This list of The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai characters reflects fictional characters from The Karate Kid franchise.
Films
The Karate Kid (1984) CharacterActorDescriptionDaniel LaRussoRalph MacchioThe main protagonist of The Karate Kid franchise. He has recently moved to Los Angeles from his native New Jersey with his mother, Lucille, and takes up Karate with his Sensei, Mr. Miyagi, to defend himself from bullies. He returns as one of the main characters in Cobra Kai, where he and his wife, Amanda run a dealership called LaRusso Auto. He has two children: Samantha and Anthony. he gets back into Karate and eventually becomes friends with all of his main rivals from the 1980s, Johnny, Chozen and Mike. He appears again in Karate Kid: Legends, where he teams up with Mr. Han to help train a boy from New York named Li Fong.Mr. MiyagiPat Morita, Brian Takahashi (young)A karate master from Okinawa from the first four The Karate Kid films who served as a teacher for both Daniel LaRusso and Julie Pierce. Mr. Miyagi served in the US Army fighting in World War II before ending up as a maintenance man and later a karate master. In his later years, Mr. Miyagi formed a close friendship with Daniel's wife, Amanda, and became a grandfather figure to their two children, Samantha and Anthony, who he referred to as his grandchildren in letters written to Yukie. In Cobra Kai, it is revealed that he had died in 2011. Over the course of the show, he is mentioned numerous times (mainly by Daniel), is seen in photographs and newspaper clippings, appears through archival footage, and in Cobra Kai season 6, appears in Daniel's dreams. In Karate Kid: Legends, Mr. Han reveals to Daniel that he and Mr. Miyagi were good friends and shows Daniel a photo of them together.Ali MillsElisabeth ShueDaniel and Johnny's former high school girlfriend, and the cause of their rivalry. She appears in Cobra Kai season 3, where she recounts attending UCLA for college, going to medical school, marrying oncologist Gregory Schwarber, and having two children named Lucas and Ava. She also states that they are getting a divorce. During a dinner with Daniel, Johnny, and Amanda, she clarifies why she and Daniel broke up, and helps Daniel and Johnny resolve their differences.Johnny LawrenceWilliam Zabka, Owen Stone (young), Thomas Parobek (young)The secondary antagonist of The Karate Kid and one of the main protagonists of Cobra Kai. He was the top student of the Cobra Kai dojo back in the 1980s, a two-time defending champion of the All Valley Under-18 Karate Championships, and Daniel's high school rival, whom Daniel ultimately defeats in the All Valley. They meet again a few decades later in Cobra Kai. While he originally brings back Cobra Kai to help kids gain great strength and confidence, he later sees the negative effects John Kreese and the dojo's philosophy is having on many of his students. He quits being a Cobra Kai sensei in the season 2 finale, and opens his own dojo in season 3: Eagle Fang Karate. In season 6, he receives Cobra Kai back from Kreese and ultimately reforms it alongside Daniel. In Karate Kid: Legends, he appears at Miyagi-Do who scoffs at the idea of New York pizza being sent all the way to California, but than jokingly suggests they open up a pizzeria named Miyagi-Dough, much to Daniel's annoyance.John KreeseMartin Kove, Barrett Carnahan (young)The main antagonist of The Karate Kid, and one of the two main antagonists (alongside Terry Silver) of Cobra Kai. Johnny's sensei and a co-founder of the Cobra Kai dojo. Served as a Special Forces veteran in the Vietnam War before opening the Cobra Kai dojo with his best friend, Terry Silver. He returns in the season 1 finale of Cobra Kai, and once again becomes the main Cobra Kai sensei in season 2. However, he loses control of the dojo in the season 4 finale when he is framed by Terry Silver, and is sent to prison throughout all of season 5. In season 6, after escaping from prison, he forms a new Cobra Kai dojo in South Korea alongside Kim Da-eun, the granddaughter of his original sensei. He ultimately regrets his actions after seeing the death of Kwon Jae-Sung, and, after handing Cobra Kai over to Johnny, sacrifices himself to stop Silver from kidnapping Johnny's wife and daughter.Lucille LaRussoRandee HellerDaniel's mother, a widow, Amanda's mother-in-law and paternal grandmother of Samantha and Anthony. She was concerned with how Daniel was being harassed by Johnny and his gang. In The Karate Kid II, though she doesn't appear on-screen, she gets a new job in Fresno for the summer, but allows Daniel to stay with Mr. Miyagi. In The Karate Kid III, she briefly appears, having gone back to Newark to look after her brother-in-law, Louie Sr., who is ill. In Cobra Kai, she and Amanda have a troubled relationship that is later fixed by Lucille's granddaughter Samantha. In Cobra Kai season 6, she helps solve the mystery on Mr. Miyagi stealing the necklace revealing the necklace belonged to Mr. Miyagi's mother and a guard stole the necklace and Mr. Miyagi was fighting the guard to get it back, revealing Mr. Miyagi was never a thief. Mr. Miyagi gave the necklace to Lucille when he was dying to one day give it to Samantha, which she does as a graduation present.Bobby BrownRon ThomasA friend of Johnny; trained under John Kreese's dojo, Cobra Kai; he bullied Daniel along with his friends, but was more compassionate then the others and knew when things were going too far and pleaded to his friends Daniel had enough, only to be ignored; was later tasked to kick Daniel "out of commission" by injuring his knee at the Tournament, which Bobby deeply regretted doing as he wanted to fight Daniel fairly, and got disqualified from the Tournament as a result; he then quits Cobra Kai completely for his actions. In The Karate Kid II, after Kreese starts attacking Johnny, he tries to stop Kreese, but gets beaten up by him. In Cobra Kai season 2 and Cobra Kai season 3, he appears as a pastor; in