“Our relationship in real life is very difficult, just like in the series!” (William Zabka). “He’s always late, he’s a nightmare!” (Ralph Macchio). So with these phrases, the iconic actors who play Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso, respectively, in ‘Cobra Kai‘, they begin this Zoom meeting with the regional press amid laughter. Obviously, this is a joke, because in reality it is the opposite.
“The two of us have known each other for a long time and our relationship has continued to grow off-screen, in the respect we have for each other and what we bring to the game every day. We know each other’s family, in fact, it is a very special gift and we have this chemistry in the camera that resonates in the series. We are quite different, but we are very focused on what we do. Johnny and Daniel are also similar, because as the years have passed they have learned to respect each other. Each one has stepped into the other’s shoes, just like William and I who are now dancing tango ”, says Ralph Macchio about his relationship with William Zabka.
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36 years ago, in the fiction of ‘Karate Kid’, Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso, his characters, became enemies of opposite sides. Now, in ‘Cobra Kai’, they are in a kind of truce, but nothing is said. In fact, in this fourth season, which premieres on December 31 in NetflixThey will combine the techniques of their dojos for the common good, but the clash will be inevitable. “They have definitely turned the page, what’s more, at one point Johnny tells Daniel something that has a lot of truth: ‘if I had trained with you, I would be a better fighter’, when I read this in the script I said wow! It is something very important that you accept and it is the right thing to say, it is your remorse and that you recognize it is a point of release that is great, there is hope not to repeat the same thing. But there is still a lot going on and we still need to learn from each other ”, reveals Zabka regarding what lies ahead in the series.
For Ralph Macchio, the most important message of the fourth season of ‘Cobra Kai’ has to do with the union and the acceptance of other points of view. “I think it’s letting go, being open to other perspectives and understanding that bringing other perspectives to your point of view can create a better outcome. That’s a great message: bring philosophies together for a better outcome, ”says the actor.
“I think we are seeing different visions and approaches to the world,” Zabka adds. In this season I jump into the Miyagi world and learn from there. They are not so in agreement, but in the end when the world is against them they get together and understand each other. I think that is a great message, that we are very diverse and that it is important to empathize in order to understand others and seek the best together. That’s what Dany and Johnny do, we have the same goal and the best comes when we work together. That happens to me as an actor, I think we both feel it and the younger cast too ”.
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Johnny’s redemption
The new season of ‘Cobra Kai’ will be marked by the appearance of new characters, such as the villain Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith). We will also see more clashes between the dojos and also Daniel LaRusso will arouse the jealousy of Johnny Lawrence when he begins to train Miguel. “It has been a lot of physical preparation, because from how difficult it was when I was 21, now I see that it was easier. William and I have worked very hard and hard. William is exceptional at martial arts, he’s so flexible it makes me mad (laughs). We had a good performance and the boys did too ”, says Macchio.
“Exactly. The boys have come a long way in recent seasons, some knew a little karate, others more, others nothing and now they know more. That is the great thing about martial arts, that they are an art and each person has their way of expressing them, it is a unique form of corporal expression that is linked to your body, each one does it in a different way, so Seeing these younger guys, who were rookies, in the gym, educated with discipline, is very inspiring and satisfying to watch. ” Zabka adds.
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The 56-year-old actor confesses that many things about Johnny Lawrence repel him. “Johnny is not me and when I read the script it repels me because it hits a lot. He’s very old-school man, but speaking of the masculine part, he’s overcharacterized. But the jugular of that is that he has to do something for someone else before him, for Miguel, for Roby. What approaches Johnny is politically incorrect, but he has a good heart and, when Miguel comes into his life, his heart opens again.
William Zabka does not believe that Johnny is consciously seeking redemption. “Rather, it may be the result of the journey, but it is definitely evolving and growing. It’s interesting because in ‘The Karate Kid’, Daniel and Johnny never got into each other’s lives. It was Daniel and Miyagi and Johnny. This story defines them, but it is not the life of Johnny or Daniel, so the evolution of this redemption for Johnny is to find his goodness, the path that was lost as a child and that was ruined by a bad influence and mentor. He has many things from which he cannot escape, because they are grounded in him, he is bringing out his demons, but my hope is to see him in his purest form ”.
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