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William Zabka is an thespian , screenwriter , producer and film director . Most know for his part as Johnny in theKarate Kidfranchise . He also had an Academy Award nominated shortsighted he solve on . He is now the lead role on YouTube Red ’s ace successful seriesCobra Kaiwhere he reprise his role as Johnny 30 years later .
give thanks you for speaking with me , I apprize your time . First off , extolment on the 35th anniversary . It ’s a must be amazing to be a part of something so iconic . Did you ever guess you would be part of something so huge and so that masses hold so dear to them , you know , after all these years ?
William Zabka : you may never imagine it . I mean , you know , did it surprise to me to see how it ’s grown and stuck with culture ? You know every twelvemonth as the years have gone by it just stayed with us , so you’re able to never prognosticate it . you’re able to never anticipate it . it was just a , it ’s one of those amazing thing that chance in life sometimes . Yeah .
That ’s amazing . so when you first got the role were you given a mess of freedom as far as like , thing you could do , you could do to make what you imagine Johnny to be ?
William Zabka : You know , that there ’s the script was really locked down by Robert Canaan compose incredible airtight screenplay . and then you have intercourse with the managing director like John Alex in knows , direct rough and knows what he want . And so I had some very strong guidelines in the script and I had a director who really had a imagination . I think he coach everybody include me , to body these roles . And so kind of . But I ’m certain that I would have some there ’ll be some import where I ’d have an idea , John only open to get wind it and I ordinarily rehearsals cause practice this thing for a month before we ever shot it . You know you could test that . Yeah I always feel a , your first movie .
I think the matter that a lot of sports fan is that there is a lineament for each of them , like someone that they could relate to was there a character other than Johnny that you really touch on to or were you a caboodle like Johnny ’s type uprise up ?
William Zabka : It ’s a great question . when you ’re , when you ’re pay a handwriting and assure to focus on your , you skip over into that skin . So I did n’t really register it . objective lens I connected with and in many ways I could connect with Daniel because I was in implant from a New York myself when I was 10 years older to La and I was the Modern Kyd in town . And I had some run ins with the local small fry at the very beginning . I did not to take karate , defend myself . you have it off , I sleep together what it felt like to come from east coast to California and how about , so you know , but , it really , I mean as far as they get assigned with the persona , like , you bed , none of this character yeah . Of Jerry and Lauren that I was tell to search at and I had to find the firearm getting that strip that connected to me and that I could see myself in .
And there was two parts of that in the first one was the porta view of the picture show where you’re able to look on the motorcycles on the top of the James Jerome Hill and he says , I have one year to make it work . So , you know , he was the bozo trying to make his manner there and then it ’s him the trophy and says , you ’re all correct . Yeah there was a kind of like true nature . And so , uh , that ’s how I see myself in the case . My life parallel to Larusso was as an interne in some funny fashion , as you ideate .
That ’s interesting we got to see you a little bit in part two at the very beginning . And then I was speak with Martin Kove said that that was in the first place supposed to be part of the end for the first film . What do you believe , what do you , in your opinion , what do you think transpire with Johnny ’s eccentric ? in between , like when part two and part three , we ’re in reality going on because we did n’t really get to see , oh , what ’s that ?
William Zabka : No , no , no . I ’m pitiful . You thought you were blab about the film , Karate Kid Part 2 .
I was talking about and learn what you , what you and your view believe happen to Johnny during part two and three , you know , since you were n’t really see in those film .
William Zabka : Yeah . So where did he go ? Yeah , the writer ’s demerit . They lock him up in a John Cage and they play him out 35 geezerhood later . I never really , I never really thought about where he went from there . I live he did n’t go to Okinawa . Yeah I would have loved to gone to Hawaii and did a car , the credit get you in a more , in a bigger way .
We were talk about where Johnny was in part two and three .
William Zabka : You know when they were , when they were compose part three . And I be intimate that Dave wrote that sort of , that they were n’t almost but I keep scheduling it . Other reasons did n’t work out . So they created a Mike Barnes and when I call it a direction , which was fine with me , you know , I ’ve vex to be part of the original one . And it was always for me hard to watch out . The other one did n’t quite replicate originality .
Johnny was definitely a misunderstood Thomas Kid I think for you know , for me as a kid when I first learn it , I obviously just saw Daniel ’s point of view . But looking back at it now , especially there is this youtube picture that I watch where it kind of explain shipway , the ways that Johnny just was misunderstood . And also that How i Met Your Mother installment , it really kind of open my eye to like a different linear perspective . When was the first one you realize this and was it , was it interesting for you to see that , that point of scene ?
William Zabka : I realized what the , what the tale is of these TV that were put out ?
Yeah . The narrative , different view and from Johnny ’s gunpoint of thought .
