William Zabka: The jerk from The Karate Kid

William Zabka will always be the bully, said Sean O’Neal in The A.V. Club. More that 25 years after he played Johnny, the smirking blond nemesis to Ralph Macchio’s Daniel in The Karate Kid, Zabka is still associated with the role. Zabka was a high school wrestler with a few acting credits and no knowledge of karate when he won the part. “It was the first script I ever read where I thought, ‘Well, this is kind of easy, I don’t even have to act this,’” he says.

After the film came out, some people believed Zabka and his character were one and the same, and wanted to fight him. “There was a rumor that there was some karate gang looking for me,” he says. “I had a couple of guys that wanted to challenge me. I diffused that real quick and explained that I’m an actor, and if you want to get my stunt choreographer here, I’d be happy to fight you.”

Throughout the ’80s, he was offered role after role playing the smug teenage villain, always instructed by directors to “be more like the guy you did in The Karate Kid.” Now 44, he’s heard the phrase “Sweep the leg, Johnny!”—a reference to the film’s famous fight scene—more times than he can remember, which he takes as a compliment on a job well done. “If you’re going to play a tool,” he says, “play him to the max.”

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