The Karate Kid Part II Cast – Then And Now

The Karate Kid Part II was released in 1986, two years after the original movie. The majority of The Karate Kid Part II cast is entirely new, apart from one scene at the beginning of the movie. The story picks up directly after the first movie, outside the All Valley Karate Championships. In the first scene, we see John Kreese break the 2^nd place trophy that Johnny Lawrence won and a minor incident taking place, which Mr. Miyagi deals with.

This scene was actually filmed for the first movie, however, it was never used and so they put it in this movie. If you want to see what Johnny Lawrence and the rest of the Cobra Kai are up to you can do so here – The Karate Kid Cast.

After that first scene, Mr. Miyagi and Daniel take a trip to Okinawa to visit Mr. Miyagi’s dying father. After leaving behind Daniel’s issues with the Cobra Kai, it’s not long before Daniel finds himself at odds with the Okinawa locals. We take a look at what The Karate Kid Part II cast is up to today.

The Karate Kid Part II Cast – Then And Now

Then: Back for the second installment, Ralph Macchio had managed to fit in three movies between The Karate Kid and The Karate Kid Part II. This included Teachers (1984) and Crossroads (1986).

Prior to filming The Karate Kid Ralph had roles in movies such as The Outsiders (1983) and Up The Academy (1980).

Now: Ralph Macchio went on to play ‘The Karate Kid’ one more time in The Karate Kid Part 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 continuation of The Karate Kid, it takes place three decades after the original movies. The shows stars Ralph Macchio, William Zabka and Martin Kove, taking up their roles as Danny, Johnny and John Kreese once again.

Then: After the first Karate Kid movie Pat Morita had parts in numerous TV movies. This included the part of a horse in the TV movie Alice In Wonderland (1985).

Prior to The Karate Kid movies, Pat had acting credits going back all the way to 1964.

Now: Pat Morita continued to act right up until his death 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.

Then: Born in Okinawa, Japan, Tamlyn got her very first on-screen role after traveling to Hawaii and being selected for the part of Kumiko in The Karate Kid Part II. Kumiko was Daniel’s love interest in this movie. While the movie was set in Japan, it was actually filmed in Oahu, Hawaii.

Now: After her big break in Karate Kid Part II, Tamlyn carried on working in the industry. She went on to appear in numerous movies and TV shows. These included movies such as The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and TV shows such as 24, How To Get Away With Murder, True Blood, Glee and CSI: Miami, to name a few.

Then: Born in Los Angeles, California, Yuji Okumoto made his screen debut in 1985, a year before he played the role of Chozen in The Karate Kid Part II. Chozen becomes Daniel’s rival in the movie, with the movie ending in a fight between the two.

Now: Yuji has had a solid acting career ever since Karate Kid Part II and continues to act today. His credits include The Truman Show (1998), Pearl Harbor (2001) and Christopher Nolan’s Inception (2010).

He currently resides in Seattle, Washington, where he and his family own a Hawaii-themed restaurant called Kona Kitchen.

Then: The Karate Kid Part II was Danny Kamekona’s movie debut. He took on the role of Sato, uncle of Chozen and once best friend of Mr. Miyagi. He had previously had parts in TV shows such as Hawaii Five-O and 21 Jump Street.

Now: After The Karate Kid Part II, Danny continued to act in TV and movies. His roles included movies such as Problem Child (1990), and TV shows such as Walker, Texas Ranger and Burke’s Law.

Unfortunately, Burke’s Law in 1995 would be his final acting role. He was found dead in his apartment in Los Angeles, California on May 12, 1996, at the age of 60.

Then: Nobu McCarthy was a Japanese-Canadian actress who made her debut in The Geisha Boy (1958) after being discovered by talent agent Fred Ishimoto. Over the next three decades, before her role in The Karate Kid Part II, she would go on to make appearances in numerous TV shows and movies. She took on the role of Yukie, aunt of Kumiko and former girlfriend of Mr. Miyagi.

Now: After her role in the Karate Kid Part II she continued to act in TV and movies. She also had a role as artistic director at East West Players and taught theatre at California State University and UCLA.

In 2002, at the age of 67, Nobu McCarthy died from an aneurysm while on location in Brazil, filming the movie Gaijin 2: Love Me As I Am.

Then: Having made his debut in the movie Stand Alone in 1985, Joey Miyashima got his second acting role as a member of The Karate Kid Part II cast just a year later. He played the part of Toshio, a minor antagonist and one of Chozen’s cronies whom help torment and antagonize Daniel Larusso.

Now: Since his role in The Karate Kid Part II, Joey has had numerous minor roles, generally in television movies. He did, however, play the principal in Disney’s High School Musical (2006) and High School Musical 3 (2008).

Then: Marc played the role of Taro, another one of Chozen’s goons who antagonize Daniel Larusso. Prior to his role in the movie he had two acting credits, Chan Is Missing (1982) and Angel (1984).

Now: Since his role as Taro, Marc has only had two further movie acting credits, for White Of The Eye (1987) and The Laser Man (1988). He went on to become a member of the Asian American Theater Company, where he acts and directs.

Unfortunately trying to find a recent photo of Marc has proved a difficult task. Having not been in the public eye for over thirty years, any photos of him are decades old.

Then: BD Wong had a small unnamed role in The Karate Kid Part II, playing a boy in the street who invites Daniel and Kumido to a dance club. At the time of the movie, California-born Wong had only had one previous role in the TV movie ‘No Big Deal’.

Now: Since appearing in The Kate Kid Part II BD Wong has been very busy. He has continued to act in both TV and movies, including huge hits such as Jurassic Park (1993), Jurassic World (2015), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) and Bird Box (2018).

TV appearances have included The X-Files, Oz, Chicago Hope, Law & Order and Mr. Robot. However, it’s Broadway where Wong has gained most attention. He is the only actor to have ever won a Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Circle Critics Award, Clarence Derwent Award and Theatre World Award for the same role. All of which he received for his part in M. Butterfly opposite John Lithgow.

Then: Clarence Gilyard played the role of a G.I. who takes part in the ice breaking competition. He had numerous roles in TV in the years before his part in The Karate Kid Part II, however, 1986 was his first appearance on the big screen, with roles in this movie and Top Gun.

Now: Since his role in The Karate Kid Part II, Clarence has continued to act consistently in both TV and movies. This included roles in Die Hard (1988) and Walker, Texas Ranger.

In 2003 Gilyard received a Master of Fine Arts at Southern Methodist University. He is currently an Associate Professor in the College of Fine Arts Department of Theatre at the University of Nevada.