YouTube Robyn Lively plays Jessica Andrews in "The Karate Kid Part III."
In The Karate Kid Part III, Robyn Lively played Daniel LaRusso’s (Ralph Macchio) friend Jessica Andrews. The character had a flirtatious relationship with the New Jersey native before revealing that she had a boyfriend. Daniel was not phased by the information and the teenagers spent quite a bit of time together throughout the film.
The acclaimed series Cobra Kai often reintroduces popular characters from the Karate Kid franchise. However, Jessica has not yet been featured on the show.
It appears that the character was briefly mentioned during the second season of Cobra Kai. In Season 2, Episode 1, titled “Mercy Part II,” Daniel tells his daughter Samantha (Mary Mouser) about his high school sweetheart Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue). When Sam requested more information about their break-up, her father tells her, “that’s a story for another time. And then there’s a story after that. And that one.” In this moment, he seems to be referring to his other ex-girlfriend Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita) and Jessica.
Robyn Lively Has Expressed Interest In Being On ‘Cobra Kai’
Getty Robyn Lively poses at the iHeart80s Party in 2017.
While it has not been confirmed that the character will return to the San Fernando Valley, Robyn Lively has expressed a desire to be a Cobra Kai cast member. Before the show premiered, the actress spoke about her friendship with William “Billy” Zabka, who plays Johnny Lawrence, during a 2017 interview on the Below the Belt Show podcast.
She then stated that William Zabka, played a sensei, on an Amazon Prime series that she worked on called Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street. She said that the actors “had so much fun,” and there were numerous references to the Karate Kid film franchise in the episode.
“We’re trying to have these Easter Egg moments, ‘like oh my gosh the audience is going to love this.’ You know, we’re in a dojo together,” said the actress.
Lively revealed that she contacted Zabka about wanting to reprise the role of Jessica on Cobra Kai.
“We’ve been texting, and I’ve been like Billy! You know, I need to be on this show. You know it must happen. It has to happen… I think it would be so much fun,” said the actress.
Lively Clarified That Jessica Was Not Daniel Larusso’s Girlfriend
Getty Robyn Lively poses at the Michael Kors Collection Fall 2017 runway show.
The co-hosts of the podcast, Al Sotto and Cachi McFly, stated that she should join the show’s cast as Jessica was the romantic lead of the third installment in the Karate Kid film franchise. Lively then clarified that her character was initially supposed to date Daniel, but it was changed because Ralph Macchio was 10 years older than the actress.
“I was scripted to be the girlfriend, but then the age difference was so awkward that they ended up changing it so that I would just be his friend… Especially at the time, you know, I was 16 he was quite a bit older than me then. He was married. I was just a teenager,” said Lively.
During the interview, she also noted that she had been a fan of the Karate Kid films before joining the cast.
“When I got [the part], oh my gosh, I thought it was the greatest thing on the planet. Because well Karate Kid was just — growing up I mean I loved that movie so much and when I auditioned for the third one I couldn’t believe it,” said the actress.
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