Martin Kove was born on Purim, and his most famous costume has been quite convincing. As the villain in the iconic “The Karate Kid” film franchise, he starred as John Kreese, a Vietnam War veteran and the karate sensei of the Cobra Kai dojo. Kreese made life hell for Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) by teaching his aggressive students such mantras as “no mercy.” He famously instructed Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) to “sweep the [injured] leg” of Daniel in their championship bout. But in real life, Kove has visited many schools with an anti-bullying message. He’d often go with SuEllen Fried, an author and bullying prevention activist. “People have been bullied since the days of Rome and Greece,” Kove told Zenger News. “I never thought there was an easy solution.” He said that in speaking with Fried, the message they presented to youngsters was that one could simply walk away or use humor.
A big point was that bystanders who watch people get bullied and don’t intercede are also to blame. “The witnesses were as responsible as the bully,” Kove said. “If there wasn’t an audience, the person wouldn’t perform as the bully.” There’s been quite an audience for “Cobra Kai,” one of Netflix’s top shows, whose 10-episode fifth season was recently released. Kove said the main feedback he received for the original film role from director John Avildsen (who won the Oscar for Best Director of “Rocky”) was to portray Kreese as a man full of anger or “flat out ice.” When producer Josh Heald told Kove that he and fellow “Cobra Kai” writers and creators Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg wanted him to reprise the role, Kove agreed, but on one condition. “I wanted him [Kreese] to have more texture emotionally and have them write the character with a greater versatile outlook with flashbacks,” Kove said. “I didn’t want to appear as a one-dimensional character.” The vulnerability Heald, Hurwitz and Schlossberg gave his character is seen by how he cares about Johnny (even though they fight) and Tory, played by Peyton List. The writing is brilliant and in this fifth season, Chozen Toguchi (Yuji Okumoto), a nemesis from the second film, is brought back as an ally of Daniel. Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan), a villain from the third film, also returns.
