Posted in: Cobra Kai, Netflix, TV | Tagged: cobra kai, ed asner, Josh Heald, karate kid, netflix, Sid Weinberg

Cobra Kai & Ed Asner: How The TV Legend Helped Elevate Netflix Series

Hollywood lost an icon in Ed Asner, who passed on August 29. The actor was revered across film and television never slowing down with over 400 credits to his name. One of the projects that really benefitted was the Netflix series Cobra Kai as Sid Weinberg, the wealthy stepfather to Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). As per the kind of caliber of Asner's talent in his lone appearances across all three seasons, he became a primary source of Johnny's pain due to their contentious relationship. Every time Johnny visited, Sid rakes him in the coals belittling him for crawling back.

It's the kind of character-building that makes Johnny such a relatable character for someone in constant need of proving himself to the world. It's the toxic relationship that helped Johnny overcome his self-loathing nature and invest in his students and what passes for his loved ones. What's particularly surprising is that despite Asner's seven Emmy wins and 10 nominations, he hasn't received one for Outstanding Guest Actor nomination for Cobra Kai with his last in 2009 for CSI: NY. The actor's final appearance to date is in season three, episode three "Now You're Gonna Pay" where Johnny swore he will never come back while trying to raise money for his student Miguel Diaz's (Xolo Maridueña) back surgery.

It's not known if Asner filmed anything for season four, but co-showrunner Josh Heald penned a tribute on Twitter. "Getting to work with [Ed Asner] on [Cobra Kai] made a surreal experience even deeper. What a sense of humor on that man. He was a Day 1 Cobra Kai for life. We will dearly miss our Sid." Like Pat Morita's passing, Cobra Kai also wrote in his character Nariyoshi Miyagi's passing into the story, which helped mold Ralph Macchio's Daniel LaRusso as his former sensei. It won't be surprising if a similar scene is done for Asner's Sid likely in season five. Cobra Kai season four premieres in December on Netflix.

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