Was William Zabka A Real-Life Bully?

Getty William Zabka talks on a panel during the 2019 San Diego Comic Con.

While Cobra Kai portrays Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) as a multidimensional empathetic character, when he was introduced in the 1984 film The Karate Kid, he was presented as a bully with a violent streak.

This may have led some fans to wonder if the actor who plays him shared that characteristic.

During a 2011 interview with GQ, Zabka spoke about being compared to his character Johnny Lawrence. When asked if he ever ‘was a bully,” the actor asserted “[n]ot at all.”

He clarified there was one incident where he acted a bit menacing when he was a teenager. He told the publication:

Well, actually, I was a wrestler in high school. One tournament, I ended up in the finals. For two hours, I stalked this kid around the gym, just staring him down and trying to intimidate him before our match. But when they called us out for the match, another guy came out. I realized I was staring down the wrong guy.

Zabka Was Taught Self-Defense By His Father

GettyWilliam Zabka and Ralph Macchio speak at the 2019 Comic-Con in San Diego.

While speaking to Vanity Fair in 2018, alongside his Cobra Kai co-star Ralph Macchio, Zabka commented on whether he was bullied as a child. The New York native stated that he “was 10 years old” when his family “moved… to California.” He noted that while he had an unfortunate haircut and “was a total fish out of water,” he was not a victim of bullying because he could physically defend himself.

“[C]oming from New York, I grew up throwing fists and getting hit. I stood my ground, and gained their respect. My dad taught me how to fight really young. He’d take me down to the basement and let me punch him in the jaw, to let me know what it felt like to hit someone. He wanted me to learn to not be afraid. It sounds harsh, but it was the 70s, man,” explained the actor.

The Actor Has Vocalized His Dislike for Bullies

Getty William Zabka strikes a pose at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.

The father-of-two has also been vocal about the fact that he dislikes bullies. During the 2019 San Diego Comic Con, Zabka shared his opinion on ways to combat bullying in the modern-day. In a video, that was uploaded on the CineMovie YouTube channel, he noted that bullies target their victims differently in “the age of the internet.”

“It’s way worse than when I was a kid… You know, you get picked [on] or get in a fight at school, and you go home and that was that. Or you’d have an argument or a disagreement with somebody at school you’d go home and work it out, or you have an enemy on campus, but it’s between you two and their small circle,” said the actor. “Now it’s like the freakin’ cyberbullying and groups and pack stuff and my heartbreaks, man, it really breaks for kids that are bullied or intimidated. It’s not physical — it’s more than the physical, that’s the least that hurts.”

He noted that “adults” should take a page from Cobra Kai by “stepping in and trying to make a difference in these kids’ lives.” He also recommended for bullied youths to start training in the martial arts.

“It gets you in touch with your inner self, your mind, it gives you a confidence, you walk different,” explained the actor.

To see more of Zabka, be sure to watch Cobra Kai Season 3, available on Netflix.

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