Gianni DeCenzo – Cobra Kai

By starrymag | March 29, 2021

By: Kelly Kearney

 

 

 

Q) Congratulations on Season Three of “Cobra Kai!” Over the course of three seasons your character, Demetri, went from a supporting role to the main cast. What was your reaction when you read season three’s script and saw what Demetri was going to be embroiled in his own drama?

 

A) Thank you so much!! I was so excited to see how Demetri’s arc was continuing to develop and how far my character has come, especially in Season 3! Season 2, things were JUST starting to take off for Demetri, but Season 3 was just crazy. It was so much fun to be a part of full out brawls and it was especially interesting to see Demetri getting his dream girl!

 

Q) Unlike Eli Hawk, whose personality changed the minute he entered the Cobra Kai do-jo, Demetri is still his sarcastic nerdy self. Now that he has paired up with popular girl Yasmine and found a home at Mayagi-do, could that change?

 

A) I think no matter what happens to Demetri, he’ll always be the lovable nerd. He may become more confident in himself as time goes on in the series and he’s going to always be true to himself and what he feels is right to speak up about and I really like the idea that nothings really going to change that.

 

Q) One of the many things that makes this show so enjoyable to watch are the fight scenes. The choreography is realistic, and action packed! What kind of training did you do for these scenes?

 

A) Prior to filming, we all have to fly out to Georgia to begin training. We have a solid two weeks of daily training to help keep us in fighting shape. Luckily, we have such an amazing stunt team that teaches us everything we need to know for the scenes. It’s a tough job making actors look good in the limited time that tv allows for filming. And sometimes, when things don’t work out and we need to make sudden changes on the fly, it’s so much fun. It’s kind of like taking a karate class for free!

 

Q We have to talk about Demetri’s broken arm courtesy of Hawk. Besides the attack and the subsequent defiling of Demetri’s cast, do you think that was the moment Hawk knew he went too far? Poor Demetri was desperately trying to remind him of their friendship and Hawk did pause before the inevitable break.

 

A) I think that in that moment, Eli (Jacob Bertrand) immediately knew how bad he screwed up. You can clearly see when he pauses that he’s not sure about what he’s going to do. And props to Jacob on how he played that moment because breaking Demetri’s arm was probably the lowest point for Eli and the Eli/Demetri feud. I DO think that in that moment Demetri started to get through to Eli and that would eventually lead to Eli’s redemption moment, which was very exciting for a lot of fans to see the Binary Brothers back together again.

 

Q) What has been your favorite scenes to film and what were the most challenging?

 

A) My favorite scene was also one of the most challenging ones to film.  It’s the final fight in Season 3. That fight is one giant single shot, so everything had to be executed perfectly. It took a few tries, but it was so much fun, and such a synergistic/group effort and it ended up looking amazing. Huge shout out to Hiro and Janelle and everyone involved on that day.

 

Q) Obviously, after the Cobra Kai take down in the finale, best friends Demetri and Hawk reconciled. Do you predict we expect that they will continue to move past the dark Kreese days of their friendship, or will Demetri still have some unresolved feelings about what Hawk did to him?

 

A) I hope that we really start to see Eli and Demetri reconnect in the next season. Obviously, there’s going to be a little healing that’ll have to take place, but to have a special friend like that, a soulmate, is so rare and to see Demetri and Eli go through the struggle with their feud and the pain it caused, but then to eventually reconcile in that heroic moment, which turned the tide of that battle…that fight…was such an amazing moment.  I would say that Demetri is super excited to have his binary bro back.

 

Q) As a member of the new cast, what has it been like working with veteran Karate Kid cast members Ralph Macchio and William Zabka? Have they shared their stories and experiences from the original films with you?

 

A) It’s been an awesome experience to be able to work with long time professionals like Ralph and Billy and Marty Kove. They’re great to work off of, which is the best thing you could ask for as an actor. They’re inspiring… They’re encouraging…Along with the Big 3—Jon [Hurwitz[, Josh [Heald] and Hayden [Schlossberg]. I’m blessed to have landed with such a great group of people. It’s just really cool to be able to work with such a great crew.

 

Q) This show has multi-generational appeal. From Gen-Z to Gen- X, absolutely everyone loves this series. Were you surprised by the shows almost instant popularity?

 

A) When I first auditioned for the show, I had no idea how big it would get. It’s been so cool to be a part of something this amazing! But “Cobra Kai” was not an overnight success. We had a little bit of a struggle finding our audience over at YouTube. Hats off to them for seeing the initial potential, but once Netflix got a hold of the show, things just blew up.

 

Q) Full of action-packed scenes and a heavy dose of nostalgia, what would you say is the reason why this show turned out to be such a hit with the fans?

 

A) The nostalgia is a lot of fun, but I think the show does an amazing job of standing on its own. It doesn’t necessarily need the nostalgia to keep people’s attention. We have so many amazing characters and story lines, all thanks to our amazing team of writers and the vision established by the creators of the show Jon, Josh and Hayden.

 

Q) Season 4 of “Cobra Kai” is coming, but are there any other projects you are working on that the fans can look out for?

 

A) Unfortunately, due to COVID, this in the industry slowed down to a crawl until recently and I haven’t been able to do too many other projects. But, hopefully, you’ll be able to see me in some other things very soon!

 

Q) What would you like to say to fans and supporters of you and your work on the show?

 

A) I really want to say thank you to everyone for all of the support for the show! We really wouldn’t be anywhere without our fan’s support. It’s fun to see all the posts on Social Media, (good or bad) and all the chat room discussions and bloggers that choose to take the time to discuss their different theories about the way different story lines are going to go. And just thank you so much for watching!