Thomas Ian Griffith (born March 18, 1962) is an American actor, producer and writer. He played Terry Silver in The Karate Kid Part III. He reprised his role as Terry Silver in Season 4 of Cobra Kai.
Career[]
Griffith became obsessed with Tae Kwon Do while in high school and earned a black belt when he was 18. His knowledge of Tae Kwon Do helped him land his first feature film: 1989's 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.
In 1996, Griffith starred in the film Hollow Point alongside Tia Carrere, as DEA agent Max Parish and FBI agent Diane Norwood respectively. Griffith has also collaborated with director John Carpenter. He played head vampire Jan Valek in the 1998 film Vampires and co-created the comic book series Asylum, together with Carpenter and producer Sandy King.
Griffith appeared in the 2002 film XXX, in which he portrayed Agent Jim McGrath.
His first TV role was on the soap opera Another World, as Catlin Ewing, whom he played from 1984 to 1987. In 1999, he starred in the TV movie Secret of Giving with Reba McEntire; earlier in 1999, he had appeared in Reba's video for the song "What Do You Say". He also starred as Rock Hudson in a 1990 TV movie Rock Hudson. He has made guest appearances on a number of television shows, including In the Heat of the Night, Wiseguy, and One Tree Hill.
From 2013 to 2017, Griffith periodically wrote and worked as a story editor for the NBC television series Grimm and became a co-producer in 2015.
In 2021 and 2022, Griffith came out of retirement from acting to reprise the role of Terry Silver from The Karate Kid Part III in the fourth and fifth seasons of Cobra Kai.
Personal Life[]
Griffith has been married to his former Another World costar Mary Page Keller since 1991, and has two sons. He holds a black belt in tae kwon do and kenpo karate.
Trivia[]
- Alicia Hannah-Kim spoke very highly of working with Thomas Ian Griffith, saying he is "unfailingly kind and warm" and "a gentleman". She also claims he is a "real renaissance man", as, in addition to acting, he is a musician, martial artist and writer.
- His wife Mary Page Keller worked with Yuji Okumoto in the Johnny Tsunami movies.