the third season, he visits Robby in juvie while waiting for Johnny who made a promise to show up and visit his son in juvie, but when Johnny doesn't, Robby storms off and Bobby, annoyed, calls Johnny and scolds him for failing to show up. He later returns in Cobra Kai season 6 and officiates Johnny and Carmen's wedding before their daughter was born; Bobby also shares a friendly greeting with Daniel, showing that they retain no animosity for each other, indicating they likely made amends sometime between the events of The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai.TommyRob GarrisonA friend of Johnny and the third Cobra Kai member to be defeated by Daniel; he bullied Daniel along with his friends. In The Karate Kid II, after Kreese starts attacking Johnny, he tries to stop Kreese, but gets severely beaten up by him. In Cobra Kai season 2, Tommy has brain damage and is terminally ill, so Johnny, Bobby and Jimmy take him on one last camping trip together, Tommy then admits to Johnny that he too had a crush on Ali years ago. In the morning, Johnny, Bobby and Jimmy discover that Tommy died peacefully in his sleep. The actor died in 2019, not long after filming.JimmyTony O'DellA friend of Johnny and Cobra Kai student who's quiet and is the only brown belt in the group; he bullied Daniel along with his friends; he was a witness to Bobby injuring Daniel. In The Karate Kid II, after Kreese starts attacking Johnny, Jimmy is horrified. In Cobra Kai season 2, he is married with two sons.DutchChad McQueenA friend of Johnny and a Cobra Kai student, he bullied Daniel along with his friends, but was much more aggressive towards Daniel than the others were, more so than Johnny who was the leader. At one point Dutch asked Johnny if he was going to beat Ali up for defending Daniel, hinting Dutch might be abusive towards women; he is the fourth person to be defeated by Daniel. In The Karate Kid II, after Kreese starts attacking Johnny for his second place win, Dutch doesn't attempt to try and save his friend and instead turns his back; this would be the last time Dutch is seen on-screen. In Cobra Kai season 2, Johnny refers to the fact that Dutch is in prison at the Lompoc Federal Penitentiary. Although McQueen had originally opted not to return to the series, he later expressed interest in doing so for season 6. However, injuries prevented him from appearing. He died in September 2024, after the release of the first part of season 6. Darryl VidalHimselfThe third-place winner of the All Valley Under-18 Karate Championships tournament. He is the only person to shake hands with Johnny. Vidal was described in Cobra Kai as a third-generation black belt. Vidal later appears as the referee of the Sekai Taikai finals in Cobra Kai season 6, much to Daniel and Johnny's surprise; he later angers the two men, as well as Tory, Miguel, and Sam while he upsets Shannon when he refuses to disqualify Axel who injured Robby's leg.Freddy FernandezIsrael JuarbeDaniel's neighbor, whose invitation to a beach party for their high school led him to meet Ali. After Johnny beats Daniel up during the party, Freddy abandons him. Freddy is later seen at the All Valley Under-18 Karate Championships tournament cheering on Daniel, having made amends with Daniel. Although Freddy never makes another on-screen appearance after this, he continues to be close friends with Daniel, and in The Karate Kid III, his family was most likely still living at the apartment complex when they were forced to move after a new owner purchased the building. in Cobra Kai season 2, he allows Daniel to use his freezer at his butcher shop for training, Fernandez Meat Co., during a heatwave.SusanJuli FieldsAli's best friend who dislikes Daniel, but her opinion later softens and is seen cheering for Daniel.BarbaraDana AndersenAli's friend who, like Susan, dislikes Daniel at first, but not nearly as harsh; her opinion softens and cheers him on later.ChuckFrank Burt AvalonA friend of Freddy's who briefly befriends Daniel, but then abandons him after Daniel loses his fight to Johnny on the beach. Chuck is later seen at the All Valley Under-18 Karate Championships tournament cheering for Daniel.Chicken BoyTodd LookinlandA teen in a chicken costume at the Halloween dance throwing eggs at people, including Daniel, which he and Ali both found amusing and laugh.Mr. MillsWilliam BassettAli's father who talks with his daughter about going out with Daniel instead of Johnny.Mrs. MillsShannon WilcoxAli's mother who silently judged Daniel.Deborah May30 years later in Cobra Kai season 3, Ali's mother disapproves of the fact that Ali is getting a divorce.Mrs. MiloFrances BayAn elderly resident of Daniel's apartment complex who was also originally from New Jersey and owner of a dog; she tells Daniel to go back to New Jersey. She reappears in The Karate Kid III seen with her dog moving away after a new owner purchases the apartment complex forcing everybody residing there to move. In the first film, she was credited as Lady with Dog.Mrs. Miyagi (photo)Ann OshitaMr. Miyagi's late wife who died in the 1940s during World War II from pregnancy complications when she went into labour. Her photograph is seen in Mr. Miyagi's home on a table near his bed. Her photograph later appears in Cobra Kai season 5 when Daniel and Amanda explore Mr. Miyagi's bedroom, which has remained untouched since Mr. Miyagi's death.The RefereePat E. JohnsonThe referee in the first three The Karate Kid films. In the first film, he angrily orders the Cobra Kai students out of the locker room when he catches them harassing Daniel, but when Dutch takes one final jab at Daniel, he threatens to disqualify Dutch from the Tournament, so Dutch complies; he later tells Bobby he is disqualified after injuring Daniel's leg. In the second film, he congratulates Daniel on his win. In the third film, he deducts points from Mike Barnes for his flagrant rule violation and warns him to stop. As a member of the All Valley Karate Tournament committ