Biography of William Zabka
William Michael Zabka, an American actor of Czech descent, catapulted into fame in the mid-eighties with his role as the audacious karate hoodlum Johnny Lawrence in the Karate Kid trilogy.Childhood, Youth, Family
Born in the autumn of 1965 in New York, Zabka hailed from the family of Stanley William Zabka and Nancy Heimert. His father, a director, composer, and writer, was a descendant of a family of Czech immigrants. His mother, of German nationality, worked as a film producer and production assistant.Acting Career
William Zabka's first appearance on screen was an episode of the series "The Greatest American Hero" in 1983. This was followed by a bit part in the series "Give Me a Break" (1984), and in the same year, Zabka landed his first notable role in a feature film as karateka Johnny Lawrence.If his co-star, Ralph Macchio, at one point became a youth idol for portraying the good-hearted school newcomer Daniel LaRusso, learning karate from the elderly Japanese Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita), Zabka's character evoked negative emotions from viewers. Johnny trained at the "Cobra" school under the supervision of John Kreese (Martin Kove), who preached a ruthless and harsh fighting style. The youth obeyed the coach in everything and transferred his teachings into real life, bullying Daniel LaRusso until the latter defeated him in the ring.I trained four hours a day, five days a week for a month just rehearsing, and then for two months filming. So I had about three months of training, every day… I went home like spaghetti. My legs were dropping. My back was killing me. But Pat Johnson trained me – he just knew what he was doing and got me in shape. And martial arts actually healed my back.
Personal Life of William Zabka
According to the actor, he has been happily married since 2008. He dated a woman named Stacey for several years before proposing to her.William Zabka Now
The main event of 2022 for the actor was the September premiere of the fifth part of "Cobra Kai". Talking about the filming of all seasons, William noted that he is glad how his character Johnny Lawrence was presented to the audience after many years:I think the authors» attempt to tell the audience a little about who Johnny is and help them understand what he represents now is quite successful, because I think people already have a good idea of who LaRusso is. The thing here is not so much about rivalry as it is about these two characters, but already of the 2018 sample, and here it is mostly about how culture in general, teenagers themselves, and the idea of mentorship and bullying differ from what they were in 1984. Both characters are in the same position, they are trying to find themselves.
Interesting facts
- Before filming in "Karate Kid", Zabka had no idea how extensive eastern martial arts were. He successfully competed in wrestling and thought he was in great physical shape. But after the filming ended, William seriously took up the Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do, achieving certain success in it and receiving a second degree green belt.
- Despite constant rivalry in the films "The Karate Kid" and "Cobra Kai", in real life William Zabka and Ralph Macchio became best friends.
- Zabka was happy to visit his ancestors' homeland during the filming of the drama "Most", which took place in the Czech Republic and Poland. The actor speaks Czech fluently and loves his unusual surname, which translates as "little frog" from it.
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