The Karate Kid Part III Cast – Then And Now

The Karate Kid Part III Cast – Then And Now! Released in 1989, five-years after the first Karate Kid movie was released, Daniel finds himself back in California. Once again crossing paths with the Cobra Kai dojo, as old and new enemies unite against him. Thankfully Mr. Miyagi is still by his side, helping him navigate the pitfalls of being a teenager…despite being twenty-seven years old in real life.

While The Karate Kid Part III may not have had rave reviews, it was panned by critics and received a Golden Raspberry Award nomination, Karate Kid fans around the world still love it! Packed with action, and with another visit to the All Valley Karate Championships, what’s not to like?

The Karate Kid Part III Cast – Then And Now

Then: In the three years between The Karate Kid Part II and the Karate Kid Part III, Ralph Macchio had only had one other acting credit, playing Jack Lambert in Ditstant Thunder (1988).

He had however had roles in about a dozen movies in total by this time. These included roles in Up The Academy (1980), The Outsiders (1983), Teaches (1984) and Crossroads (1986), as well as the two previous Karate Kid movies.

Now: Ralph would go on to have parts in My Cousin Vinny (1992) and Hitchcock (2012) as well as numerous other movie roles.

While Macchio has appeared in a number of 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 Machhio, William Zabka and Martin Kove, taking up their roles as Danny, Johnny and John Kreese once again.

Then: In the years between The Karate Kid Part II and The Karate Kid Part III, Pat Morita starred in the TV series ‘Ohara’ as the lead actor. However, poor ratings meant that the show was cancelled after just two seasons. In Brazil the show was known as “Karate Kid Ohara”. Morita did, however, have twenty-five years of acting experience by this time, 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 movie, The Next Karate Kid, in 1994. The fourth movie features an entirely new cast, with Hilary Swank playing the lead role of Julie.

Other TV roles included The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, Boy Meets World and The Outer Limits.

Then: Robyn Lively played the part of Daniel Larusso’s close friend Jessica. Originally she was supposed to be his love interest, but at the time of casting she was 17, while Daniel Larusso was 18, Ralph Macchio was actually 27 years old in real life.  This caused issues as Robyn was still a minor and so scenes had to be re-written.

By the time she got the role as Jessica, Robyn had been in the industry over a decade, appearing in movies such as Wildcats in 1986, as well as numerous TV appearances.

Now: Since The Karate Kid Part III, Robyn has continued to act consistently, largely in TV. Acting credits include Twin Peaks, Quantum Leap, The X-Files, CSI: NY, 30 Rock and The Good Doctor.

Then: In the time between the first and third Karate Kid movies, Martin Kove only appeared in Rambo II (1985) and Steele Justice (1987). While not the busiest actor in Hollywood, he had by this time been a professional actor almost twenty-years. With roles in movies such as The Last House On the Left (1972) and Death Race 2000 (1975).

Now: Since The Karate Kid Part III Martin has continued to act. Most of his roles have been in movies that went straight to video throughout the 90’s and 00’s. He did, however, have a role in Kevin Costner movie Wyatt Earp (1994), .

More recently Martin has gone back to his Cobra Kai roots! Making an appearance in season 2 of the Youtube series ‘Cobra Kai’. Taking on his role of Sensei John Kreese once again.

Then: The Karate Kid Part III was Thomas Ian Griffith first feature film, having only made TV appearances prior to the film.

Now: Since his part in The Karate Kid Part III, he has continued to act consistently in both movies and TV. This has included roles in Behind Enemy Lines (1997), XXX (2002) and Timecop 2 (2003).

He is married to his former ‘Another World’ co-star Mary Page Keller and holds black belts in tae kwon do and Kenpo karate.

Then: Sean Kanan played the role of Mike Barnes, who bullies Daniel Larusso into fighting at the All Valley Karate Championships. This was Kanan’s second movie role, after appearing in Hide And Go Shriek a year earlier.

Now: Since his part in The Karate Kid Part III he went on to appear in numerous movies, however, most of his work has been on TV. These include roles in General Hospital, Sunset Beach, The Bold and the Beautiful and Desperate Housewives.

In the mid 90’s Kanan struggled with alcoholism, these days however he spends his time doing martial arts, cooking and writing scripts. He also studies Italian, French, Mandarin, Russian and Japanese.

Then: Jonathan took on the role of Snake, son of Terry Silver. He, along with Mike Barnes and Dennis continually antagonise Daniel Larusso to get him to fight at the All Valley Karate Tournament. This was Jonathan Avildsen’s very first on-screen role, he is the son of John G. Avildsen, director of all three Karate Kid movies.

Now: Over the next decade Jonathon had very few roles, he did, however, play a druggy in Rock V (1990), another movie directed by his father. His last acting credit came in 2002 for the movie White Boy.

Then: William Christopher Ford played the role of Dennis Silver, brother of Snake and son of Terry. He played the strong and silent type, also antagonizing Daniel Larusso. By the time William had got his role in The Karate Kid Part III, he had been acting on-screen in movies and TV for four years. This included a small role in Knight Rider as a ninja.

Now: Since The Karate Kid Part III, William has continued to act sporadically in both TV and movies. While he has not had any major roles in large productions, he continues to appear on screen in smaller productions.

Ford is a 5th-degree black belt in Okinawan Shorin Ryu Karate, he has also studied Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kick-Boxing.

Then: Taking on the role of Daniel LaRusso’s mother for a second time, Randee Heller had been very busy making a career in TV between the first and third movie. She had leading roles in Better Days, Second Chance, as well as appearances in numerous other shows including ALF.

Now: Since The Karate Kid Part III, Randee Heller has continued to work consistently in television. This has included roles in Murder, She Wrote, Melrose Place, ER, Mad Men, Desperate House Wives and Modern Family.

More recently however she has reprised her role as Lucille LaRusso is Youtube’s Cobra Kai series.

Then: Also returning for a second time is the referee at the All Valley Karate Championships. Unnamed in the movie, the role was played by Pat E. Johnson.

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 he did in the first Karate Kid film.

Now: After his role on The Karate Kid Part III cast, Pat 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.

Then: Jan Triska joinmed The Karate Kid III cast in the role of Milos. Milos was a hotel concierge in Prague that Terry Silver hired to work for him in the United States.

Prior to The Karate Kid III, Triska had worked in TV and movies in his home country of Czechoslovakia (now Czechia). He would later move to the USA where he would work on US shows such as Airwolf.

Now: Triska continued to act right up until his death in 2017, at the age of 80. For reasons yet to be determined, Triska fell from the Charles Bridge in Prague. Passengers on a nearby boat rescued him from the Vltava river, after which he was resuscitated and hospitalized in serious condition. He died in hospital two days later, on 25 September 2017