie Reyes: Sidekicks for Life". Black Belt. 25 (6): 59.
3. Mendoza, Mariecar (April 24, 2017) [April 24, 2017]. "Martial arts demo showcase 'real-life little superheroes' at Silicon Valley Comic Con". The San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
4. Rizzo, Francis (2005-08-25). "MacGyver - The Complete Third Season". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
5. Dornbush, Jonathon (2015-06-12). "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II's Ernie Reyes Jr. needs kidney transplant". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2015-11-28. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
6. Rothman, Michael (2015-06-12). "'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Star Ernie Reyes Jr. Needs Kidney Transplant". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2016-01-09. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
7. Remer, Justin (2014-07-07). "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues: The Complete First Season". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
8. Iverson, Dan (2006-07-16). "The Final Fu". IGN. Archived from the original on 2019-04-23. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
9. Fight Sports Championship Kickboxing – 'Ernie Reyes, Jr. vs. Veasna Thach' Episode Info – MSN TV Archived 2012-10-12 at the Wayback Machine. Tv.msn.com. Retrieved on 2011-07-25.
10. Ernie Reyes Jr. the fighter – Ernie Reyes Jr. Fan Site Archived 2010-10-01 at the Wayback Machine. Officialerniereyesjr.com. Retrieved on 2011-07-25.
11. ISKA Karate Ernie Reyes, JR fight Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine. karateforums.com
12. Ernie Reyes Jr. – Sherdog Mixed Martial Arts Forums Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. Sherdog.net (2007-02-13). Retrieved on 2011-07-25.
13. Ernie Reyes, Jr. – MMA News Forums Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine. Mmanews.com. Retrieved on 2011-07-25.
14. West, Jay (2011-03-10). "'Star Tours' flashback: The rapping C-3PO of 1987". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2016-01-09. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
15. Takeda, Allison (June 12, 2015). "Ernie Reyes Jr., Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Actor, Needs a Kidney Transplant". Us Weekly. Archived from the original on June 13, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
16. "'TMNT' Actor Ernie Reyes Jr. Needs Kidney Transplant". ABC News. 2015-06-13. Archived from the original on 2015-10-01. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
17. "Ernie Reyes Jr. - Biography". IMDb.

External links

• Ernie Reyes Jr. at IMDb