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Martin Kove
Martin Kove
	Kove at the Louisville Supercon in 2018
Born	March 6, 1947 (age 77); Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actor, martial artist
Years active	1971–present
Height	185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Spouse	Vivienne Love (m.1981; div. 2005)
Children	2

Martin Kove (/ˈkoʊv/; born March 6, 1947^[2]) is an American actor and martial artist. He is best known for his role as John Kreese, the main antagonist of The Karate Kid (1984). Kove reprised the role in The Karate Kid Part II (1986), The Karate Kid Part III (1989), and the television series Cobra Kai (2018–present). He also appeared as Nero the Hero in Death Race 2000 (1975), and afterward as Clem in White Line Fever (1975). Kove was a regular on the TV series Cagney and Lacey (1982–1988), portraying Police Detective Victor Isbecki. He appeared in Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) and Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).

Early life

Martin Kove was adopted by an American family on March 6, 1947, in Brooklyn.^[3]

Career

From 1982–88, Kove appeared in the main cast of Cagney & Lacey as New York City Detective Victor Isbecki, a supporting role he reprised in subsequent television movies for the series. During the same time, Kove appeared in the 1984 hit film The Karate Kid as Cobra Kai sensei John Kreese, whose fighting instruction of showing “no mercy” and to “sweep the leg” during the film’s karate tournament entered the American zeitgeist. After playing a traitorous helicopter pilot in the 1985 film Rambo: First Blood Part II, he returned as Kreese for the 1986 sequel The Karate Kid Part II and the 1989 sequel The Karate Kid Part III.^[4]

In his seemingly only directorial effort, Kove directed a season 3 episode of Silk Stalkings in 1994.

Kove studied Okinawa-te Karate under prominent black belt Gordon Doversola Shihan.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Kove appeared in the 2007 music video for the song "Sweep the Leg" by No More Kings as a caricature of himself and John Kreese from The Karate Kid.^[8]^[9]

In 2018, Kove again returned to the character of Kreese for the YouTube Premium web series, Cobra Kai, a continuation of The Karate Kid franchise set 34 years after the original film. The series debuted on May 2, 2018, and was met with critical success. The show was renewed for a second season, which was published on April 24, 2019. In June 2020, Netflix purchased the series, producing a third, fourth,^[10] fifth and sixth season.

In 2019, Kove parodied his Karate Kid character in a QuickBooks commercial, in which a kinder, gentler Kreese runs a "Koala Kai" dojo of preteen students who are encouraged to "support the leg" and to show "more mercy."^[11]

Kove was one of the celebrities competing on season 30 of Dancing with the Stars in 2021.^[12] He and his professional dance partner, Britt Stewart, were the first couple to be eliminated.^[13]

Personal life

Kove is the father of twins, born in 1990.^[14] One of the twins, Jesse, portrayed the young man who bullies the younger version of his father’s character, John Kreese, in flashbacks for seasons 3 and 4 of Cobra Kai.^[15]

