William Zabka

William Zabka is an Oscar-nominated American actor, producer, and writer known for his outstanding performance in an American martial arts drama film The Karate Kid and its franchise: The Karate Kid Part II and Cobra Kai. 

Active in the movie industry since 1983, William Zabka became popular from his very first role as Johnny Lawrence in The Karate Kid. 

Early Life

William Zabka aka William Michael Zabka was born on 20 October 1965 in New York City, New York, the United States. He grew up in his hometown with his father Stan Zabka, mother Nancy Zabka, brother Guy Zabka and sister Judy Zabka. His father Stan Zabka is a director, writer, and composer whereas his mother Nancy is a producer, production assistant, and business liaison. 

As of 2021, William Zabka is 53 years old. He is American by nationality and belongs to white ethnic background. He has the height of 6 feet 0 inches (184 cm) and weighs around 76 kg (167 pounds). 

Coming to his academic qualification, Zabka went to El Camino Real High School. For higher education, he studied at California State University. 

Career Highlights

Moving on to her professional career, William Zabka started his acting career through the 1983 TV series The Greatest American Hero as Clarence Mortner Jr. And, in 1994, he got his breakthrough role as Johnny Lawrence in the 1984 movie The Karate Kid. This is also his debut movie. Basically, William Zabka got popularity from his very first movie role. 

As of early 2021, William Zabka has around 52 acting credits including Hot Tub Time Machine, Back to School, How I Met Your Mother, The Equalizer, The Tiger’s Tale, The Last Line of Defense, and many others. 

Some of his notable roles are as Rick in Hot Tube Time Machine, as John Rawlins in To Appomattox, as Chas in Back to School, as Bob Bailey in Landspeed, and as Greg Larsen in Python to name a few. 

Moreover, William Zabka reprised his role as Johnny Lawrence in the 1986 film The Karate Kid Part II and Netflix’s Cobra Kai alongside Ralph Macchio, Courtney Henggeler, Jacob Bertrand, Vanessa Rubio, Nichole Brown, and other co-stars. 

Awards And Accolades

In 2004, William Zabka was nominated for the Academy Awards for his role in the 2003 short film Most. He shared the Oscar nomination with Bobby Garabedian. 

Back in 1985, Zabka was nominated as the Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Musical, Comedy, Adventure or Drama for the Young Artist Award for The Karate Kid. 

In addition, he was nominated for the 2018 IGN Summer Movie Awards for the Best Comedic TV Performance in Netflix original Cobra Kai. 

Net Worth

In 2021, William Zabka is estimated to have a net worth of $3 million. He makes his fortune from his successful professional career as an American actor, writer, and director. 

According to online sources, He also got a huge bonus from the profit of The Karate Kid. As a matter of fact, the $8 million budgeted movie earned more than $100 million in the United States alone. 

Moreover, Zabka made around $100 thousand per episode for the first two seasons and around $1 million for another season. 

Married

William Zabka is a married man. He and his longtime girlfriend Stacie Zabka exchanged their marital vows in 2008 in an intimate wedding ceremony. 

The couple is blessed with two children, but the name of his baby is not revealed.