An unexpected incident at a fan convention has left Cobra Kai actor Martin Kove facing backlash after co-star Alicia Hannah-Kim accused him of biting her. The 78-year-old actor has now issued a public apology, owning up to his behaviour at Summer Con in Puyallup, Washington, last weekend.
Kove, best known for his role alongside Ralph Macchio and William Zabka in the popular Netflix series, released a statement saying, 鈥淚 deeply regret and apologise for my actions regarding the incident with Alicia (Hannah-Kim), a genuinely kind and wonderful person who didn鈥檛 deserve to be put in this position. I鈥檝e always respected her and considered her a highly professional and talented co-worker on Cobra Kai.鈥
The actor admitted he was trying to be lighthearted but accepted that things went overboard. 鈥淚 was being playful in the moment but went too far, and there is absolutely no excuse for my behaviour. I regret my actions, for which I take full responsibility, and again, I apologise to her and her husband. I鈥檓 committed to learning from this, and it will never happen again.鈥
According to reports from Deadline, the situation escalated during a meet-and-greet on June 22, when Kove allegedly grabbed Hannah-Kim鈥檚 arm and bit it without warning. Police documents revealed that she screamed in pain and later told officers, 鈥渉e bit me so hard he nearly drew blood.鈥 She also said he tried to kiss her.
Following the incident, Kove was reportedly asked to leave the convention. No further legal action has been confirmed yet.
Martin Kove, is an American actor and martial artist with a career spanning decades in film and television. He鈥檚 best known for playing the tough-as-nails John Kreese, the infamous antagonist of The Karate Kid (1984). Kove reprised this iconic role in the film鈥檚 sequels 鈥 The Karate Kid Part II (1986) and Part III (1989) 鈥 and returned to the spotlight as Kreese in the hit series Cobra Kai (2018鈥2025).
Long before Cobra Kai made him a pop culture fixture again, Kove played Nero the Hero in the cult classic Death Race 2000 and appeared in White Line Fever the same year (1975) as Clem. TV audiences from the 鈥80s would also remember him as Detective Victor Isbecki, a regular on the crime drama Cagney & Lacey (1982鈥1988). His film credits also include a role in Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), and more recently, a part in Quentin Tarantino鈥檚 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).