(NOTE LANGUAGE) Actor William Zabka has re-emerged in Hollywood, thanks to the success of Netflix’s Cobra Kai, which he tells comic and podcaster Marc Maron also saved him some from “brutal” Comic-Con appearances.
Zabka tells the WTF Podcast that he and his Karate Kid co-star Ralph Macchio would often appear together signing autographs on the comics convention circuit. But while Macchio’s heroic Daniel LaRusso always drew happy fans, Zabka’s often took the flak for his character Johnny Lawrence before Cobra Kai redeemed him.
It didn’t help that Zabka also played another famous jerk, Chas, in another 1980s classic, Back to School.
“I was the table that the dads would walk by with their kids, and go, ‘I just want my kid to meet you, this guy was the biggest a**hole…’ nice to meet you,” the actor said with a laugh. “Now they say, ‘Hey, I love you on the show.'”
Zabka also admitted he was “shocked” when he was approached about Cobra Kai.
“The creators…emailed me out of the back of the blue…” Zabka said. “I was in shock. It was like an old girlfriend coming back, and going, ‘I want to get back together,’ it’s like, ‘How close do I let this get to me, because if it doesn’t work out…that would be a real big disappointment.'”
Even after they finished the first season, Zabka said he didn’t know if the show was coming back, “And then it just took off.”
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