Teenage Ninja to Mutant Turtle: Becoming the Reel Raphael

by Kenn Scott

Being a Ninja Turtle can be hell...

Just ask Kenn Scott, who portrayed Raphael in the original hit films of the 1990s!

Sucking on oxygen tanks between takes, sweating out 10 pounds a day, and having a near-death experience doesn't sound like a Hollywood dream, but for Kenn Scott, it was everything he hoped for...and more!

Ever since he was a kid, Kenn dreamed of being a Hollywood action hero! He took acting lessons, studied karate, and figured out a plan to sneak into a movie studio to get his big break. The hard work paid off and Kenn found himself in a green rubber suit, kicking ass as Raphael the Ninja Turtle, in the most successful independent film of the time.

With a relentless production schedule, grueling working conditions, and breakdowns in the state-of-the-art animatronics used to animate the turtle heads, making the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films was no walk in the park. Performers suffered injuries, illness, and exhaustion to meet the demanding needs of the production.

Now, in this candid book, Kenn shares entertaining, educational, and humorous stories of the blood, sweat, tears, and laughs shared by him and a crew of dedicated artists, as they brought some of the world’s most beloved comic book characters to life on the silver screen.

See what life was like behind the shell.

BUY IT TODAY!

Bonus - 10% of ALL proceeds from this book go to the SEA TURTLE CONSERVANCY!

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 18, 2019

Reviews

[Jacob Unruh · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy and fun read. For someone who grew up obsessed with TMNT, this was a delight to learn more behind-the-scenes information.

Kenn’s wild journey to Raphael was full of fun, short stories that made this a good read.

[Ryan Permison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t remember if I’ve read other auto biographies before this but I love this book. Whether you grew up reading the comics or watching the movies, this has tons of great stories about the making of the first 2 TMNT movies of the 90s. This is a great page turner from beginning to end. Kenn Scott makes an incredible debut here. I learned so much about the creators of the comics to the cast and crew of the movies. Look forward to reading Scott’s next book.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a fun read. I highly recommend for anyone that loves the first 2 TMNT movies and TMNT in general.

[Ashley Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! As a person who was a kid when TMNT 1990 came out, this was an excellent look behind the scenes! The Turtles will always be MY heroes! Turtle Power!

This is an excellent story that I am happy I got to read about. I’ll always be a huge fan.

[Jordan Larsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The year is 1984, independent comic book creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird launch an underground comic with an unusual but catchy title, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” It eventually evolved into a $14 billion empire comprised of toys, cartoons, movies, concert tour, and other kid friendly merchandise; the sky is the limit for four “Heroes in a Half Shell.” Then, in 1990, millions of kids, teenagers and adults packed movie theaters around the world for the first live-action movie “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” Released in March, a year after Tim Burton’s hugely successful blockbuster “Batman,” made on a shoe-string budget of $13,500,000, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” grossed $202,084,756 at the box office worldwide; not including video rentals and sales for that era with continued success on DVD, Blu-ray purchases, and Streaming services today. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” became the highest-grossing independent film prior to “The Blair Witch Project” (1999) and “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy in 2001. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” paved the way for other comic book franchises to break out in the 90s such as “Dick Tracy” and “The Rocketeer.”

However, few know of the arduous behind-the-scenes journey of bringing this cultural phenomenon to the big screen. Enter Ken Scott’s biography/memoir “Teenage Ninja to Mutant Turtle: Becoming the Reel Raphael.” Published in 2019, Ken’s life journey from bullied kid, adolescent teen, to finally breaking into the movie business reads like a script for a coming-of-age movie. Inspired by Hollywood action movies of his childhood, Ken wanted desperately to become the next big action star going as far to enlist in a dojo owned and operated by Steven Seagal but didn’t get accepted. Training and conditioning himself in martial arts, Ken Scott perseveres working his way slowly into an industry that would change his life forever. Working as an extra in small budget films and background crew, he gets the lay of the land making friends and mentors along the way. It isn’t until 1989 that Ken lands the role of a lifetime in an independent film produced by New Line Cinema called “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” Shot on location in New York City and Wilmington, North Carolina, production ran from July 7th to September 7th, 1989. Shooting in key areas of New York City for pivotal scenes including the infamous fight with Casey Jones in Central Park and the gritty scene where Raph rescues April in the Subway after being attacked by the Foot Clan. Ken was the stunt actor for TMNT 1990 and its sequel in 1991. Ken Scott and his fellow cast members wore sixty-pound Turtle suits equipped with advanced electronics in the shell and an assortment of motors and servos in the head developed by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, it was no walk in the park for these intrepid stunt performers and actors. After the workday wrapped, the suits weighed approximately 70 pounds because of sweat accumulating inside. Suit performers like Josh Pais (Raph), Michelan Sisti (Mikey), Leif Tilden (Donny) and David Forman (Leo), all endured horrendous working conditions while bringing everyone’s favorite amphibians to life.

