Then And Now The Karate Kid Cast – Then And Now

The Karate Kid Cast Then And Now – Released in 1984 by Columbia Pictures, ‘The Karate Kid’ tells the story of a young Daniel LaRusso. A teenager who moves to California with his mother and tries to fit in. After moving Daniel soon finds himself at the mercy of school bullies. Thankfully his neighbour, Mr. Miyagi is able to help Daniel defend himself against the school bullies through the use of Karate.

Many Karate Kid fans will have likely seen the Cobra Kai spin-off featuring Ralph Macchio and William Zabka. The two reprised their roles as Daniel and Johnny in 2018. We, however, take a look at what the entire cast are up to today. Over 30 years since the release of the first movie.

The Karate Kid Cast Then And Now

RALPH MACCHIO - DANIEL LARUSSO

Then: It was Charlie Sheen who was first offered the part of Daniel LaRusso, which eventually went to Ralph Macchio. Ralph who played a teenager in the movie was actually 22 years old at the time of filming. Before filming The Karate Kid, Macchio had roles in movies such as ‘The Outsiders’ and ‘Up The Academy’.

Now: Ralph Macchio went on to play The Karate Kid in two more sequels, Karate Kid II (1986) and Karate Kid III (1989). He also had parts in My Cousin Vinny (1992) and Hitchcock (2012) as well as numerous other movies.

While Macchio has appeared in numerous movies, more recently he is probably better known for his TV roles. Appearing in Entourage, Ugly Betty, How I Met Your Mother and reality TV show, Dancing with the Stars.

In 2018, the TV series Cobra Kai was produced by Youtube. A continautaion of the Karate Kid, it takes place three-decades after the original movies. It stars both Ralph Machhio and William Zabka, taking up their roles as Danny and Johnny once again.

PAT MORITA - MR MIYAGI

Then: By the time Pat Morita appeared in The Karate Kid he had been acting in TV and movies for almost twenty years. Pat took on the role of Mr Miyagi, a martial arts expert who helps Daniel defend himself.

Now: Pat continued to act right up until he died from an illness in 2005. Featuring in all three of the original Karate Kid movies, he reprised the role for a fourth Karate Kid film, The Next Karate Kid, in 1994. The fourth film features an entirely new cast, with Hilary Swank playing Julie, and Michael Ironside playing the antagonist Colonel Dugan.

Other roles included The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, Murder She Wrote and Married With Children.

ELISABETH SHUE - ALI MILLS

Then: Elisabeth was barely known when she got her lucky break as Ali Mills, the love interest of Daniel LaRusso.

Now: Elisabeth didn’t appear in any of The Karate Kid squeals, however, at the end of the 1980’s she got roles in Back To The Future II & III. In the 1990’s she was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in ‘Leaving Las Vegas’. Nowadays she is better known for her part as Julie Finlay in the incredibly popular CSI.

MARTIN KOVE - JOHN KREESE

Then: Martin Kove had worked as an actor for over a decade, doing mainly TV movies, before he landed the role of Sensei John Kreese.

Now: During the 1980’s Martin Kove returned for the two Karate Kid sequels and also had a part in Rambo II. He has worked steadily throughout the 90’s and 00’s, generally appearing in horror and action B-movies.

In 2019 he reprised his role as John Kreese in the second series of Youtube’s ‘Cobra Kai’.

WILLIAM ZABKA - JOHNNY LAWRENCE

Then: William Zabka made his movie debut in The Karate Kid, he played the role of Johnny Lawrence, lead member of the Cobra Kai.

Now: Zabka continues to act today, he’s also known for writing, directing and producing. In 2004 he earned an Academy Award nomination for writing and producing the film ‘Most’.

More recently he has appeared as himself in How I Met Your Mother, Hot Tub Time Machine and a music video called ‘Sweep The Leg’.

In 2018 he joined the cast of ‘Cobra Kai’, taking up his role as Johnny Lawrence once again.

RON THOMAS - BOBBY BROWN

Then: Ron Thomas got his first major role in ‘The Karate Kid’, he played a prominent member of the Cobra Kai.

Now: Thomas retired from acting in 1987, he is a real-life sixth-degree black belt and two-time Karate world champion. Nowadays he spends his time as a motivational speaker, training athletes and businessmen how to increase their “self-mastery”.

CHAD MCQUEEN - DUTCH

Then: Chad McQueen is the son of acting legend Steve McQueen, he played the role of Dutch, a member of the Kobra Kai.

Now: McQueen had a steady acting career throughout the 80’s and 90’s, but hasn’t done any acting since 2001. He has also had a steady career as a race car driver, racing in many different events. In 2010 he started his own custom car company called McQueen Racing LLC.

