William Zabka

Acting

William Zabka

Born 1965-10-20 · New York City, New York, USA

William Michael "Billy" Zabka (born October 20, 1965) is an American actor, martial artist, screenwriter, and film producer. Zabka is best known for his role of Johnny Lawrence in The Karate Kid (1984), The Karate Kid Part II (1986), and decades later reprises the role of Johnny in the Netflix series Cobra Kai (2018-), along with Ralph Macchio as Daniel. During the 1980s, Zabka appeared in the comedy movies Just One of the Guys (1985) and Back to School (1986). Zabka also co-starred on the CBS television series The Equalizer as the son of the title character (1986–89). He also played Jack, Audrey's jock boyfriend, in National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985). During the 1990s and 2000s, he acted mostly in independent films while studying to be a filmmaker. In 2003, he wrote and produced the short film Most, shot on location in the Czech Republic and Poland. Most (aka The Bridge) had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival 2003 and won numerous awards at prestigious film festivals, including Best of Festival at the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films in 2003. In 2004, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Most in the Live Action Short Film category.

Acting credits

Karate Kid: Legends poster
7.0

After a family tragedy, kung fu prodigy Li Fong is uprooted from his home in Beijing and forced to move to New York City with his mother. When a new friend needs his help, Li enters a karate competition – but his skills alone aren't enough. Li's kung fu teacher Mr. Han enlists original Karate Kid Daniel LaRusso for help, and Li learns a new way to fight, merging their two styles into one for the ultimate martial arts showdown.

Karate Kid: Legends

2025

The Karate Kid poster
7.2

New Jersey teen Daniel LaRusso moves to Los Angeles with his mother, and soon strikes up a relationship with Ali. He quickly finds himself the target of bullying by a group of thugs, led by Ali's ex-boyfriend Johnny, who study karate at the Cobra Kai dojo under ruthless sensei John Kreese. Fortunately, Daniel befriends Mr. Miyagi, an unassuming repairman who just happens to be a martial arts master himself. Miyagi takes Daniel under his wing, training him in a more compassionate form of karate for self-defense and, later, preparing him to compete against the brutal Cobra Kai.

The Karate Kid

1984

Hot Tub Time Machine poster
6.0

Four pals are stuck in a rut in adulthood: Adam has just been dumped, Lou is a hopeless party animal, Nick is a henpecked husband, and Jacob does nothing but play video games in his basement. But they get a chance to brighten their future by changing their past after a night of heavy drinking in a ski-resort hot tub results in their waking up in 1986.

Hot Tub Time Machine

2010

The Karate Kid Part II poster
6.4

Summoned by his dying father, Miyagi returns to his homeland of Okinawa, with Daniel, after a 40-year exile. There he must confront Yukie, the love of his youth, and Sato, his former best friend turned vengeful rival. Sato is bent on a fight to the death, even if it means the destruction of their village. Daniel finds his own love in Yukia's niece, Kumiko, and his own enemy in Sato's nephew, the vicious Chozen. Now, far away from the tournaments, cheering crowds and safety of home, Daniel will face his greatest challenge ever when the cost of honor is life itself.

The Karate Kid Part II

1986

Where Hope Grows poster
7.8

Calvin Campbell is a former professional baseball player sent to an early retirement due to his panic attacks at the plate. Even though he had all the talent for the big leagues, he struggles with the curveballs life has thrown him. Today, he mindlessly sleepwalks through his days and the challenge of raising his teenager daughter. His life is in a slow downward spiral when it is suddenly awakened and invigorated by the most unlikely person – Produce, a young-man with Down syndrome who works at the local grocery store.

Where Hope Grows

2014

Smiley Face poster
6.1

Jane, a struggling but perpetually stoned actress, has a busy day ahead. She has several important tasks on her list, including buying more marijuana. Even though she already has a good start on the day's planned drug use, she eats her roommate's pot-laced cupcakes and embarks on a series of misadventures all over Los Angeles.

Smiley Face

2007

Just One of the Guys poster
6.4

When Terry Griffith loses her high school's writing competition, she's convinced that it's because she's a girl. So Terry decides to change high schools and pose as a boy to prove her point. Her brother, Buddy, helps her pass as a guy so well that she is soon making friends with the boys at school, including the attractive Rick, who becomes her new best friend. But her gender-swapping makes things difficult when she falls in love with him.

Just One of the Guys

1985

Back to School poster
6.3

Self-made millionaire Thornton Melon decides to get a better education and enrolls at his son Jason's college. While Jason tries to fit in with his fellow students, Thornton struggles to gain his son's respect, giving way to hilarious antics.

