Thomas Ian Griffith

Last updated

Thomas Ian Griffith
Born (1962-03-18) March 18, 1962 (age 62)
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Education College of the Holy Cross
Occupations
  • Actor
  • martial artist
Years active
  • 1984–2007
  • 2021–present
Spouse
​
(m. 1991)​
Children2

Thomas Ian Griffith (born March 18, 1962) [1] [2] is an American actor, screenwriter, television producer, and martial artist. He is best known for portraying Terry Silver in the 1989 film The Karate Kid Part III , a role he reprised in the fourth through sixth seasons of the television series Cobra Kai . [3]

Contents

Early life

Griffith was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Mary Ann (née O'Neil), who worked at a dance studio, and Thomas Joseph Griffith. [1] Griffith attended South Catholic High School in Hartford. Griffith became obsessed with taekwondo while in high school and earned a black belt when he was 18. [4] He later earned a black belt in American Kenpo. His martial arts skills would later help earn him the role of Terry Silver in The Karate Kid Part III. [4] [2]

Griffith then studied at the College of the Holy Cross where he was a dean's list student before leaving after his junior year to "make it" as an actor in New York. [5]

Career

Griffith made his screen-acting debut on the soap opera Another World as Catlin Ewing, whom he played from 1984 to 1987. During this time, he met and dated his co-star, onscreen love interest and future wife, Mary Page Keller.

In 1989, Griffith was cast in The Karate Kid Part III , in which he played Terry Silver, a rival martial arts expert who influences Daniel LaRusso against his friend and mentor, Mr. Miyagi. After his breakout role in The Karate Kid Part III, Griffith was briefly positioned to be one of Hollywood's next big action stars, even scoring a three-picture deal with New Line Cinema. [6]

During the 1990s, he starred in a series of direct-to-video and low-budget theatrically released films, most notably Ulterior Motives, Excessive Force (both of which Griffith also helped write and produce), and Crackerjack. He elicited frequent comparisons to actors like Jean Claude van Damme and Steven Seagal, but these films received mixed to negative reviews and Griffith ultimately never reached their level of success. His performances however received praise from critics.

Through the late 1990s and 2000s, Griffith transitioned to smaller projects and roles, working almost exclusively direct-to-video. He did, however, star in the film Hollow Point alongside Tia Carrere as DEA agent Max Parrish and collaborate with director John Carpenter. He played head vampire Jan Valek in Carpenter's 1998 film Vampires and co-created the comic book series Asylum with Carpenter and producer Sandy King. [7]

In 1999, he starred in the TV movie Secret of Giving with Reba McEntire; earlier in 1999, he had appeared in McEntire's video for the song "What Do You Say." In 2002, Griffith appeared in the film XXX , in which he portrayed Agent Jim McGrath.

In 2007, Griffith retired from acting altogether to pursue screenwriting. From 2013 to 2017, he periodically wrote and worked as a story editor for the NBC television series Grimm and became a co-producer in 2015. He and his wife, Mary Page Keller, also collaborated to write the sixth episode of the dramedy series Dolly Parton's Heartstrings in 2019, as well as an episode for Netflix series Virgin River. [8]

In 2021 and 2022, Griffith came out of his retirement from acting to reprise the role of Terry Silver in the fourth, fifth, and sixth seasons of Cobra Kai . [9] [10]

Personal life

Griffith has been married to his former Another World costar Mary Page Keller since 1991 and the pair have two sons together. [1] He also has two sisters, Colleen and Mary Beth. [6]

Filmography

Film

YearFilmRoleNotes
1989 The Karate Kid Part III Terry Silver
1992 Ulterior Motives Jack Blaylock
1993 Excessive Force Detective Terry McCain
1994 Crackerjack Jack Wild
1994 Blood of the Innocent Detective Frank Wusharsky
1996 Hollow Point Max Parrish
1997 Behind Enemy Lines CIA Agent Mike Weston
1997 Kull the Conqueror General Taligaro
1998 John Carpenter's Vampires Jan Valek
1999AvalancheNeal Meekin
2000 For the Cause Evans
2001High AdventureChris Quatermain
2002 Black Point Gus Travis
2002 XXX NSA Agent Jim McGrath
2003 Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision Brandon Miller
2005Seawolf: The Pirate's CurseCaptain Jeffery Thorpe
2020 Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square —Consulting Producer

Television

YearShowCharacterNotes
1984–1987 Another World Catlin Ewing
1985 Miami Vice Extra (guy in pool, next to guy on raft in clothes)1 episode
1988 In the Heat of the Night Luke Potter2 episodes
1989 Wiseguy Roger Tot
1990 Rock Hudson Rock Hudson TV movie
1997The GuardianThe GuardianTV movie
1999 The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax Jack FarrellTV movie
1999 The Secret of Giving Harry WithersTV movie
2000A Vision of Murder: The Story of DonielleDoug BristerTV movie
2002 Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder Cornelius LoudermilkTV movie
2004 One Tree Hill Larry Sawyer5 episodes
2005 The Closer Thomas Yates1 episode
2006 Cold Case Mitch1 episode
2007The KidnappingCashTV movie
2013–2017 Grimm —Writer (8 episodes), story editor, co-producer
2019 Dolly Parton's Heartstrings —Writer (1 episode)
2021–present Cobra Kai Terry Silver Main Antagonist (seasons 4-6)
2023 Virgin River —Writer (1 episode), supervising producer

Video games

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Thomas Ian Griffith Biography (1962?-)". Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2017. some sources cite 1962...
  2. 1 2 Clary, David W. (March 1993). "Meet the Karate Kid's Worst Enemy". Black Belt . p. 18. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2020. Griffith, 32... [interview necessarily conducted prior to March 1993 publication date]
  3. ↑ Petski, Denise (May 27, 2021). "Terry Silver Returns In 'Cobra Kai' Season 4". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 27, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Griffith is Latest Force in Hot World of Hollywood Action Movies". Hartford Courant . May 17, 1993. Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  5. ↑ "'Another World' has high hopes for Griffith". The Times and Democrat . February 10, 1984. Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  6. 1 2 "GRIFFITH IS LATEST FORCE IN HOT WORLD OF HOLLYWOOD ACTION MOVIES – Hartford Courant". January 1, 2022. Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  7. ↑ Yanes, Nicholas (May 2014). "Sandy King discusses movie making and the comic book 'John Carpenter's Asylum'". scifipulse.net. Trending News Theme. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  8. ↑ Moore, Kasey (April 11, 2023). "'Virgin River' Season 5: Netflix Release Date Estimate & What We Know So Far". What's on Netflix. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  9. ↑ Petski, Denise (May 27, 2021). "Terry Silver Returns In 'Cobra Kai' Season 4". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 27, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  10. ↑ Moylan, Brian (December 31, 2021). "The Complete History of New 'Cobra Kai' Villain Terry Silver". Men's Health. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
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