Filmography

Key
†	Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	Little Murders	Unknown	Uncredited
1971	Women in Revolt	Marty
1972	Savages	Archie
1972	The Last House on the Left	Deputy Harry
1973	Cops and Robbers	Ambulance Attendant
1975	The Wild Party	Editor
1975	Capone	Peter "Goosey" Gusenberg
1975	Death Race 2000	Nero "The Hero"
1975	White Line Fever	Clem
1976	The Four Deuces	"Smokey" Ross
1977	The White Buffalo	Jack McCall
1979	Seven	Skip
1982	Blood Tide	Neil Grice
1984	The Karate Kid	Sensei John Kreese
1985	Rambo: First Blood Part II	Michael Reed Ericson
1986	The Karate Kid Part II	Sensei John Kreese
1987	Steele Justice	John Steele
1989	The Karate Kid Part III	Sensei John Kreese
1991	White Light	Sean Craig
1992	Project Shadowchaser	DeSilva	Direct-to-video
1992	Shootfighter: Fight to the Death	Mr. Lee
1993	Karate Tiger 7: To Be the Best	Rick Kulhane
1994	Wyatt Earp	Ed Ross
1994	Frank and Jesse	Unknown	Uncredited
1994	Future Shock	Dr. Langdon
1996	Timelock	Admiral Danny Teegs
1996	Mercenary	Mr. Phoenix
1998	Joseph's Gift	Thompsonn
2000	Nowhere Land	Hank
2002	Crocodile 2: Death Swamp	Roland
2002	Curse of the Forty-Niner	Caleb
2004	Illusion Infinity	Taxi Driver
2005	Glass Trap	Corrigan
2005	Miracle at Sage Street	Jess
2006	Max Havoc: Ring of Fire	Lieutenant Reynolds
2007	The Dead Sleep Easy	Bob DePugh
2008	Chinaman's Chance: America's Other Slaves	Sheriff Jones
2009	Middle Men	Senator
2011	Savage	Jack Lund
2011	The Life Zone	Randy Graves
2013	I'm in Love with a Church Girl	Terry Edgemond
2014	Falcon Song	Caspian
2014	Eternity: The Movie	Barry Goldfield Sr.
2014	Tapped Out	Principal Vanhorne
2014	The Extendables	Aye Lewis
2015	The Dog Who Saved Summer	Vernon
2016	Traded	Cavendish
2016	Jokers Wild	Graham Palace
2017	Bring Me A Dream	Sheriff Jack Miller
2018	Paint It Red	Scabs
2019	Once Upon a Time in Hollywood	Sheriff On Bounty Law
2019	VFW	Lou Clayton
2020	Elvis From Outer Space	State Trooper
2020	A Wrestling Christmas Miracle	Warden Jeffries
TBA	Killing Mary Sue †	TBA	Post-production^[16]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1974	Rhoda	Gary	Episode: "Anything Wrong"
1974	Gunsmoke	Guthrie	Episode: "In Performance of Duty"
1975	Three for the Road	Unknown	Episode: "The Rip-off"
1975	Switch	Bud	Episode: "The Deadly Missiles Caper"
1976	Kojak	Burl Stole	Episode: "Law Dance"
1976	The Streets of San Francisco	Willis Hines	Episode: "The Drop"
1977	The Rockford Files	Harry Smick	Episode: "Dirty Money, Black Light"
1977	Code R	George Baker	12 episodes
1977	The San Pedro Beach Bums	Denny Evans	Episode: "The Shortest Yard"
1977	Charlie’s Angels	George	s2e14
1977–1978	We've Got Each Other	Ken Redford	5 episodes
1978	The Incredible Hulk	Henry "Rocky" Welsh	Episode: "Final Round"
1978–1979	Barnaby Jones	Greg Saunders / Stan Benson	2 episodes
1979	Quincy, M.E.	Joe	Episode: "The Death Challenge"
1979	Starsky and Hutch	Jimmy	Episode: "Birds of a Feather"
1979	CHiPs	Joe Kirby	Episodes: "The Death Challenge"; "Hot Wheels"
1980–1981	The Edge of Night	Romeo Slade	16 episodes
1982	Cry for the Strangers	Jeff	Television film
1982–1988	Cagney & Lacey	Victor Isbecki	Main role
1983	The Optimist	The Rival	Episode: "The Good, The Bad, and the Nasty"
1985	Murder, She Wrote	Gary Ellison	Episode: "Armed Response"
1985	The Twilight Zone	Joe	Episode: "Opening Day"
1989	Hard Time on Planet Earth	Jesse	13 episodes
1993	Renegade	Mitch Raines / Goliath	2 episodes
1993	Tales from the Crypt (TV series)	Police Officer	Episode: "Half-Way Horrible"
1993–1994	Kung Fu: The Legend Continues	Chi'Ru Master	2 episodes
1994	Cagney & Lacey: The Return	Victor Isbecki	Television film
1995	Walker, Texas Ranger	Fred Kimble	Episode: "Flashback"
1995	Hercules: The Legendary Journeys	Demetrius	Episode: "The Mother of All Monsters"
1997	Assault on Devil's Island	Andy Powers	TV film
1998–1999	Diagnosis: Murder	Captain Walter Newman	3 episodes
1999	Assault on Death Mountain	Andy Powers	TV film
2001	Under Heavy Fire	Father Brazinski	Television film
2001	Black Scorpion	James Ames / Firearm	Episode: "Armed and Dangerous"
2003	Hard Ground	Floyd	Television film
2003	Barbarian	Munkar	Television film
2009	War Wolves	Malick	Television film
2011	Tosh.0	John Kreese	Episode: "Broad Breaker"
2013	Our Wild Hearts	Grizz	Movie
2015	Criminal Minds	John Folkmore	Episode: "Scream"
2017	The Goldbergs	Master John	Episode: "The Kara-Te Kid"
2018–Present	Cobra Kai	John Kreese	Guest (season 1) Main role (seasons 2–present)
2021	Dancing with the Stars	Himself / Contestant	Season 30
2024	A Taste of Love	Glenn	Television film (Hallmark)