It’s been a while since he portrayed Donatello in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, but Steven Ho is still kicking butt with a bo staff. Of course, now he’s using it to teach people how to survive a zombie apocalypse with nothing but a stick. Fans of The Walking Dead might notice that Morgan, a recurring character in the series, has become quite skilled with his walking stick. He may be stoic like Master Splinter, but that doesn’t mean you should take him for granted.
If you’ve ever wondered where he learned how to handle a staff like that, you have Steven Ho to thank for his handy work. His skills with the bo staff have made him quite a useful advisor for movies and television shows with a focus on either martial arts or combat. Ho was asked to come on board to teach Lennie James how to handle his weapon properly. After all, nothing is worse than a survivor who can’t even defend themselves, so it’s important to look the part if you’re going to be playing a role such as this.
Lennie James plays the role of Morgan, an important character early on in the series who has become an critical figure once again in the later episodes. In the time between his struggles at the beginning of the story and his experience now, he has clearly learned how to protect himself from dangerous circumstances. James recently spoke about his work with Steven Ho, stating that the staff has become a major influence on his character:
“I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I took to it much faster than I thought I would, and that made shooting the series a lot better. It meant that we could push along what we’d show in an episode at a higher level, and I feel like the stick has become important to Morgan’s identity.”
Without Steven’s help, who knows where Morgan’s character would be? It’s nice to know that the man behind the mask of Donatello is still making waves and managing to make an impact in the film industry today. In a day and age where most movies and television shows would rather focus on stories involving guns, it’s great to see a popular franchise showing the value of other weapons – even in a post-apocalyptic world filled with zombies.