Martin Kove is a veteran actor whose biggest claim to fame was the Karate Kid franchise.
Kove, 75, played the evil Cobra Kai sensei John Kreese, the man who made young Daniel LaRusso’s life a living hell in the first movie.
Kove also returned for the TV series Cobra Kai, where he continued to torment his former student Johnny Lawrence as the man tried to turn his life around.
Martin had worked as an actor since 1971 and appeared in the cult classic Death Race 2000 in 1975 as Nero The Hero.
However, it was The Karate Kid that made Kove a star, typecasting him as a villain for most of his career. He appeared in The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid Part II, and The Karate Kid Part III. He then became a main cast member in Cobra Kai starting in Season 2.
Kove took this role seriously, as he trained under black belt Gordon Doversola Shihan, the same man who trained Jim Kelly for his role in Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon.
Action movie fans also might remember him from Rambo: First Blood Part II where he starred as the helicopter pilot who betrayed his men and the lead role in the action movie Steele Justice.
While he was not as prominent over the last three decades, Kove continued to work regularly, appearing in mostly smaller low budget movies consistently.
In 2019, he got a role in a big-budget movie thanks to Quentin Tarantino in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
You can follow Martin Kove on Instagram at @martinkove.
When the announcement arrived, Martin posted a photo of him in an almost Cobra Kai standard pose.
“Sweep the dance floor! Who’s ready for this?,” he wrote.
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He also posted a video with clips from The Karate Kid, writing, “It’s official, and I’m honored to sweep the dance floor for season 30 of @dancingabc.”
He also showed that, at the age of 75, he is still willing to work out hard to keep in shape and prepare for his role on Dancing with the Stars.
Martin Kove has over 671,000 Instagram followers. That number will surely help as the votes start to come in after he begins his journey on Dancing with the Stars Season 30.
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