Cobra Kai Season 5: Who is Martin Kove aka John Kreese and which films has he acted in before?

Actor and martial artist Martin Kove is set to reprise his role as John Kreese, the head sensei of the Cobra Kai karate dojo, in season 5 of Netflix's Cobra Kai. The latest instalment of the show is scheduled to be released on Friday, September 9, 2022.

The synopsis of Season 5 of Cobra Kai reads:

Following the shocking results of the All Valley Tournament, Season 5 finds Terry Silver expanding the Cobra Kai empire and trying to make his "No Mercy" style of karate the only game in town. With Kreese behind bars and Johnny Lawrence setting karate aside to focus on repairing the damage he’s caused, Daniel LaRusso must call on an old friend for help.

Season 4 ended with Kreese being imprisoned after being set up by Terry Silver (played by Thomas Ian Griffith). In the trailer for Season 5, Martin Kove is seen hitting his inmates while maintaining a clean image in front of an official.

It should be noted that the show's first two seasons debuted on YouTube. However, following the completion of the season's production, the platform ceased producing scripted original programming. As a result, the show was picked up by Netflix, which acquired it in 2020.

Read on to find out more about Martin Kove, who plays John Kreese in Cobra Kai.

---

Where have you seen Martin Kove before?

While Martin Kove is best known as the actor who played one of the series' main antagonists, John Kreese, in seasons 2 and 3, fans may be surprised to learn that Kove began as a martial artist.

In an interview with the Kung Fu Kingdom, Kove revealed that he had studied martial arts with Shihan Tak Kobota throughout 1982 and 1983. The first Karate Kid film was released in 1984.

Kove stated that his skills were sharpened while working on the first film. He said:

It was really Pat Johnson who perfected our attitude on “The Karate Kid”. He was the stunt coordinator, and he’d studied under Chuck Norris during his tournament days, and I’d trained with him for three hours a day. He’d worked with all of us separately, me, Billy Zapka, Pat Morita, and Ralph Macchio.

Martin Kove went on to learn Okinawa-te Karate from renowned black belt Gordon Doversola Shihan. Kove said he used a completely different style of karate in the 1987 film Steele Justice.

Apart from The Karate Kid films and the Cobra Kai series, Martin Kove has appeared in popular titles such as Death Race 2000, White Line Fever, Rambo: First Blood Part II, as well as Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Martin Kove is the father of twins, one of whom, Jesse Kove, played the young man who bullied the younger version of John Kreese in season three and four flashbacks.

---

More about Cobra kai

Cobra Kai is a direct sequel to The Karate Kid film franchise by Robert Mark Kamen. The Cobra Kai series was created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg. Cobra Kai picks up where The Karate Kid films left off, with Ralph Macchio and William Zabka reprising their roles as Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence.

Cobra Kai stars Tanner Buchanan, Courtney Henggeler, Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser, Jacob Bertrand, Gianni DeCenzo, Peyton List, Vanessa Rubio and Dallas Dupree Young, with Thomas Ian Griffith also reprising his role from The Karate Kid III.

Season 5 of Cobra Kai will stream on Netflix, on Friday, September 9, 2022.