Cobra Kai Cast (2018–2025)
YouTube Premium / Netflix | Action Comedy-Drama | 6 Seasons | Created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg
Cobra Kai is a martial arts action comedy-drama series that serves as a direct sequel to the Karate Kid film franchise. Set thirty-four years after the events of the original 1984 film, the show revisits the lives of Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence — now middle-aged men whose high school rivalry has never fully healed. When Johnny reopens the Cobra Kai dojo and begins training a new generation of students, including Miguel Diaz, the old tensions between him and Daniel reignite. The series ran for six seasons from 2018 to 2025, beginning on YouTube Premium before becoming one of Netflix's most popular acquisitions, eventually returning original franchise villains John Kreese and Terry Silver to the story.
The Cobra Kai cast is one of the most beloved ensembles in recent nostalgic television, seamlessly blending original Karate Kid franchise veterans with a talented younger generation of actors. Ralph Macchio and William Zabka anchor every season with performances that have surprised critics and audiences alike — Zabka in particular received Emmy consideration for transforming the franchise's one-dimensional bully into a fully realized, often hilarious protagonist. The younger cast, led by Xolo Maridueña (who went on to star as DC's Blue Beetle), Tanner Buchanan, Mary Mouser, and Peyton List, holds its own in extended fight sequences and dramatic confrontations. The return of Martin Kove as the sinister John Kreese and Thomas Ian Griffith as the duplicitous Terry Silver deepened the show's mythology and connected it firmly to its cinematic origins.
Main Cast
Ralph Macchio
Daniel LaRusso
Reprising his role from The Karate Kid (1984), Ralph Macchio plays Daniel as a successful car dealership owner whose comfortable life is shaken when the past resurfaces, forcing him to confront unresolved trauma and rediscover his Miyagi-Do principles.
William Zabka
Johnny Lawrence
The show's co-protagonist, Johnny Lawrence is a divorced handyman trying to rebuild his life by reopening the Cobra Kai dojo — Zabka plays him with unexpected comedy and pathos, making Johnny the series' most layered and surprising character.
Xolo Maridueña
Miguel Diaz
Mexican-American actor Xolo Maridueña plays Miguel, Johnny's first and most talented student — a good-hearted teenager who becomes a skilled karate competitor while navigating loyalty conflicts between his two father figures.
Tanner Buchanan
Robby Keene
Tanner Buchanan plays Robby, Johnny's estranged son who trains under Daniel LaRusso as an act of rebellion — a complicated character whose arc from antagonist to anti-hero runs through the heart of the series.
Mary Mouser
Samantha LaRusso
Mary Mouser plays Sam, Daniel's teenage daughter who is drawn into the dojo rivalry through her relationships and her own passion for karate — a central figure in the ongoing conflict between Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai students.
Courtney Henggeler
Amanda LaRusso
Courtney Henggeler plays Amanda, Daniel's wife and the voice of grounded reason — a sharp, no-nonsense character whose skepticism about her husband's ongoing karate obsession provides consistent comic relief and emotional ballast.
Jacob Bertrand
Hawk / Eli Moskowitz
Jacob Bertrand plays Eli, a bullied teenager who transforms into the aggressive, mohawked Hawk after joining Cobra Kai — one of the show's most dramatic character arcs, tracing a path from victim to villain and eventually toward redemption.
Peyton List
Tory Nichols
Peyton List joins the series in Season 2 as Tory, a tough and hardened Cobra Kai student from a difficult background whose rivalry with Sam LaRusso escalates into some of the show's most intense confrontations across multiple seasons.
Martin Kove
John Kreese
Martin Kove reprises his role as the menacing Sensei Kreese from the original Karate Kid films, returning as the shadowy force behind Cobra Kai's most extreme philosophy — a villain revealed to have been shaped by his own traumatic past.
Thomas Ian Griffith
Terry Silver
Thomas Ian Griffith returns as Terry Silver, Kreese's wealthy Vietnam War ally and the antagonist of The Karate Kid Part III, who re-enters the story and quickly maneuvers to seize control of the Cobra Kai dojo for his own ends.
