Johnny Lawrence

When Cobra Kai was first announced as a new series based on the iconic The Karate Kid films, fans were immediately skeptical if the iteration would match up to the legendary status of the original. But creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg made the smart move by not only bringing back the decades-long feud between Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), but also by turning the narrative away from Johnny’s downtrodden point of view seen in the films. The new take and a next generation of talented newcomers has made Cobra Kai one of Netflix’s most popular series on the streamer. In conversation with Stevie Wong, Macchio and Zabka explain the joys of The Karate Kid legacy and being able to revisit their characters through a fresh lens.

“The thing that works about the show is that you could look through anybody’s lens and see it through their eyes and they’re the hero in a way,” declares “Cobra Kai” star William Zabka. “’The Karate Kid’ was 35 years ago, so there’s a lot of life that has happened in between that,” he says.

The triumphant ending of The Karate Kid didn’t only lead to one of the most popular movie series of the 1980s. Decades later, the story would continue with original stars Ralph Macchio and William Zabka in Cobra Kai. With the Netflix series getting Emmy consideration, Zabka opens up about why he never thought he had a shot at what would become his most famous role.

If ever there were a hero whose costume was the outward expression of his inner badass, it's Cobra Kai's Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). Of course, Johnny's badass fashion choices go way back to his Daniel LaRusso-kicking Karate Kid days, when he first donned a perfectly fitted headband and the most vinyl of red Michael-Jackson-wannabe jackets to such badass heights. Granted, his fashion sense may have stagnated in 1984, but when you've perfected badass chic, why move on?

Last week, Netflix announced that some of their most popular shows, like The Witcher and You, would be back with new seasons before the end of the year. They also announced that season 4 of Cobra Kai would have a 2021 release as well, despite the fact that season 3 also debuted in 2021, and the pandemic slowed down production.

Since the premiere of The Karate Kid in 1984, William “Billy” Zabka has been associated with the character Johnny Lawrence. While the karate instructor is now beloved on the show Cobra Kai for many years, the actor had an issue with being identified with the role. Zabka Was Typecast After...

Netflix continues to see massive success after dropping the third season of Cobra Kai. Derived from the 1984 film The Karate Kid, the series stars Ralph Macchio (Daniel LaRusso) and William Zabka (Johnny Lawrence) both reprising their roles – and their rivalry – from the original movie. While Daniel became...

One of the best running jokes of Cobra Kai (including within its infuriatingly good third season) is how bad Johnny Lawrence is at the Internet. To his credit, he finally learned how to log in (and even send a message on “The Facebook”), which led him to a very special reunion. Still, one really can’t expect him to be able to navigate the streaming wars, but if anyone really wants to know what William Zabka’s character is doing to ride out this pandemic winter, the Cobra Kai writers have got you covered.

Staying in this winter? Due to the cold, and, y’know, the pandemic? Cobra Kai’s fictional sensei, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), has some suggestions, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly and Cobra Kai’s writing team. They’re terrible. First, as for entertainment? Forget the streaming. Johnny Lawrence prefers, uhh... much worse content. “Stock up...

Winter blues got you down? Quit complaining! Cobra Kai sensei Johnny Lawrence has five tips for making it through the long months ahead. Read more from EW's 2021 Happy List — a collection of pop culture pleasures to make your year even better. If there's anyone who knows how to...

In Cobra Kai, fans of the classic Karate Kid films get to see what happens when the original franchise’s heroes and villains become grown-up adults. While the TV show gives the further adventures of Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso, it also fleshes out William Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence. However, while Zabka plays Lawrence as a burnout, it doesn’t mean the actor is living his art.

Cobra Kai made a hero out of Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), or an antihero at least. The bully from The Karate Kid reopened Cobra Kai to teach a new generation Karate. It hasn’t all gone according to plan, and the show’s third season sees Johnny trying to make things right.

As fans of Cobra Kai are aware, the catalyst of Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and Daniel LaRusso’s (Ralph Macchio) rivalry was the latter’s flirtation with Dr. Ali Mills Schwarber (Elisabeth Shue) in The Karate Kid. Before the events of the movie, Ali ended her two-year relationship with Johnny. During the film, she started dating Daniel, causing Johnny to resent him for over 35 years.

Netflix’s ‘Cobra Kai’ season three finally dropped on New Years’ and has been #1 on Netflix’s trending ever since. In the third season of the show we see a lot more background of how Cobra Kai actually came to be, some flashbacks of John Kreese (Martin Kove) in Vietnam as well as following our favorite rivals, Johnny Lawrence (Billy Zabka) and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) as they continue to navigate karate after the high school fight.

By Season 3 of “Cobra Kai,” Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) is nothing like the bad guy he played for roughly two hours and four minutes of the 2-hour, 6-minute 1984 movie “The Karate Kid.”. This Lawrence is making mature dating decisions, volunteering to teach kids self-defense and dedicating pretty much...

We all love Netflix’s ‘Cobra Kai’. It’s a great throwback to movies of the 80s and brings back some of our favorite characters from the decade, including Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). What we love most about Johnny, is how politically incorrect he is, how he...

Cobra Kai’s Johnny is giving us an early Christmas gift. Season 3 of the Netflix sequel to the iconic Karate Kid movie franchise is set to drop on the streaming giant a week early on January 1 — the perfect way to ring in the new year. The new premiere...