It was a collaborative process of four people working together as a team: turtle suit performers, stunt actors, puppeteers and voiceover actors assigned to each of the turtles. The point man for all the action sequences was martial arts choreographer/stunt coordinator Pat Johnson (1939-2023) known for The Karate Kid franchise who served as Sensei for stunt actors Ken Scott and Ernie Reyes Jr. among others. Pat would later become a surrogate father to Ken getting him ready to return as Raph in the highly anticipated sequel “The Secret of the Ooze.” While follow ups to the 1990 blockbuster saw decent to dismal return investments between 1991 to 1993 with “The Secret of the Ooze” earning more than $70 million dollars, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III” received the lowest, grossing $43 million dollars worldwide. To this day, the first live-action film holds a very special place in the hearts of fans and those who worked to make it a reality. Ken’s book has great photos of his childhood, working on set, and the premiere; he even narrates his book on Audible. Both formats are a must-have for die-hard TMNT fans, film enthusiasts and anyone interested in filmmaking. Cowabunga Ken Scott!!!

[KJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an unexpected pleasure!

On a whim I typed up "teenage mutant ninja turtles" onto audible, not really expecting anything when I saw this. Intrigued, I added it to my wishlist and went on with my day. Then on a whim I restarted my membership and used my credit on this and boy am I glad I did!

The narration was perfect, endearing and hilarious! I was so sucked into the storytelling that I couldn't put it down and finished it the day I picked it up.

Great insite into the makings of the tmnt movies and just interesting to see how it all lead up to it for him. I was definitely rooting for Kenn in his achievements, even though I knew where it would lead, I was just that invested! (Even audibly cheering when he got the role in Secret of the Ooze haha)

I'm so glad I read this and would highly reccomend the audio, perfect all round.

[Oli Turner]

#teenageninjatomutantturtle #becomingthereelraphael by #kennscott A brief autobiographical account of the making of the first two #tmnt films. Describing his experience as a young martial artist breaking into films, stunt performance and acting. Highly energetic and full of enthusiasm. Open and endearing. Full of interesting anecdotes about two of my favourite childhood films. Although recollections will no doubt vary it was still an engaging tale well told.

[Sacha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read

This is a book about the man who played Raphael in the original TMNT movies. You get a lot of behind the scenes information and stories. I really enjoyed the book. Ken came off as very likeable.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun read, especially if you grew up, like a lot of us did, wanting to be an action hero on TV. The author provides a glimpse of the fun and seriousness of a life spent chasing that dream. I really enjoyed the way it's written - like he sat down with you to chat.

[Digitalforward . · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent written book! As a turtles fan a must Read!

[Bradley Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a lifelong TMNT fan, this was a must read for me. To be brutally honest, I didn’t read this for the writing but the nostalgia. The author does a great job bringing the behind the scenes information to life, and really opened my eyes to what it was like to be on the set of one of my favorite childhood movies. My favorite parts are him describing the scenes he’s in on the big screen - and I may have finished the book and immediately made my wife watch the movie with me so I could point out all the times he was on screen!

[Michele Ivey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The behind the scenes on the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies is one of my favorite all time topics. I was buying the magazines as they were being released to read every story of how the costumes were made, who wore the costumes, the other actors in the film, the set design and so much more. I would carry these books around with me everywhere from 1990 till I graduated from high school in 1997. I admired the work they did on those films and admit it was my dream job to wear those heavy costumes for a living.

I always felt there was so much more that we could always learned about these movies. When I started my own video blog on YouTube I was lucky enough to talk to many of these very talented folks and interview them asking questions about their times working on the movies. Though even with that, it's still never enough as more stories are hidden behind every door... as I encourage others to interview them to help open more of those stories up as we all ask different questions.

Shock came to me when Kenn Scott first told me that he was doing a book. When I read it, my jaw dropped as page by page I learned more than I ever thought I could about how the movies were done. How his adventure in becoming part of those films truly played out. Each paragraph, page, and chapter held me on the edge of my seat. It's his story to share, and for anyone who really wants to know about the making of the TMNT movies, or how someone really broke into the industry this is a book to read! And how he's read it so you can listen on Audible!

I HIGHLY recommend this book! I carry around with me, and tell most TMNT fans I meet who love the original movie that they can't miss out on the stories by one of the actors from the film. This is the best insight one can have on the set. Followed by the "Behind the Shells" video made for Showtime and later released on video, and the TMNT issue of "Black Belt Magazine" from 1991. Those show how things are done. But this book doesn't just show, it brings you on the adventure. Making it my favorite behind the scenes material for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1990 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Secret of the Ooze 1991!