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Jacob Bertrand has had fun showing the evolution of Eli Moskowitz on Cobra Kai. When Eli joined Cobra Kai, he transformed into Hawk, complete with his mohawk and back tattoo. That also made Hawk an antagonist for some seasons. Cobra Kai Season 4 offers some redemption for Hawk, but Bertrand says he misses being bad.

[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Cobra Kai.]

'Cobra Kai' Eli Moskowitz/Hawk actor Jacob Bertrand sits in a white room wearing a grey jacket
Jacob Bertrand | Irvin Rivera

Bertrand spoke with Showbiz Cheat Sheet by phone on Dec. 20. Although Cobra Kai Season 4 shows some healthy growth for Eli/Hawk, Bertrand said he misses being a villain. Cobra Kai Season 4 is now streaming on Netflix.

Jacob Bertrand understands why Eli Moskowitz/Hawk came around in ‘Cobra Kai’ Season 4

The Cobra Kai Season 3 finale was where Hawk turned. The Cobra Kai gang had broken into the LaRusso home to attack their Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang rivals. During the brawl, Hawk decided to defend his old friend Demetri (Gianni DiCenzo).

“I was really happy that he had come back with Demetri and Miguel but I was a little sad that I was no longer on the villain side because it’s really fun to get to play the bad guy,” Bertrand told Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “I think so, more than the good guy. That’s what needed to happen. Season 4 is really great in my opinion because I get to hang around and be with Demetri all the time and that’s probably one of my favorite relationships on the show is the binary brothers. So I’m very much excited to get to interact with him more.”

‘Cobra Kai’ Season 4 is no easy road back for Eli Moskowitz/Hawk

It takes a bit more than one fight to redeem Eli/Hawk. He spends Cobra Kai Season 4 training with Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do, re-earning his friends’ trust. 

“It’s definitely proven to not be an easy road back,” Bertrand said. “I think season 4 definitely explores that a ton with Johnny and Daniel and a bunch of other kids in Eagle Fang. I’m excited for people to see how that transition unfolds.”

Jacob Bertrand had no idea how far Eli Moskowitz/Hawk would go

Bertrand didn’t know Eli would become Hawk when he first joined Cobra Kai in season 1. In fact, he originally went out for a different role. 

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“I actually auditioned for the role of Demetri,” Bertrand said. “I got a callback for that and was real jazzed and found out. They’re like, ‘Yeah, we’re actually not going to go with you.’ I was like oh, dang. They’re like but, we have this other role. And I was like oh, cool, this is the pity role. It’s like you were good, not good enough so here’s a character with two lines. I was like oh, okay. I might as well audition for it. This could be cool.”

In the audition for Eli, Bertrand didn’t even know about his Cobra Kai transformation. The role certainly paid off. 

“My audition was just Eli,” Bertrand said. “There was no Hawk. I had no idea that there was a Hawk and when I first auditioned for the show. Then actually going in the room, they were like, ‘Actually no, you have the wrong sides. This character has this whole arc and da da da da da.’ I was like, ‘All right, this is insane. We’re doing this.’”

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