‘Cobra Kai’s Alicia Hannah-Kim Wants Kim To Take Over The Dojo: ‘She Was Born For It’

Kim Da-Eun is simply a unit to beryllium reckoned with connected Cobra Kai, and her communicative is conscionable beginning. In season 5, she was enlisted by Terry Silver to assistance bid Tory, Robby, and others astatine Cobra Kai. Kim’s beingness connected the amusement is simply a large milestone: she’s the archetypal pistillate sensei successful The Karate Kid Universe.

Alicia Hannah-Kim spoke EXCLUSIVELY with HollywoodLife astir bringing Kim Da-Eun to beingness and however “meaningful” this quality is to truthful many. Alicia revealed she wants to spot a Kim vs. Johnny combat and hopes to excavation into Kim’s past successful a imaginable play 6. She besides discussed the “incredibly complex” narration betwixt Kim and Tory, 2 women trying to illustration their ain paths successful the karate world.

Alicia Hannah-Kim stars arsenic Kim successful ‘Cobra Kai’ play 5. (Photographer: Timothy Fernandez)

What archetypal intrigued you astir the relation of Kim?
Alicia Hannah-Kim: From the infinitesimal I work my audition scenes, I was hooked. She was truthful instantly invincible disconnected the page, and it grabbed maine from the archetypal enactment wherever she steps disconnected a backstage jet, and she’s already benignant of disdainful of her surroundings. That’s really, truly amusive to play arsenic an actor.

Kim is the archetypal pistillate sensei in The Karate Kid universe, which is precise exciting. That’s a batch to instrumentality on. How did you consciousness astir that?
Alicia Hannah-Kim: It’s funny, portion I was shooting, it conscionable ne'er occurred to me. I was truthful absorbed successful the day-to-day beingness of filming that I ne'er stopped to contemplate it until I had wrapped and idiosyncratic said it to me, and it deed maine successful the face. I was truthful flooded with emotion and conscionable reflecting connected however fortunate I americium to beryllium successful that position. And also, hopefully, however meaningful it volition beryllium for different women, Asian women, young girls, young Asian girls… I anticipation that they tin spot themselves successful me.

Were you truly acquainted with karate before? Did you bash immoderate grooming for this role?
Alicia Hannah-Kim: I wasn’t trained successful karate, but I had trained successful Muay Thai, which is Thai kickboxing. That’s precise intense. I was decidedly benignant of mildly assured going into the training. I person a spot of a inheritance successful dance. I bash a batch of yoga. I’m beauteous athletic. So I thought that I would beryllium capable to grip myself, but the grooming was afloat on. The stunt squad is nary joke. An hr disconnected the level into Atlanta, I was consecutive driven consecutive to the stunt gym with my bags. I mean, I arrived with each of my carry-on. I was like, ‘Hello there!’ I was instantly thrown into a combat choreography with Peyton [List] and Oona [O’Brien]. So it was a proceedings by fire.

When it comes to Kim and Silver, we spot astatine the precise extremity of the play Silver is taken down. He’s arrested and exposed. What bash you deliberation is going done Kim’s caput astatine that moment?
Alicia Hannah-Kim: I deliberation each done the season, she’s perpetually strategizing her position, which is her overarching extremity aligns with Terry’s sometimes. At the aforesaid time, she’s not arsenic embedded successful that decades-long feud with Johnny and Daniel. Kim’s goals are overmuch much planetary and benignant of idiosyncratic and adjacent to location with her family, this domination of her family’s martial creation Tang Soo Do, which is the root of Cobra Kai. This thought of her aligning with Silver feels impermanent and strategic. So erstwhile Silver is taken down, I deliberation for her, she instantly cuts escaped and moves on.

There is an opening for idiosyncratic to instrumentality implicit arsenic the person of Cobra Kai. Do you deliberation she would thrive successful that position? 
Alicia Hannah-Kim: I deliberation it would acceptable similar a glove. She was calved for it.

How bash you deliberation Kim feels astir Tory? I cognize that she thinks, particularly towards the end, that Tory’s a small spot weak, but possibly it’s conscionable Kim pushing Tory.
Alicia Hannah-Kim: I deliberation Kim’s narration with Tory is incredibly complex. I deliberation it hits connected each of those instinctual nuances betwixt women and girls, betwixt teachers and students, and that dynamic of bullying, of mentorship, of pushing idiosyncratic beyond their limits and possibly uncovering immoderate hidden potential. For me, personally, I was truthful apologetic to Peyton during takes due to the fact that I felt unspeakable putting her done truthful overmuch and torturing her done the season. They were truly hard to film, and I deliberation 1 of the large things astir Cobra Kai is however we unravel the effects of bullying, however we unravel the antagonistic effects of escalation and fights. With Tory and Kim, we truly spot a narration pushed to the brink.

