Martin Kove Has Always Been John Kreese
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THERE WAS nearly a 30-year gap between the final cinematic appearance of John Kreese, the villainous sensei in The Karate Kid series, and the character's first appearance in Cobra Kai, the hit YouTube sequel turned megahit Netflix sequel to The Karate Kid. But that character never left Martin Kove, who's now spent the greater part of his career playing the iconic role.
"How many times have I done a scene for how many different movies? And once you're finished, it's gone," he says. "But John Kreese doesn't go away. John Kreese stays there."
It helped to keep the character in his mind that for all the years between on-camera turns, he, along with fellow Cobra Kai stars Ralph Macchio, and William Zabka, would do fan conventions, autograph signings, and so on. Still, it's something that has stuck with him far longer than he ever expected.
For his role in Cobra Kai—he had a surprise cameo at the end of Season 1 before being bumped to a series regular for the show's Season 2 and upcoming Season 3—he took a different approach than to the movies. This time, he created a backstory for his character; rather than just being a sort of unknowing evil, he told himself about Kreese's past in Vietnam, what it was like opening up the Dojos prior to the events of The Karate Kid, and even his childhood.
But even before officially becoming Kreese again, he would find the character within himself at some of the most unexpected, unassuming of times.
"John Kreese surfaces if someone, per se, violates me, or says they could do something and they don't do it," he says. "I've found myself, at times, wanting to go into an ice cream store and it's closed right in front of me, and I got there too late. And all of a sudden, this energy rises in my body and the stare that comes out of the eyes, and it just innately is there."
Luckily, now, he's got a place to channel that stare and that energy for a lot more people to see than just the person working in the ice cream store. Men's Health had the chance to talk all things Cobra Kai with Kove, including how he got back into the picture, his experience with the cast and creators, and everything we could find out about the upcoming Season 3.
Why do you think Cobra Kai has been so successful, even so many years removed from the original Karate Kid movies?
As far as I’m concerned, the reason why the show is successful is based on the writing. I always felt that way with [original screenwriter] Robert Mark Kamen when The Karate Kid came out. He and I would often talk, and he’d say, ‘Well, it’s great chemistry between Ralph and Pat.” And for me, it was the writing.
Also, the big difference was that the writers were left alone on YouTube, and they could create whatever they wanted to. I don’t know if it would’ve been the same had we been picked up by Netflix at that time. They might’ve governed the show more, and controlled it more. I think that was a great assistance by YouTube. They were very interested in the show—we got enormous numbers. But they have 20 million viewers; Netflix has 198 million viewers. It did a lot more publicity.
And COVID-19 [may have benefitted us]. Everybody needs to feel good, and it’s a feel-good show where it brings you back due to the flashbacks, and due to the moments that are created, based on the movies. Within the series, it brings you back to that good feeling that you had back in the ‘80s. It’s what society needed right now—that feel good feeling, and that’s exactly what Cobra Kai does.
You mentioned the writers. Hayden, Jon, and Josh come from more of a comedy background, with movies like Hot Tub Time Machine and the Harold and Kumar series, than The Karate Kid is really known for. Were you at all nervous about the tones matching up?
These guys loved The Karate Kid, loved the characters, loved the story, maintained a relationship with Robert Mark Kamen. And without them, we have nothing. We'd have Borscht. I mean, we'd have a series about... It probably wouldn't last. A series about fighting and spinning crescent kicks and all. So I do believe that these writers, because of their love for the characters, are so adept at poignantly writing, not only the humor, because the humor is dark and they write gray. It's not black hats, white hats like it was when we did the movie. Now you've got to really write in a matter of great intellect, so that kids can actually identify with this, because all the audiences are far more sophisticated than they ever were when you and I were kids.
What can fans expect from Season 3?
We had to prepare big time, and it's very exciting because we didn't know exactly what the season was about. And I can only tell you that there were so many surprises. There's such an in-depth study of everyone, that the audiences will respond very well. I know season 3 is going to be better-received, even much more than 1 and 2, because everybody knows the characters now. Everybody knows who to love, who to hate. People love to hate me, they hate to love me. It's that kind of situation.
And you get a really good sense of all the characters in season 3, where you just get a little taste of them, I believe, in 1 and 2. But it's going to be bigger and more exciting and more versatile than one and two. And it sort of makes the actor work. We all had to work harder for season 3, because it was a lot. There was a lot to do. They wrote a lot of great stories, a lot of intelligent, funny scenarios, and yet a lot of devastating activity. And it's going to be great, man. It's going to be wonderful.
I can't wait.
It's really a great show to work on. I really think that it's something that, it's going to be a classic, just like the movie, because nobody expected it. Nobody even liked the title, Karate Kid. And we all laughed at it, and no one thought it would be the gift that keeps giving, but it keeps me on my toes, physically.
I have to work out. I have to do a lot of stuff that, probably, I wouldn't do. I'd just play tennis, or I would just go horseback riding, which is what I love, because I'm a big Western buff. But this really keeps you on your toes, of learning karate, staying with it. It's very, very exciting, and I can't wait for you to see it, man. You're going to call me after you see it and tell me, did I sell you anything less than what it really was?
This interview has been condensed for content and clarity.
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