Actor Ralph Macchio Reveals How Netflix's 'Cobra Kai' Season Four Perfected the Villain from 'The Karate Kid Part III'
By now, Ralph Macchio is synonymous with "Cobra Kai," a Netflix show that continues the stories of the characters from the "The Karate Kid" films. The actor, who plays main protagonist Daniel LaRusso, recently sat down with the Hollywood Reporter and spoke about how the recently-released fourth season was able to find its best villain yet in a character that was in the greatly maligned "The Karate Kid Part III."
In the interview, Macchio expresses his feelings about "The Karate Kid Part III," revealing, "I was not a fan of how the Karate Kid III came out. I felt the story was only repeating itself and was not character forwarding for the end of LaRusso. And production-wise, it was being written one way and then changed another way...In the end, there were parts of the character that I didn't embrace as well as I did with the original and the first sequel. I don't put it on the top of my résumé."
However, while he wasn't happy about the third installment of the film series that made him famous, Macchio acknowledges that what he is happy about is how "Cobra Kai" took Thomas Ian Griffith's Terry Silver, the villain from "The Karate Kid Part III," and made him into a more complex character. He's proud of how the "Cobra Kai" creators dig into the lore of "The Karate Kid" to make storylines, and don't bring back characters merely as meaningless fan service.
Macchio says, "What is so wonderful about doing the Cobra Kai series, the creators find ways to take that story and let it evolve and find backstories for characters who might have been thinly written." Perhaps this is the secret to "Cobra Kai" enduring popularity among fans.
"Cobra Kai" season four was released on December 31, 2021 on Netflix. For more entertainment news and commentary, follow Enstarz! We bring you the latest on your favorite celebrities, TV shows, and films.