Back to School

1986

National Lampoon's European Vacation poster
6.2

The Griswolds win a vacation to Europe on a game show, and so pack their bags for the continent. They do their best to catch the flavor of Europe, but they just don't know how to be be good tourists. Besides, they have trouble taking holidays in countries where they CAN speak the language.

National Lampoon's European Vacation

1985

Python poster
5.1

After a military plane crashes outside of a small American town, its cargo — a genetically engineered, sixty-foot-long python — begins stalking and killing the locals.

Python

2000

Cross poster
4.1

Given incredible power by an ancient Celtic Cross. Callan continues to fight evil... Now, joined by a team of weapons experts, Callan battles an unstoppable empire in Los Angeles.

Cross

2011

Shootfighter: Fight to the Death poster
6.5

Nick and Ruben are hoodwinked into a "shootfighter" (no-holds-barred, to the death) martial arts match by the evil Mr. Lee, who has a grudge against world shootfighter champ(and teacher of Nick and Ruben) Shingo.

Shootfighter: Fight to the Death

1993

Landspeed poster
5.3

Two teams are in a heated race for the money and the honor that comes with breaking the land speed world record.

Landspeed

2002

Epoch poster
4.7

Disaster strikes as a specialised team of investigators struggle to find out the truth about a strange monolith which sends out an intercontinental signal.

Epoch

2001

Ablaze poster
4.0

The owner of a gigantic oil refinery decides to burn the place down for insurance purposes, only to create a giant fireball that endangers the lives of a small town.

Ablaze

2002

Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson poster
5.6

The Problem Child, Jake 'El Gallo' Paul, goes up against the Baddest Man on the Planet, Mike Tyson, live from the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Katie Taylor defends her undisputed title over 10, two-minute rounds against boxing trailblazer and unified featherweight world champion Amanda 'The Real Deal' Serrano in the most anticipated rematch in women's boxing history.

Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson

2024

High Voltage poster
5.0

After unknowingly robbing a money laundering operation the heist crew must avoid mobsters.

High Voltage

1997

I Hate Christian Laettner poster
7.0

He made perhaps the most dramatic shot in the history of the NCAA basketball tournament. He's the only player to start in four consecutive Final Fours, and was instrumental in Duke winning two national championships. He had looks, smarts and game. So why has Christian Laettner been disliked so intensely by so many for so long? Maybe it was the time he stomped on the chest of a downed player, or the battles he had with his teammates, or a perceived sense of entitlement. But sometimes, perception isn't reality. "I Hate Christian Laettner" will go beyond the polarizing persona to reveal the complete story behind this lightning rod of college basketball. Featuring extensive access to Laettner, previously unseen footage and perspectives from all sides, this film will be a "gloves-off" examination of the man who has been seen by many as the "Blue Devil Himself."

I Hate Christian Laettner

2015

More Than Miyagi: The Pat Morita Story poster
7.1

The Oscar nominated actor best known for his role of Mr. Miyagi, left behind a painfully revealing autobiographical record of his much-too-brief time here on earth. Tracing his journey from being bed bound as a boy to the bright lights and discrimination in Hollywood. Deep inside that sweet, generous, multi-talented performer seethed an army of demons, that even alcohol and drugs couldn't mask.

More Than Miyagi: The Pat Morita Story

2021

Shootfighter II poster
5.9

In this martial-arts actioner, Miami mobsters find themselves in mortal danger after an angry police chief hires the world's most vicious fighters and uses them to launch a city-wide vendetta

Shootfighter II

1996

Antibody poster
4.3

After a terrorist with an implanted nuclear detonator gets shot, a team of scientists must defuse the bomb by miniaturizing themselves and going into his bloodstream. His organism's antibodies start to mass against them.

Antibody

2002

John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs poster
6.8

An examination of the Oscar-winning director who brought to life some of cinema's most beloved motion pictures.

John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs

2017

The Power Within poster
5.9

Stan Dryer, a teen, afraid to even ask a girl to the prom, finds courage and extreme martial arts skill when he is given a ring by an old man he tried to save from a group of attackers. The ring is a mate to a ring stolen by a double dealing art thief who had been hired to steal it by a criminal mastermind who wanted it for its mystical powers.

The Power Within

1995

Falcon Down poster
5.0

U.S. Air force officer Hank Thomas attempts to expose a military cover-up after a civiian airliner crashes.

Falcon Down

2001

Behind the camera