Out of the few names that people are hoping to see show up for the next season of Cobra Kai, Thomas Ian Griffith is at the top of the list since despite the lackluster feel of Karate Kid III and the kind of comic book villain feel that Terry Silver gave off, he was still a villain that managed to stick in a lot of peoples’ minds since somehow he was just as bad, if not worse, than John Kreese. A big reason for this was that Silver had the resources that Kreese didn’t, and was just vicious when it came to fighting. But where Kreese is like a blunt instrument that’s picked up a few tricks over the years, as has been seen on the show, Silver was just smooth from the get and knew how to slip past the defenses of those that he meant to hurt the most. Considering the fact that so many people want to see him come back, it’s easy to think that they remember how easy it was for Terry Silver to influence Daniel into becoming something he wasn’t, which meant nearly turning him against Mr. Miyagi until Daniel finally saw what was happening. By that time it was almost too late, but as the third movie showed, Miyagi was ready to forgive and train Daniel for the next tournament and was fully ready to humiliate Kreese and Silver.
A lot of people might not know this, but The Karate Kid III was Griffith’s first movie role, though he did have a part in a soap opera titled Another World for a few years before that. He also guest-starred in the old but popular show In the Heat of the Night. Apart from that, he’s taken place in a fair number of action movies and TV movies that never really went anywhere but did keep him busy and have maintained his place in the industry as he’s done his best to become an action star. One thing about the 80s and 90s is that it did see a surge in the number of people that were truly vying for a spot in the action and drama genres, but quite a few of them either found themselves committed to B-movie status or falling by the wayside as the millennium wrapped up. Griffith has had a couple of notable roles in that time but hasn’t done much past the 2000s when it comes to acting. He’s been a part of the writing team for Grimm from 2013 to 2017, but other than this he hasn’t really done a lot. His bio would make people believe that he’s still active, and that could be the case, but as of yet, he hasn’t had any current projects show up that have suggested a comeback in any way.
He did star opposite Kevin Sorbo and Tia Carrere in Kull the Conqueror, which was kind of a forgettable action movie that still had its charms here and there. But if one didn’t know who he was back then they might have missed his performance simply because much of the movie was focused, of course, on Sorbo and Carrere, who were two of the lead actors as the main protagonist and antagonist. Griffith also starred in John Carpenter’s Vampires as Valek, who was the head vampire and the biggest badass, yet was still taken out by James Woods’ character near the end when he failed to complete a ritual that would allow him to emerge in the day as well as the night. Looking back at his career it’s not something that anyone should call pathetic since Griffith isn’t a bad actor, but it does feel as though his style of acting could have used a little refinement at times since he’s come off as more of a cartoon villain than someone who’s completely serious and absolutely deadly when all is said and done. Granted, in The Karate Kid III, he did have moments of brilliance, flashes of true acting that made him appear as threatening as he could possibly be. But those often gave way to that over the top villain behavior that was more or less a little too much even for the 90s. The fact is that Griffith has always had potential, and he’s been one of the many actors that might have gone somewhere had he been able to harness that potential, but by the late 90s it felt as though the business had passed him by.
But with Cobra Kai it’s been made very obvious that those that might have been kind of over the top in the past are being welcomed backed since Kreese, then Chozen, and now hopefully Terry Silver will come back as the fans are wanting. While Chozen was always a little more sinister and upfront about his intentions, that part of the story has been dealt with in a very pleasant manner. Making peace with Terry Silver is bound to be impossible though since he’s so dedicated to John Kreese, and people are definitely hoping to see him return in fine form.
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