‘Cobra Kai’: Yuji Okumoto Made Sure Chozen Retained 2 Qualities From ‘Karate Kid II’
Chozen (Yuji Okumoto) nearly stole the Cobra Kai Season 5 trailer. When Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) says they’re playing with fire, Chozen responds, “I am gasoline.” Season 4 already revealed that Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) had asked Chozen for help. After his season 3 arc, Okumoto was confident Chozen was still the character he played in The Karate Kid Part II.
Okumoto appeared on stage at Cobra Kai: Live and Badass on May 5. Showbiz Cheat Sheet was there to hear Okumoto’s thoughts on Chozen as an adult. Cobra Kai Season 5 returns Sept. 5 on Netflix.
‘Cobra Kai’ was an easy sell for Yuji Okumoto
Chozen first returned in Cobra Kai Season 3. When Daniel returned to Okinawa to see Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita), she invited Chozen. Daniel wasn’t sure how Chozen would react after their battle at the end of The Karate Kid Part II. Chozen had fun scaring Daniel but ultimately shared with him new Miyagi Karate techniques.
“The guys, Jon [Hurwitz], Josh [Heald], and Hayden [Schlossberg], they contacted me in 2019,” Okumoto said. “When they called me, they said they wanted to reprise the role of Chozen. My response was, ‘Who is this?’ But no, it was just a no brainer. I was more than excited to reunite of course with Ralph and reunite with Tamlyn who played Kumiko. So it was a for sure yes.”
Yuji Okumoto says Chozen still had 2 qualities from ‘The Karate Kid Part II’
Chozen was the nephew of Sato (Danny Kamekono), Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita)’s childhood friend turned rival in The Karate Kid Part II. Even when Sato forgives Miyagi, Chozen still attacks Daniel. Daniel refuses to deliver the death blow, instead honking Chozen’s nose, a move Chozen repeats in Cobra Kai.
“We had discussions about the character, which direction he should go,” Okumoto said. “So I gave them my suggestions and they ran with it. My God, they came back with a script and it was so wonderful because it brought not only a sense of humor to the character, but they kept the sense of danger which I really appreciated.”
Ralph Macchio was happy to have Chozen on ‘Cobra Kai’
Macchio sang Okumoto’s praises, too.
It was amazing and it’s been that way through this whole series. Any of our OG characters from the original films, they come out and they knock it out of the part. It’s written well and certainly in the case of Chozen and Kumiko in that Okinawa section of Season 3, what’s so great about what Jon, Josh and Hayden are able to do, is they take those character, you do a 180 in redemptive storyline with Chozen and through that experience, that informs Daniel LaRusso on maybe how he can better deal with Johnny Lawrence. So it’s not just there for only fan service. It drives the story forward. I’m so proud of these guys.
Ralph Macchio, Cobra Kai: Live and Badass, 5/5/22
