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Cobra Kai star Ralph Macchio and co-creator Jon Hurwitz share details about what went into Anthony LaRusso’s dramatic character shift.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Cobra Kai Season 4, streaming now on Netflix.
Cobra Kai star Ralph Macchio and co-creator Jon Hurwitz recently delved into Anthony LaRusso’s (Griffin Santopietro) bullying storyline in Season 4.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Macchio described the decision not to make his television son the main aggressor, but someone who still causes damage. “I wanted him to be more of a bystander/follower as opposed to the leader,” said Macchio. “There’s a great book called The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander — there’s an element of being a bystander that is as harmful, if not more, than [being] the bully.”
Cobra Kai Season 4 introduces Kenny (Dallas Dupree Young), a happy nerd who plays video games and enjoys music and dancing. Unfortunately, he becomes the target of Anthony’s group of friends and they bully Kenny starting on his first day at school. Anthony doesn’t eagerly join in with them, but after some coaxing, he gives in. This consequently pushes Kenny to seek the guidance of Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan) and he eventually joins Cobra Kai as a way to defend himself.
Anthony LaRusso hasn’t had much screen time in the past. Apart from having an obsession with technology and not being all that interested in karate, not much was known about him. “Anthony was a great vessel for this kind of bullying story,” said Hurwitz, “where he is making fun of a kid, and it’s in the service of getting laughs from his cronies. You see the power structure even within that group where he gets bullied by his friends, so he, in turn, is passing the bullying along, and that’s not an uncommon thing amongst children.”
In Season 4, Episode 8, “Party Time,” things get so bad with Anthony’s behavior that Daniel and Amanda LaRusso find themselves relying on cousin Vanessa LaRusso (played by Macchio’s real-life daughter Julia Macchio) to help them understand what’s going on with their son. Lately, the LaRussos have been turning to the darker side of things as their problems have grown, and each of them has had to deal with a crisis of conscience.
Cobra Kai Season 5 has been confirmed, and while many characters are at least attempting to become better people, there’s still a main villain in Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith). His latest move has given him ownership of Cobra Kai over John Kreese (Martin Kove) and he he plans to expand the franchise in the Valley. The next season will reportedly show what could have happened had Daniel LaRusso not won in Karate Kid III.
Cobra Kai Season 4 is streaming on Netflix now.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
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