William Zabka : Yeah ! . You know , I pay off a kick out of it . I mean , I always in ordination to meet it spell , as I enunciate , you bring yourself to it so that I ’m not Johnny Lawrence . It was hard to give Johnny is a unfit guy . So I tried to find the pay off quality to them and it builds his back write up . So a fate of what came out you acknowledge kind of a characterization but the truth , but you recognise the the true then I held onto was that email . I was misled by a set date clearly again his are nowhere in this , in the movie . So I imagined that he did n’t have a proficient relationship with the phratry are , they were n’t present too much in his life . Yeah.so you get laid , and he lose his young lady you loved and what ’s back here comes a new kid in town who then kind of stick his nozzle and his business , you acknowledge , the citation kicked gave a good deal of lever for its induction for Johnny to react .
You know , he did n’t derive on the beach and see Daniel with Alli and then unleash a onslaught of feet on him . You know , Daniel kind of butted in and , and do his creation . Right . And then the next metre he really , he takes him to visit the , at the Halloween terpsichore . And Johnny ’s really pen zone . Did this , yeah . So it was , it was kind of , you screw , fairly easy to play those , those parts of being belligerent because I felt justified at the character felt justify in it by reacting to something you provoked by him . No . When , uh , you sleep together , when , old age later , decades later when , you know , that kind of pop culture narration of this kind of swung Johnny ’s charge , you fuck , it was kind of eerie , kind of charming the path , you know , with no shoe . I do n’t buy into it all , but it was nice .
You live , it ’s almost like , so many years later you could , you know , the emotion of that , that movie is so powerful . The first watch it in the kick and you live , and you ’re still on the side of defeating the enemy . that emotion and that adrenaline upsurge , you cognize , is , is big . And only in hindsight , I think after observe the film , you know , a dozen time or so , or a hundred times or whatever , many time you ’ve envision it over the years , you bed , you may look back and start analyzing it a little turn . And bring out some of that you know , some of the other linear perspective , include Johnny and that ’s been kind of thrilling . Well , really that ’s what ’s been kind of the origin of our show Cobra Kai . Yeah . How they ’ve kind of number into Johnny ’s point of view and house painting and that back news report . So , yes .
How sometime are you when you were first filming the first picture show ?
William Zabka : I just turn 18 . I turned 18 that twenty-four hours . We filmed that mountain . I graduated high school early gratefully . I ’d had been in high school itself , but I was in college and I turn over 18 , 10 day before we started filming the show .
It must ’ve been like amazing for you being at such a young age to be part of something like this . Is there any interesting stories or interactions that you had , with fans that you always remember it till today ?
William Zabka : So many You sleep together back in the day it was almost surreal to have people , they see me as this guy wire because all sentence I ’m known as billy , as an doer in drama school and they ’re wrestling to move . And I was pretty much a case actor too in gamey schoolhouse . Drama I did a bunch of funniness . I kind of saw myself more as a comedic thespian , to be recognized as this kind of sturdy guy in this warriorlike artistic creation guy rope . You know , it took a minute to kind of absorb that . So the early days when that first happened , it was a it was a life altering experience . But I think , you make love , later in years is as metre ’s gone by and you know , when we go out and do a show or I foregather , I meet families somewhere to a restaurant or whatever .
Like you see these tiddler that are six , seven , 10 and their grandparents all sharing , you know , a lovemaking for the film . It ’s , that ’s the stuff that ’s just amazing . It ’s nous blow to see that the cell was pass so many multiplication and extend to so many people . And you know , some people that have been browbeat that um , you know , i meet a girl was 14 and her mom told me she was very bullied growing up . And yeah , she got into martial arts and know how you doing now . She goes , Oh , if I ’m not just bewilder an elbow . And she said you , it was Bob girls and soldierlike prowess . Really , Kevin , still some good confidence in people . And so to see how that film did that and it also , it , it helped kind of generate the martial humanities schools in America . And then look back I was like , you know , it was really the variety of a window .
And the door to a whole new character of warriorlike artistic production , kind of din in our country . And now school day that go up and he keeps getting enroll in that come from wherever they came from . So to be a part of that , that I was the first one to be on the receiving end of that because I was a white belt . I was not a karate guy rope when I stepped into the cell . Now he ’s trained by you know , a legend Pat Johnson who was in the a grandmaster martial artists to trade me from the ground up and he trained ralph from the earth up . And you cognize , we ’ve got trained at the actors and then we put on this shimmer and it ’s , you know , that grooming and those estimate that came through the writing and the martial humanistic discipline has affect polish there . I just , I just detect it all fascinating , you have intercourse ? Yeah . So that ’s a long winded answer , but it ’s just , you know , there ’s many , many things along the way , but the ones that get me the most are when they were going to get the tape today . Yeah . Um , who are just fall upon it for the first time and it ’s still play . They could get for you guy rope .
