Cobra Kai

[Greg]

So my mind just got blown. Did anyone else know that Toshiro Mifune was originally considered for the role of Mr. Miyagi? Seriously?

"I never was able to do karate. That's calling me a good actor. I act like I can do anything."

The scene that sealed Pat Morita's nomination for Best Supporting Actor in "The Karate Kid" (1984), in which Miyagi gets drunk and weeps over the death of his wife and child in the Manzanar internment camp, was nearly cut out of the film. The studio thought the scene was unnecessary and wanted it cut, but director John G. Avildsen argued that it was important to Miyagi's character and finally the studio relented and allowed the scene to be kept in. Also, during the casting of the film, the studio wanted legendary Japanese actor Toshirô Mifune to play Miyagi, but Avildsen and producer Jerry Weintraub thought Mifune's interpretation of the character was far too serious for what the film needed.

Morita's portrayal of Mr. Miyagi was heavily influenced by karate master Fumio Demura. Morita spent a lot of time with Demura, who doubled him for his fight scenes, and translated not only Demura's attitude towards the martial arts to the character, but also his mannerisms and speech.

The skeleton fight scene endured numerous takes because the actors complained that Demura (as Morita's stunt double) was hitting them too hard, which caused the scene to lose some of the choreography and authenticity. Fumio told the director that if he could use his own students they would get the shot in one take. The director agreed and they shot the fight scene successfully in one take. (IMDb)

Happy Birthday, Pat Morita!