With the Cobra Kai Season 5 premiere close, viewers are ready to dive back into the series centered on two well-known characters from the Karate Kid movies. However, two of the most interesting characters exist outside of the Johnny Lawrence/Daniel LaRusso dynamic. One of them is, of course, Thomas Ian Griffith's Terry Silver, the bad guy of this season of Cobra Kai. The other is Yuji Okumoto's Chozen Toguchi, another familiar face to fans of The Karate Kid. Both have now become mainstays of a show that started out relying mostly on nostalgia but has grown into a drama about family and self-discovery.
CBR had a chance to talk with Thomas Ian Griffith and Yuji Okumoto about their specific characters, sharing scenes together, and, in the case of Griffith, playing not just a villain but an over-the-top one at that.
CBR: Ian, you get to play not just a villain but an over-the-top villain. It must be so much fun. Are you having a blast?
Thomas Ian Griffith: I am having a blast. It was a gift as an actor to be able to come back and reprise this role. They took this over-the-top character and brought all these new colors and dimensions to him, which you could tap into. You could understand him, and you could find things that you could relate to and especially those sprinkles of truth he has in his madness, which is just so much fun to play.
You are both coming into Cobra Kai when it’s already established -- the dynamics are in place. You get to play in someone else’s sandbox and interact with more or less the same people. Is there a particular character you’d love to have more screen time with?
Yuji Okumoto: Well, for me, I think I was happy with being able to interact with who I interacted with. I'll talk about Thomas because some of the stuff that we shot -- god, [it] was so much fun. Thomas brings so much to this wonderful experience. Working opposite him was so easy and comfortable, and it just kind of made me want to match all that stuff. Whatever he gave me, I gave him back, so it was like this wonderful give and take that we had. I love the chemistry because I'd never worked with Thomas prior to this, so that was one person [I] actually was looking forward to working opposite of.
Of course, Billy [William Zabka], too -- I had never worked with. I tell you, that guy is funny as heck. He drops these one-liners, and he's just trying to keep a straight face, but yeah, across the board. I was just so pleased to be able to work with those I work with.
Cobra Kai Season 5 will be available to stream on Netflix Friday, Sept. 9.