Martin Kove (; born March 6, 1947 ) is an American actor and martial artist. He is best known for his role as John Kreese, the main antagonist of The Karate Kid (1984). Kove reprised the role in The Karate… Martin Kove (; born March 6, 1947 ) is an American actor and martial artist. He is best known for his role as John Kreese, the main antagonist of The Karate Kid (1984). Kove reprised the role in The Karate Kid Part II (1986), The Karate Kid Part III (1989), and the television series Cobra Kai (2018–2025). He was a regular on the television series Cagney & Lacey (1982–1988), portraying Police Detective Victor Isbecki. Kove also appeared in Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).
We believe privacy is a right, not a trade-off. Choose exactly what you're comfortable with. You can change these any time. Full privacy policy.
Essential
Always on
Required for the site to function
Session management, security tokens, login state, and your cookie preference itself. These cannot be turned off. No personal data is shared with third parties.
Analytics
Optional
Helps us understand what content you enjoy
We use anonymised analytics (e.g. Google Analytics) to see which articles perform well, how long people spend reading, and where traffic comes from. This helps us write better content. Your IP address is anonymised and no data is sold.
Personalisation
Optional
Remembers your preferences across visits
Remembers your reading preferences and recently read articles so we can surface relevant content. All data stays in your browser — nothing is sent to our servers.
Advertising
Optional
Used to show relevant ads that support the site
Allows advertising partners to show you ads based on your interests. If you decline, you'll still see ads but they won't be tailored to you. We work with Google AdSense and similar networks. You can opt out globally at youronlinechoices.eu.
Continue reading
You're clearly a fan
Get the best stories in your inbox
Join thousands of readers who get XOTLIST delivered daily. No spam, ever. Unsubscribe anytime.
Valley Stream Central High SchoolAlma mater