Supporting & Recurring Cast
| Actor | Character | Role | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gianni DeCenzo | Demetri | Eli's best friend, a sarcastic and analytical student who eventually thrives in Miyagi-Do | 1–6 |
| Hannah Kepple | Moon | A social butterfly student whose relationships evolve across the seasons | 1–6 |
| Nichole Brown | Aisha Robinson | Sam's close friend who joins Cobra Kai in Season 1, creating tension in their friendship | 1–2 |
| Vanessa Rubio | Carmen Diaz | Miguel's protective and caring mother, whose relationship with Johnny develops into a central emotional storyline | 1–6 |
| Paul Walter Hauser | Shawn Payne | A menacing juvenile detention bully who crosses paths with Robby Keene | 3 |
| Dallas Dupree Young | Kenny Payne | Shawn's younger brother who becomes a student of Cobra Kai and faces his own moral crossroads | 4–6 |
| Alicia Hannah-Kim | Kim Da-Eun | A ruthless master instructor brought in by Terry Silver to train Cobra Kai students with extreme methods | 5 |
| Yuji Okumoto | Chozen Toguchi | Daniel's former rival from The Karate Kid Part II who becomes an unlikely ally and powerful fighter | 3–6 |
| Tamlyn Tomita | Kumiko | Daniel's childhood love from Okinawa who reappears to help him reconnect with Mr. Miyagi's legacy | 3 |
| Joe Seo | Kyler Park | A bully from the first season who resurfaces as a Cobra Kai student in later seasons | 1, 4–5 |
Creators & Production
Josh Heald
Co-Creator & Showrunner — co-wrote the original Harold & Kumar screenplay and developed the Cobra Kai concept as a deeper, more sympathetic revisiting of the Karate Kid mythology
Jon Hurwitz
Co-Creator & Executive Producer — longtime creative partner of Heald and Schlossberg; the team's deep fandom for the original Karate Kid films drove their commitment to authenticity
Hayden Schlossberg
Co-Creator & Executive Producer — co-directed multiple episodes of the series alongside Hurwitz, bringing a cinematic scale to the show's fight sequences and action setpieces
Ralph Macchio
Star & Executive Producer — in addition to leading the cast, Macchio serves as a producer and has been deeply involved in maintaining the spirit and continuity of the original Karate Kid films
William Zabka
Star & Executive Producer — Zabka's production role reflects his deep investment in Johnny Lawrence's rehabilitation as a character; he has also contributed to the show's writing in advisory capacity
Sony Pictures Television
Production Company — as the rights holder to the Karate Kid franchise, Sony oversees all aspects of the Cobra Kai production and distribution partnership with Netflix
About the Cobra Kai Cast
Cobra Kai is a remarkable case study in franchise revival. When the show launched on YouTube Premium in 2018, skepticism was high — sequels to 1980s films rarely capture what made the originals resonate. But Heald, Hurwitz, and Schlossberg had the foresight to make Johnny Lawrence the emotional center of the narrative, which forced the audience to interrogate their own nostalgia. William Zabka, largely absent from screens for years, delivered a performance of such genuine warmth and comic timing that critics who dismissed the project as a nostalgia cash-in quickly revised their assessments. The Emmy nomination he eventually received reflected a broader industry recognition that Cobra Kai was doing something more interesting than expected. Ralph Macchio, for his part, plays Daniel not as a pure hero but as a man whose righteousness can tip into self-righteousness — a nuance that makes both leads human.
The decision to build out a fully realized younger cast rather than relying entirely on franchise nostalgia proved equally important. Xolo Maridueña's Miguel is a genuine protagonist in his own right, and his friendship-rivalry with Tanner Buchanan's Robby mirrors the Johnny-Daniel dynamic with fresh emotional stakes. When Netflix acquired the series after Season 2, its global audience expanded dramatically, making Cobra Kai one of the platform's most successful library acquisitions. The return of Martin Kove as Kreese added genuine menace to the later seasons, while Thomas Ian Griffith's Terry Silver — given room to breathe across multiple episodes — became one of the show's most memorable villains. The final season concluded the story in 2025, bringing full circle a narrative that began in a San Fernando Valley parking lot in 1984.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who stars in Cobra Kai?
Cobra Kai stars Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso and William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence, reprising their roles from the original Karate Kid films. The ensemble also includes Xolo Maridueña, Tanner Buchanan, Mary Mouser, Peyton List, Martin Kove, and Thomas Ian Griffith.
Who plays Johnny Lawrence in Cobra Kai?
William Zabka plays Johnny Lawrence across all six seasons of Cobra Kai, reprising the role he originated as the antagonist of The Karate Kid (1984). Cobra Kai re-examines Johnny as a complex, flawed protagonist struggling to rebuild his life.
How many seasons of Cobra Kai are there?
Cobra Kai ran for six seasons, concluding in 2025. Seasons 1 and 2 aired on YouTube Premium before the show moved to Netflix starting with Season 3 in January 2021, where it became one of the platform's most-watched series.
Who created Cobra Kai?
Cobra Kai was created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, the writing-directing team known for Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. They have served as showrunners for the entire run of the series.
Does Thomas Ian Griffith return as Terry Silver in Cobra Kai?
Yes. Thomas Ian Griffith returns as Terry Silver, the villain of The Karate Kid Part III (1989). Silver makes a brief appearance in Season 4 before becoming the primary antagonist of Season 5, giving Griffith his most substantial screen role in decades.
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