Thomas Ian Griffith (born March 18, 1962) 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.

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. 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. 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. '' 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.

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. 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. 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. 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.

Personal life

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

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games