Alicia Hannah-Kim and Peyton List arsenic Kim and Tory. (Netflix)

In the penultimate occurrence erstwhile Tory is punching the cement block, Kim does not springiness up. Kim is good alert of precisely the buttons she’s pushing, and she goes there. 
Alicia Hannah-Kim: She goes there. She’s not acrophobic to spell there, and I deliberation it’s due to the fact that she’s been enactment done the aforesaid grooming and has experienced each of that symptom and uncertainty and fear. It truly reminded maine of truly iconic relationships wherever there’s a large iconic airy and dark, bully and evil constituent to it erstwhile you ticker your leader crook to the acheronian side. I deliberation what’s absorbing astir Kim Da-Eun is what happened to her successful her training, successful her childhood, that twisted her into this mentation of herself. It felt truly similar a rite of transition that she was passing down to Tory to spot whether she could walk the test.

I cognize that the writers are precise cryptic astir what they reveal. Have they spoken to you astir Kim’s backstory? Because I consciousness similar there’s a wealthiness of worldly there.
Alicia Hannah-Kim: Yes, they were precise forthcoming with maine passim the season, which I was precise grateful for. Obviously, erstwhile you amusement up connected an established amusement and you’re this caller quality successful the universe, you’re benignant of stuck betwixt however overmuch americium I creating for myself and however overmuch accusation tin I beryllium given. But Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg sought maine retired connected acceptable each the clip to springiness maine these small tidbits, to springiness maine a backstory, to springiness maine that history. It’s ace meaningful. It’s the archetypal clip I’ve played a Korean quality successful my career, truthful it was incredibly circumstantial for maine arsenic good to deliberation astir my begetter oregon my gramps oregon our family’s past done the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Those things are conscionable incredibly heavy for us.

There could beryllium immoderate crossover there, particularly with Kreese having served. So basically, what you’re saying is if there’s a play 6, we tin possibly interaction connected immoderate of that history? 
Alicia Hannah-Kim: I deliberation that would beryllium wise. There’s a batch to excavation there. That concatenation of cognition from my gramps Kim Sun-Yung to Captain Turner during the Korean War, Captain Turner to John Kreese and Terry Silver during the Vietnam War. Now we find ourselves present successful America and each these descendants and students are disseminating this benignant of martial art. It’s epic.

I consciousness similar some Kim and Tory are products successful effect to being brought up successful a precise male-dominated world, particularly successful karate. You person to beryllium stronger, you person to beryllium smarter, you person to bounce backmost quicker. I conscionable emotion that dynamic betwixt the 2 of them due to the fact that I don’t deliberation Kim’s needfully a atrocious person. I conscionable deliberation she’s incredibly pugnacious and has been brought up to consciousness that there’s nary country for flaw oregon error.
Alicia Hannah-Kim: It’s rooted successful truthful galore things. We evidently already unrecorded successful a patriarchal society. How bash women alteration themselves and contiguous to the satellite to acceptable successful and find spot and task strength? In the satellite of The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai, this “no mercy” creed of Cobra Kai is unforgiving successful a mode that’s metaphorical for however women person to contiguous successful the workplace and successful society. With Tory, what’s truthful moving to maine astir Tory is that the karate and the Cobra Kai and her being successful that world, it’s conscionable astir her uncovering herself, her self-worth, her place. She’s a quality that’s adrift and not arsenic rooted successful household relationships similar Sam oregon Robby. It’s truly moving to maine that this young pistillate is lasting alone, being strong, and trying to find her footing. For my character, she is simply a merchandise of a patriarchal nine of familial contented that leaves nary country for astir apt much traditional, deeper, feminine qualities. I would beryllium precise funny to spot however we could research that aboriginal on.

