William Zabka
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| William Zabka | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 20, 1965 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Other name(s) | Billy Zabka |
| Years active | 1983 - present |
William "Billy" Zabka (born October 20, 1965) is an American actor, screenwriter, and film producer. Zabka is best known for playing bully types in several popular '80s films, such as his role as Johnny Lawrence in 1984's The Karate Kid.
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[edit] Life and career
Zabka was born in New York City, New York, the son of Nancy, a business liaison, producer, and production assistant, and Stan Zabka, a composer, writer, and director.[1] Zabka's breakout role came in his first movie, 1984's The Karate Kid. Zabka played the role of Johnny Lawrence, the main antagonist to the title character played by Ralph Macchio. An unused ending to the film was re-shot for the beginning of the 1986 film The Karate Kid, Part II, giving Zabka a brief appearance in the sequel.[2]
During the 1980s Zabka continued to define his bully role 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 with Edward Woodward (1986-1989) and he played Jack, Audrey's insensitive jock boyfriend, in National Lampoon's European Vacation.
During the 1990s and 2000s, Zabka sporadically acted mostly in independent films while studying to be a screenwriter and 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. In 2004, Zabka was nominated for an Academy Award for Most in the Live Action Short Film category.
In 2007, Zabka directed and starred in a music video for the band No More Kings entitled "Sweep the Leg". The video stars Zabka as a caricature of himself, living in a trailer park and obsessed with his role in The Karate Kid. The video includes cameos by several of the original Karate Kid cast members, including Martin Kove and Ralph Macchio. The video received over 80,000 views within its first week of release, and became the number one video on YouTube on March 16, 2007. As of May 2008, it had received 3 million views. The video was collaboration between No More Kings’ record label Astonish Records, and Chapter Seven Films, a film company in Los Angeles. "Sweep the Leg" was featured on MTVu.com, Vh1.com, MySpace, E!, and YouTube. In 2008, Astonish Records released a special collector's edition CD/DVD.
[edit] Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1984 | The Karate Kid | Johnny Lawrence | |
| 1985 | Just One of the Guys | Greg Tolan | |
| National Lampoon's European Vacation | Jack | ||
| 1986 | Back to School | Chas Osborne | |
| The Karate Kid, Part II | Johnny Lawrence | ||
| 1988 | A Tiger's Tale | Randy | |
| 1991 | For Parents Only | Ted | Alternative title: Mean Parents Suck |
| 1992 | Shootfighter: Fight to the Death | Ruben | Alternative title: Shootfighter |
| 1994 | Unlawful Passage | Howie | |
| 1995 | Shootfighter II | Ruben | |
| The Power Within | Raymond Vonn | Alternative title: Power Man | |
| 1997 | High Voltage | Bulldog | |
| 1999 | Interceptors | Dave | Alternative titles: Interceptor Force Predator 3: Intercepters The Last Line of Defence |
| 2000 | Mindstorm | Rojack | Alternative titles: Artificial Telepathy Project: Human Weapon |
| Falcon Down | Security Guard John | ||
| 2001 | Ablaze | Curt Peters | |
| 2002 | Gale Force | Rance | Direct-to-video release |
| Hyper Sonic | The Executive | Direct-to-video release | |
| Landspeed | Bob Bailey | ||
| Dark Descent | Marty (Opening credits only) | Alternative title: Descent Into Darkness | |
| Antibody | Otto Emmerick | Direct-to-video release | |
| 2003 | Most |
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Alternative title: The Bridge, screenwriter & producer |
| 2004 | Roomies | Slick Salesman | Alternative title: Wild Roomies |
| 2007 | Smiley Face | Prison guard | |
| Cake: A Wedding Story | Sam | Alternative title: Cake: A Wedding Comedy | |
| Starting from Scratch | Bill Bowman | ||
| 2008 | The Man in the Silo | Kevin | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1983 | The Greatest American Hero | Clarence Mortner, Jr. | 1 episode |
| 1984 | Gimme a Break! | Jeffery | 1 episode |
| CBS Schoolbreak Special | Rick Peterson | 1 episode | |
| 1984-1985 | E/R | Druggie Kid/Thief | 1 episodes |
| 1985-1989 | The Equalizer | Scott McCall | 6 episodes |
| 1996 | To the Ends of Time | Alexander | Television movie |
| 2000 | Epoch | Joe | Television movie |
| Python | Greg Larsen | Television movie | |
| 2002 | Python II | Greg Larsen | Television movie, credited as Billy Zabka |
[edit] Award nominations
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Film |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Young Artist Award | Nominated | Best Young Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Musical, Comedy, Adventure or Drama | The Karate Kid |
| 2004 | Academy Awards | Best Short Film, Live Action | Most (Shared with Bobby Garabedian) |
