William Zabka was born on October 20, 1965, in New York, New York, into a family with film industry links. During Johnny Carson’s first two seasons as host, his father served as an associate director on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.”
In his late teens, Zabka had his first credited appearance on the television series “The Greatest American Hero.” A year later, he earned the job that would make him famous for the rest of his life: Johnny Lawrence, the high school bully who torments Ralph Macchio’s character in “The Karate Kid.”
According to legend, Zabka landed the job after Macchio assured producers that he was actually terrified of Zabka during the audition.
Despite having no prior karate expertise, Zabka had a wrestling history from high school.
“The Karate Kid” was a huge hit, generating $100 million in the United States alone on a $8 million budget. The movie inspired a worldwide karate craze. Inspired by his role in the film, Zabka went on to pursue Tang Soo Do, a martial art and obtained a second-degree green belt.
Throughout the 1980s, Zabka alternated between cinema and television roles. He appeared in films such as “Just One of the Guys”, “National Lampoon’s European Vacation”, “The Karate Kid: Part II”, “The Greatest American Hero”, “E/R”, and “The Equalizer”.
How old was William Zabka when he played Johnny Lawrence?
When Martin Kove instructed William Zabka to “sweep the leg,” he wasn’t exactly sweeping the women off their feet. In 1984’s “The Karate Kid,” the actor, who at the age of 18 played the evil, Johnny Lawrence, revealed to Page Six that he was never a “player” in those early days of fame.
How old was William Zabka in the first Karate Kid?
William Zabka was 19 years in the first Karate Kid.