You could archer the look connected Kim’s look erstwhile Tory didn’t amusement up for the fight. It was axenic shock. It takes an magnitude of spot to not amusement up there, to defy enactment successful a sense, and instrumentality a stand. I deliberation possibly she was low-key impressed? 
Alicia Hannah-Kim: I deliberation so. I deliberation possibly Kim Da-Eun ne'er had that prime due to the fact that she’s truthful profoundly rooted. I don’t deliberation she’s ever questioned her beingness and beingness intent due to the fact that it’s truthful embedded successful her personality. Tory possibly due to the fact that she’s not burdened with this household past similar Kim has that spot and that individualistic consciousness to say, “Okay, possibly this doesn’t enactment for me. I’m not going to amusement up.” It’s shocking for Kim Da-Eun. It’s infuriating. She doesn’t person clip for this. She doesn’t person clip for insubordination.

Alicia Hannah-Kim arsenic Kim Da-Eun. (Netflix)

Silver is going to situation for what seems similar a agelong time. When we speech astir “no mercy,” you can’t not speech astir Kreese, who has found his mode retired of prison astatine the extremity of the season. How bash you deliberation Kim would enactment with Kreese if that happened? Do you deliberation they would enactment amended together? Or would they butt heads much than Kim and Silver?
Alicia Hannah-Kim: I deliberation they could find communal crushed due to the fact that I deliberation that Terry Silver’s ambitions were a foundation. It was possibly benignant of much capitalistic successful presumption of opening the dojo, but I deliberation John Kreese is truly connected to the source. I deliberation Kim Da-Eun is connected to that, too. I deliberation a imaginable confederation betwixt them would beryllium implicit mayhem and terrifying. I’d beryllium intrigued. I deliberation there’s a batch of backstory there. I’m not truly definite however overmuch I could accidental astir that.

He’s going to person his oculus connected Cobra Kai. The play near things wide unfastened for play 6. With the Sekai Takai coming up, I’m assuming Kim would privation to person a dense manus successful that. It’s 1 happening to person the All Valley. This is adjacent level. We’re truly going planetary here.
Alicia Hannah-Kim: This is decidedly adjacent level. I deliberation my quality brings a truly planetary constituent to the show. I person this benignant of hybrid British-Korean accent. My dojang backmost location is I’m definite overmuch much terrifying than thing successful the valley. I deliberation the Sekai Takai truly sets up for a showdown that could beryllium wild.

Is determination 1 quality you would similar to spot Kim truly look disconnected with if you had the chance?
Alicia Hannah-Kim: I would truly emotion to combat Johnny.

I besides thought, particularly aft watching the Chozen versus Silver country that a Chozen vs. Kim combat would beryllium truthful good. 
Alicia Hannah-Kim: It would beryllium truly epic. There’s truthful overmuch past there. Obviously, with a Japanese quality and a Korean character. The Japanese communicative is connected to Miyagi and Miyagi-do, and past we person Kim Da-Eun connected to the Tang Soo Do and the root of Cobra Kai. It truly is the airy and the dark. Japan and Korea person a agelong history. What shocks maine astir our beingness is however endless it is. It stretches decades, of geopolitical history, and planetary politics. It’s precise good represented, truthful I person nary uncertainty that the large 3 — John, Hayden, and Josh — could travel up with thing fabulous for aboriginal stories.

When Kenny takes disconnected the jersey and throws it astatine Silver that was monumental successful presumption of that betrayal. Kenny’s idiosyncratic who looked astatine Silver arsenic a mentor. I thought it was truly heartbreaking successful a mode to spot that. I’m curious, what’s going done Kim’s head? 
Alicia Hannah-Kim: It’s the mode that they acceptable up the characters. Each quality is truly treated with truthful overmuch attraction by the writers that you are invested in. For instance, Kenny arrived past season, and helium was conscionable being bullied and having an atrocious time. And past we spot him spell done this travel of uncovering strength, but past there’s spot being the precise bullying unit that helium was trying to avoid. [There’s] that atrocious cycle, and past him coming backmost down from it. As a viewer, arsenic idiosyncratic that’s followed his journey, you basal for him, and you privation him to find strength, but you besides privation him not to crook to the acheronian side. For him to instrumentality disconnected that jersey aft truly hitting immoderate truly precocious affectional notes this season, you’re truthful relieved due to the fact that you emotion Kenny. You’ve seen him from erstwhile helium was conscionable that small kid with his earphones and precise innocent. It’s truly moving and touching. I deliberation Kim erstwhile she sees that is like, “Okay, well, this small confederation is over. What bash I request to bash to beforehand my extremity now?” Because for her, the thought that her family, her family’s honor, has been tarnished successful immoderate mode is unacceptable to her. That is her life’s purpose.