Over the course of Cobra Kai, two young fighters have formed the emotional backbone of the Netflix series' new generation of feuding martial artists: Miguel Diaz and Hawk. Played by Xolo Maridueña and Jacob Bertrand, respectively, Miguel's relationship with mentor and surrogate father figure Johnny Lawrence is strained going into Season 3, while Hawk questions the morality of his actions and the leadership of new sensei John Kreese as the dojo moves in a dramatically different direction.

In an exclusive interview with CBR, Maridueña and Bertrand discussed developing their respective characters' emotional arcs moving into Season 3, acting opposite William Zabka and working with the stunt team to craft the hard-hitting action sequences Cobra Kai is known for.

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Xolo, one of the big emotional cores for the entire series since the beginning is the relationship between Miguel and Johnny. How was it developing that with William Zabka, especially with the emotional depths of Season 3?

Xolo Maridueña: It all honestly kind of comes naturally. Billy is such a light-hearted person and finding that chemistry with him was something that we found as early as the audition. And he's also a really great actor as well! He instinctually has a lot of the right intentions, and I feel like, because of that, it's easy to play off of him. With that being said, I think there's going to be a little gap between Miguel and Johnny in the beginning [of Season 3] where there's going to be an internal battle with Miguel and his fears, really debating whether what he was doing was the right thing. But I agree, I love the scenes with Billy and I hope we get more of them.

Jacob, Hawk is someone who's at war with himself more than any external character. How is it maintaining that intensity because that character is at a 110% all three seasons.

Jacob Bertrand: Yeah, I just think that guy has never really dealt with his problems. [Laughs] I think that coming out of his shell was a really good thing that Johnny kind of pushed him to do with that tough love. Season 3 gets a little darker for Hawk because he does end up facing a lot of those inner demons head-on. And especially because Kreese is now running Cobra Kai, he's kind of just forced to do things; morally, he just doesn't know if he agrees with everything that Kreese is doing with the dojo. So it's basically just finding where he fits in this land of karate turmoil.

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You guys have been upping the ante so how has it been working with stunt coordinator Hiro Koda in developing these fight scenes, especially that big high school school fight at the end of Season 2?

Maridueña: I feel like while Hiro was initially our core stunt coordinator, Jahnel [Curfman] definitely hopped on board and took a lot of the heavy lifting for Season 3. Hiro and Jahnel are both two of the most talented stunt people I think I've ever met, their instincts are just phenomenal, and I think it's because they've had so much experience in the industry. Also, because we were able to develop such great chemistry with the both of them, they know what stuff Jacob can pull off, they know what stuff I can pull off. And because of that, they're able to design these fights that someone who just met us and worked with us for two weeks wouldn't be able to. That's really what makes a lot of our stunts great and Jacob can talk more about specific fights, but that's what I love about Hiro and Jahnel. I don't think they get enough credit for all great work that they do.

Bertrand: Yeah, I just want to add that they are a huge part of the show, like the show would not be what it is without them. They make everyone feel so comfortable and safe and they're always pushing us to do more to do our stunts and feel safe. They're awesome. I love them! Shoutout to them!

Cobra Kai stars William Zabka, Ralph Macchio, Courtney Henggeler, Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser, Tanner Buchanan, Jacob Bertrand, Gianni Decenzo, Peyton List and Martin Kove. Season 3 arrives on Netflix Jan. 1.

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