ROB GARRISON - TOMMY

Then: Rob Garrison had worked in a few movies prior to being cast Tommy, a member of the Cobra Kai. It is probably fair to say he had the greatest line in the entire movie! You will almost certainly remember the line ‘get him a body bag’!

Now: Garrison retired from acting in 1991, however he made a return in 2011 with a role in the movie ‘The Pledge’.

RANDEE HELLER - LUCILLE LARUSSO

Then: Prior to her role as Daniel LaRusso’s mother, Randee Heller played various TV roles. She also had a part in Fast Break (1979), her movie debut.

Now: Heller has had a very successful TV career, recently appearing in Desperate Housewives, Modern Family and Mad Men. More recently, however, she has reprised her role as Lucille LaRusso in the Youtube series ‘Cobra Kai’.

TONY O'DELL - JIMMY

Then: Before his role in The Karate Kid as Cobra Kai member Jimmy, Tony O’Dell had worked as both an actor and a voice actor. This included work on the kids TV show Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo.

Now: Since his part as a member of The Karate Kid cast, he’s probably best known for his role as Alan Pinkard in ‘Head of the Class’. A TV show that ran from 1986 until 1991.

After 1991 Tony’s on-screen work began to wind down. While he did still appear in a handful of TV shows over the years, he hasn’t worked consistently. More recently Tony has made a living as an acting and dialog coach, he also returned to our screens in Cobra Kai season two in 2019, playing Jimmy once again.

FRANCES BAY - DOG LADY

Then: Frances played the role of the dog lady who sat by the swimming pool in Daniels apartment complex. A latecomer to acting, her first movie role was in the Goldie Hawn comedy Foul Play (1978). By which time she was already in her late 50’s.

Now: Frances would go on to have roles in some popular movies over the next three decades. This includes parts in Twins (1988), Aracnophobia (1990), Single White Female (1992) and as ‘Grandma’ in Happy Gilmore (1996). She also reprised her role for a second time in The Karate Kid Part III.

In 2002 she was involved in a car accident which saw her lose a leg below the knee. She died on September 15, 2011, at the age of 92.

ISRAEL JURAB - FREDDY FERNANDEZ

Then: Israel Jurab played the role of Freddy Fernandez, who befriends Daniel LaRusso after he arrives in California. It is he who invited Daniel to the beach party where he meets Ali and of course, Cobra Kai. This was Israel’s second movie role, after first appearing in Hadley’s Rebellion (1983).

Now: After his role in The Karate Kid, Israel acted consistently up until 2010. He appeared in Beverly Hills Cop (1984), The Net (1995) and Boogie Nights (1997). He also made appearances in numerous TV shows, including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Diagnosis Murder.

PAT E. JOHNSON - REFEREE

Then: Pat E. Johnson played the role of the referee at the All Valley Karate Championships. Pat is a ninth-degree black belt who trained in South Korea and then later under Chuck Norris. In 1975 he was voted the best Karate referee in the United States, winning the Golden Fist Award. He also worked as a stunt coordinator on the movie, as well as various others.

Now: Pat would reprise his role as referee for The Karate Kid Part III. He later went on to work as a stunt coordinator on numerous other movies. These include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989) Mortal Kombat (1995), Batman & Robin (1997) and Green Street (2005).

In 1996 he won Instructor of the Year award from Black Belt Magazine.

BRUCE MALNUTH - RING ANNOUNCER

Then: Bruce Malnuth played the role of the ring announcer who had issues pronouncing ‘Miyagi-Do Karate’ correctly. He also goes to hand Daniel LaRusso the trophy when Johnny Lawrence wrestles it off him so that he can give it to Daniel himself.

Bruce worked as both an actor and director. The Karate Kid was only his second on screen-role, he had however directed Sylvester Stallone in Nighthawks (1981).

Now: Bruce would only appear in seven movies between 1983 and 1994. He was, however, a director for a handful of other movies, including Hard To Kill (1990) with Steven Segal. He died from illness at the age of 71 in 2005.

PETER JASON - FOOTBALL/SOCCER COACH

Then: Peter Jason plays the role of the football (soccer) coach who breaks up the fight between Daniel and Cobra Kai member Bobby. Sending Daniel off the field while he rants that “this school sucks man”.

Jason’s on-screen career at the time went all the way back to 1967, mainly appearing in TV movies. He did, however, have a part in the Eddie Murphy movie 48 Hours (1982).

Now: Since appearing in The Karate Kid, Peter Jason has been very busy! Appearing in movies such as Brewster’s Millions (1985), Arachnophobia (1990), Mortal Kombat (1995), Jurrasic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018). He also appeared in TV shows such as Deadwood and Arrested Development.