Yeah . Also describe your dynamic with you and Ralph on set . Did you guy rope get to hang out a circle on set or did they kind of separate , you just do kind of build up like the little animosities so it translated on cover ?
William Zabka : Well we had to work really unaired together , obviously choreographing the concluding fight . Yeah . Yeah . And we had to work together , you have it off , five days a week , hours a daylight at that from the time we started for three months . So we were , we were together all the sentence . We were encourage by John Appleton to not pretty much socialized set off too much John , you know , encouraged me to get in , hang out with my , uh , my Cobra Kais and a , yeah , Daniel Ralph had his hand full with all the , all the nub , you know , with all this stuff . You have a cat , Rita , who ’s really the soulfulness of this film , you know , no miyagi there ’s no Yoda . He ’s that . He ’s the magic that ’s , and their human relationship is not the blink of an eye of the film . So Ralph had his , his work cut out for him to quell in that pocket .
So yeah , we were , we were separated , you recognize , it , you ’re institute together to do the technical stuff and then we would in rehearsals and then we endure and shot it through , brought up set together . But we were , you know , pretty much a squad because we shake off foot elbow at each other for the whole movie . And uh , you hump , there ’s a lot of respect and trust that come in that so we were emphatically friendly and you roll in the hay you know , as time ’s gone on we ’ve become friends and you know , may have been better admirer back then . Um , having not been separated .
Being part of a film like this and being on camera did that form of inspire you to do more work behind the cameras and get into output or directing . Did that influence a mickle of your career now ?
William Zabka : Yeah . Great question . I was in film school when this pass off , so I would , my pipe dream was to be a movie maker . I did n’t go to acting school . I go to the filmmaking school . Okay . And , I loved acting and I had this since I was 10 years quondam . I desire to do motion picture and television , my first love and I ’ve been urinate eight millimetre films , I started making filter . I of 10 old age old at technical school . I might post some of those online because I have a digitize now and I ’m 10 class old and I ’m take these films and delete them.so it was very you video came around and I got mode into that . then , you have intercourse , but then my playacting career take off and I just went on that drive .
And you ’re like my grooming for all this is onset and I ’m acquire direction more by being on set that I could ever learn in school . So I did cease my schoolhouse . I went back into course here and there and television camera and scripts and things like that But I did n’t finish a course in it cause I life was a form in it , you know , and that , um , then by and by in my career I bring the big breakage from acting really dove headfirst into the , my first Passion of Christ , which was being behind the camera and made a short film . I was nominated for an honorary society award director or some big ring and a couple of documentary film and he ’s got into the edit way and behind the camera , which I absolutely get it on as to acting .
Yeah . Now , one of the most amazing things are in one of the things that I feel as , as , as a star of a movie would like know that they are , they ’re immortalizes you have your own natural process figure . When they came out did you go straightaway out to stores and just like , I want to buy these activity bod that I ’m met . I ’m this actual toy . Was that , was that amazing for you ?
William Zabka : You know , there were a yoke that came out . Karate chop and karate kick thing so I have a balance and my kids get to fiddle with them sometimes when we do n’t get to really play with me . I say here , act with Daddy .
Did your kids like the film when they first watched the original film ? Were they kind of surprised ?
William Zabka : Well , I have a nine year old and a five year old and believe it or not they have n’t seen it . Not that big here and they want to see it . Um , it ’s just comes through that , you recognize , as a daddy , I , you recognize , your impression on your kid is regardless of anything , it ’s like it ’s just to be a Father-God and yes . You know , it ’s more about , you know , part because Johnny was kind of shivery character plausibly for them a footling bit , but more that um , you know , your dad on television is a strange affair where I played an animated andiron dog-iron and then a little bit of how i met your female parent where I play a goof I was pain product . We recognise all about it . Neat . Eric , all about he have it off about us and all the guy cable become instead of cobra kai both of the paths . Yeah . And , uh , actually the talk around the house you run when we get to watch the film and tell you one that ’s come up , like , you know what I mean ? Time . Uh , yeah , it would have present them as uh , you get it on , your , your dad know citizenry that you cognize that . Yeah . God I him a ride their bike and cling out and heed to me .
That ’s amazing . That ’s awesome . Now a footling off matter . Uh , to begin with the , The Karate Kidtitle was , could n’t be used because it was an actual was a DC place like speaking about DC prop , what would you ever consider perhaps a unite any of the superhero universes ?
William Zabka : Absolutely outrageous and fun . I Dunno . I Dunno who ’s left out there , you know , with what spirit was n’t dust it off , but yeah , trusted . There ’s the broke and sometime superhero . I ’d love to jump in there just for fun . Yeah .
More : Martin Kove Interview for The Karate Kid
TheKarate KidFathom Event is take stead at more than 600 nationwide theaters this Sunday , March 31 , and next Tuesday , April 2 .
