Actor Martin Kove (“Cobra Kai” and “The Karate Kid”) chatted about his latest endeavors, which include “Prodigal Son” and filming a new season of “Cobra Kai” on Netflix.
‘Cobra Kai’ Season 6
Martin is the midst of filming the new season of the hit Netflix series “Cobra Kai” and he revealed that there are a lot of “good surprises coming up in all of the shows we are shooting.” “I am here in Atlanta now filming it, and there is a lot of good writing on the show,” he said.
“Looking back, ‘The Karate Kid’ movies were wonderful. At the time, I don’t think any of us really liked the title. It was really fascinating that it has been the gift that keeps on giving to Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, and myself.”
Working with Sean Kanan
Kove had great words about working with Emmy winner Sean Kanan in both “Cobra Kai” and “The Karate Kid Part III.”
“Sean [Kanan] is a good guy,” he exclaimed. “Sean has mellowed out over the years. He is a hard worker and a very good boy. Sean is a very industrious fellow; he wrote a few books.”
‘A Taste of Love’ on Hallmark
Most recently, Kove starred in the Hallmark movie “A Taste of Love” opposite his son Jesse Kove and Erin Cahill.
In this rom-com, a pigeonholed chef determined to make her name as a respected culinary chef returns to her hometown to consider re-upping her cooking show contract, only to reconnect with her childhood crush, who inspires her to enter a local cooking competition.
‘Far Haven’
On being a part of “Far Haven,” he said, “That was a lot of fun. We did that one with a bunch of friends, it was a good experience. I would love to do a sequel to that because westerns are popular.”
“It was great working with A Martinez in ‘Far Haven.’ He is a wonderful actor and a good guy. Hopefully, they will do a sequel to this. It will be good because it is very sequel-oriented,” he said.
“I was brought up on westerns and we get to see so many heroes from westerns,” he said.
“We haven’t seen many westerns until recently when Taylor Sheridan created ‘Yellowstone,’ ‘1883,’ and ‘1923.’ I love Taylor Sheridan’s work. I wish I could be in his new movie. He has a new western film coming up. Taylor is an extremely talented writer,” he elaborated.
‘Prodigal Son’
Kove revealed that they have a “Prodigal Son” deal coming with the comic book. He launched the comic book with his son, Jesse, and they will be doing a TV series. “We are trying to find a showrunner right now,” he admitted. “This project is very exciting for us.”
“I created four different comic books with four treatments and four different issues,” he said.
“Then, it will be a series hopefully. It is a story of a 12-year-old boy and an old gunfighter teaming up and bonding in search of the bad guy. The bad guys were a gang that I basically created and then, they ostracized. It really is a good story and there will be four issues. I have the intellectual property for it and then, it will evolve into a TV series,” he explained.
‘Gravesend’
“I played a guest role on ‘Gravesend,’ where I put on a beard and I played the rabbi who works with the mob,” he said. “It was wonderful. I worked with William DeMeo, who wrote and directed the series, and he has a new season going on. That was a lot of fun, especially to play a rabbi and to do the different accents.”
“Jesse did a good job too who plays a wise guy nephew of mine, who gets beaten up by the mob. In the role, he acts inappropriately but he did great,” Martin added.
“I really enjoy doing these departure roles such as ‘Gravesend’ and the Hallmark movie ‘A Taste of Love’,” he admitted.
The digital age
On being an actor in the digital age, Kove said, “In the digital age, you get a chance to see some really good products without network involvement and centering. Some of it is good, and some of it is a little violent. You get a chance to see a lot of interesting stories.”
“Some of the movies that are being made now are terrific,” he exclaimed. “For instance, I think ‘Poor Things’ is going to win the Oscar for ‘Best Picture.’ It is just a wonderful movie.”
“It’s all about us seeing this woman played by Emma Stone, and seeing her experience the very fundamental things that we take for granted now because we are not children anymore,” he said.
Martin continued, “Her character has the brain of an eight-year-old and she has experienced everything from eating to sex as new experiences. Her performance is fascinating, and the writing is wonderful as well. Yorgos Lanthimos’ vision is the star of the piece. He is the star, there is no questions about that.”
Advice for young and aspiring actors
For young and aspiring actors, Martin said, “The name of the game is tenacity. You have to be able to understand that if they don’t hire you, then it’s their mistake. I say that to my son, Jesse, all the time, even though he is hot right now.”
“We just did a western together in Florida, where he plays a character who makes a deal with the devil to be the fastest gun in the West, and he does wonderful things. I still have to tell him that, and I even say that to myself. If I don’t get the parts that I want, then I remind myself that it’s their mistake,” Kove elaborated.
“The one thing that I’ve learned in this business is that there is no formula for anything,” he said.
“I think showbusiness and primarily moviemaking is not like the garment center or the diamond business or the drug business because there is no formula,” he noted.
“You do what you need to do to make the moments occur to embellish a picture and have the creative process dominate everything. That’s the priority: the creative process,” he acknowledged.
“Whatever you think the creative process should be, you have to stand up for it,” he added.
Stage of his life
On the title of the current chapter of his life, Martin said, “How to Appreciate Your Blessings.”
“Also, appreciating your family and not getting caught up in showbusiness for the sake of showbusiness. That’s a big lesson since it ensures how to appreciate your blessings,” he said.
Superpower of choice
If he were to have any superpower, it would be to “maintain family cohesively and with a lot of love.”
“That would be a superpower that I would like,” he admitted. “Also, I would like to have a legacy to create heroes for children, especially in the western genre.”
“Family has become far more important as one gets more successful. You really have to know that your last director, producer, and agent aren’t necessarily going to show up on your deathbed. It is going to be family.”
Success
On his definition of the word success, Martin said, “Success means further discovering a love for yourself.”
“I mean that in the highest level of metaphysics and spiritualism,” he said. “Just because we accomplish a lot in business is not always the wherewithal. It’s not always the end result of your life. Use it properly to benefit others, to spread it across the family, and to energize others that are less fortunate.”
Fans and supporters
For his fans and supporters, Martin remarked, “For those that are artistically included, remember that you have to fulfill your dreams.”
“At times, it is difficult to fulfill your dreams because you run into a lot of obstacles, and you need to stay with it. Maintain your dreams and do not allow people to push you away from your passion,” he concluded.
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