YouTube Barrett Carnahan portrays a younger John Kreese in Cobra Kai Season 3.
In the “Karate Kid” franchise, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) has had his fair share of rivals. However, ruthless sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove) has consistently caused the most issues. On the acclaimed series “Cobra Kai,” the Vietnam veteran becomes even more of a problem after he reclaims the Cobra Kai dojo and manipulates his new students into harming members of Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang Karate.
In “Cobra Kai” season 3, Kreese’s behavior was explained through flashbacks. It was revealed that the character had a traumatic life and serving in the war caused him to develop an aggressive demeanor.
Fans of “Cobra Kai” who appreciated Barrett Carnahan’s performance as the younger version of Kreese may be wondering if the 28-year-old actor will be returning for the show’s fourth season.
It Has Not Been Announced If Young Kreese Will Be in Season 4
It has not been officially announced if Carnahan will be in the upcoming season of “Cobra Kai,” expected to be released on Netflix later this year. However, the show’s co-creator and executive producer, Jon Hurwitz, recently revealed on Twitter that fans “can expect more flashbacks in Season 4.” That being said, he did not clarify which characters will be featured in said flashbacks.
In a January interview with TVLine, the show’s other creator, Hayden Schlossberg, expressed interest in continuing to explore Young Kreese’s storyline. While he did not mention if Carnahan will reprise the role in future seasons of “Cobra Kai,” he revealed that he would like the opportunity to have him star in a spin-off series about Kreese’s life.
“We spend time with Kreese’s backstory [in Season 3], but we could’ve spent more time with Kreese’s backstory. We have so many things to tell in these half-hour episodes, it ends up not being enough,” explained the executive producer.
Barrett Carnahan Revealed Martin Kove Gave Him Tips To Play the Character
In a January live stream, uploaded on the Cobra Kai Kid YouTube Channel, Carnahan discussed his performance as Kreese. He noted that Martin Kove gave him some tips on how to portray the iconic character. The 75-year-old explained that Kreese is constantly listening.
“He talked specifically about how Kreese listens and how he observes and that really really stuck with me,” explained the actor. “The fact that he talked about how he’s always calculating every situation that he’s in and luckily the script allowed me to incorporate a lot of moments where I was just being silent and I was able to just watch and observe.”
He also revealed that he mirrored some of Kove’s mannerisms. He explained that he noticed when Kove’s version of Kreese listens, “he tilts his head down and observes everything around him.” The actor went on to say that he attempted to mimic Kove’s subtle Brooklyn accent.
“Something that’s frustrating to me is when I see actors playing the young version of a person, and they talk completely different. It’s frustrating to me, but I didn’t want to do like I said like a total impression of him. I wanted it to be ever so slightly,” stated the 28-year-old.
To see Carnahan as Kreese, check out “Cobra Kai,” available to stream on Netflix.
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