‘Cobra Kai’ Star Gianni DeCenzo Opens Up About Last Day on Set & Final Fights

Scott Fishman July 17, 2024, 6:00 pm

Gianni DeCenzo as Demetri, Jacob Bertrand as Eli 'Hawk' Moskowitz, Joe Seo as Kyler, Xolo Maridueña as Miguel Diaz in Cobra Kai - Season 6 — Netflix

After almost two years, the stage is set for Cobra Kai to go out with a bang. The Karate Kid series is set to return for Season 6, Part 1 on July 18 as Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) look to the future. The Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang senseis and their students have squashed past beef for the greater good to take down Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith).

There isn’t much time to celebrate with a big challenge on the horizon in the form of the Sekai Taikai, the premiere international karate tournament. The remanence of Cobra Kai can still be felt following John Kreese (Martin Kove) faking his death and breaking out of prison. We haven’t seen the last of the “No Mercy” sensei, much like Kim Da-Eun (Alicia Hannah-Kim) who is still in the mix.

For Gianni DeCenzo, who plays the wise-cracking Demetri Alexopoulos, the series’ end marks the end of an era. The star spent many of his teenage years on set and growing alongside his character. Here DeCenzo opens up about his last day of filming and the biggest battles to come.

Jacob Bertrand as Eli 'Hawk' Moskowitz, Gianni DeCenzo as Demetri in Cobra Kai

Has it set in that Cobra Kai’s final season is about to premiere?

Gianni DeCenzo: It really hasn’t set in too much yet. We had our big final day where we kind of wrapped one by one during the same week. I think the first ones to do wrap were me and Jacob [Bertrand] [Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz’. My final day was with him. I think that it set in a little bit when I went home from filming after the first month or so. I think it will hit me most when we do that final premiere. This will be the last Cobra Kai event thing we all have together. Get back to me after that. I think it will be sad. I hang out with people though off-set, so I’m not too broken up about it. At the same time, it is the end of this chapter for me, so that is very sad.

Pretty perfect that you and Jacob were together given that your characters are so intertwined. How was that last day on set for the Binary Brothers?

It was a fun last day. In my scene, there was no dialogue or anything. It was literally just the two of us. There was no audio at all. We just put on some music from my phone and just kind of rocked out. I can’t give spoilers to what it all involved, but it was pretty fun. Since we all kind of wrapped the same week, we would go to the set the next day to watch the next person finish up. There were some tears for some people. Not me, I’m very brave. No crying at all for me. I’m cool like that. It was very bittersweet.

Anything you took from the set as a memento?

I think I took my fair share of stuff this season. We all took our gis. I have that hung up. My favorite thing I ever took was actually my Pac-Man suit from the prom. That was tailored for me. That also fits in my closet next to my gi. There are some other things we took that you might have to read about in my autobiography one day. We’ll see. Just a few things.

How would you describe Season 6 and the fact it was broken down into three parts? Looks like you’re all leveling up with this big karate tournament on the world’s stage.

I feel a little bad for the fan that it has to be broken up into three different parts because people are going to go crazy waiting for the next part. This tournament will make it worth it because it’s a doozy. This season I’ve never seen as much fighting in this show, which is crazy because this is a show about karate. I would say there is a major fight in just about every episode, especially with this tournament coming up. I can’t spoil anything, but it’s a big one.

There were some things we had to film on a whim because we had so many little parts and different pieces going on. I had to film this one fight scene where there were three different iterations of it. I was learning it as we were going. I had three different versions of that fight in my head and couldn’t remember any of it. They said, “Action!” and my body just took over, and I started punching. It was a very hectic season. I’m excited for people to see it, but unfortunately, you’ll have to see it in parts. Sorry.

How do you look back at Demetri’s coming-of-age evolution on the show?

I started on this show when I was 16. I’m 22 now. It has been really cool getting to build this character over time. When we first see this character in Season 1, he is kind of this nerdy kid who just wants to keep to himself. He is like, “My life isn’t going to begin until I’m in my 40s when I have a really good job.” Now in Season 6, he is doing all these crazy things. We see him develop more as a person and gain this confidence and learn he doesn’t have to play the long game.

Especially, not with Yasmine (Annalisa Cochrane), who he ends up getting. Very proud of my guy. Really the whole journey for Demetri has been growing his confidence. For someone who doesn’t necessarily want to do karate, I think he kicks ass and is pretty good at it. It will be something he always kind of has in his back pocket if later on in his 40s a board meeting doesn’t go his way. He can get into a scuffle there. That will be in a spinoff 30 years from now for Demetri. No spoilers though!

What’s great about this show is that it has leaned into the legacy of Karate Kid. Just when we think we’ve seen just about every callback there is some returning cast member or easter egg. How is it for you to see the lore of Karate Kid continue, especially knowing we see a movie coming out?

With the movie, Ralph [Macchio] is a champ because he had to do some filming for it while we were filming the final season. The final season alone is a beast with 15 episodes. Props to him. I’m really excited to see what happens with that. I’m also excited for people to see what lore we add in this final season. I grew up with my dad watching the original Karate Kid, so I see how much it means to people. The fact we get to add our own little bits and pieces to this world, it’s really an honor. It’s super cool. I think it will be a nice little addition to the story for people. I wish I could spoil it, but it’s worth the wait. You may have to wait a minute…or two.

Cobra Kai may be ending, but it seems there is still hope for expanding this Miyagiverse. How open would you be playing Demetri again? Do you feel the way the series ends leaves the door open for more stories to be told?

No, my character dies this season. There is no story to be told. Gone forever! [laughs] No, I think the way this ends there is totally room for another spinoff or something like that. I would definitely be open to it. I love playing the character. He is leaving high school right now, so there is totally room for more story. Yeah, I would love to see the Binary Brothers go to college together and the hijinks that would ensue. I have heard on set of different kinds of spinoffs or ideas that could possibly happen. I think they all sounded really cool and fans would like them. We’ll see what the future holds. Stay tuned. Maybe something more down the line.

What Happened in 'Cobra Kai' Season 5?

What do you take from your experience as an actor? You’ve gotten to do a little bit of everything.

I think the biggest lesson I got was how to handle myself on a set as one of the leads for so long. I think it really is the best form of education. This was my college. I graduated high school myself halfway through filming this show. I really learned how to work with others. That will help me down the line when I want to make my own TV shows, which is what I want to eventually want to do. It was a good lesson in collaboration. It was a great college.

What do you want to say to viewers before they dig into the season?

Take your time. This is the last one ever, so enjoy it. I think you all will really love it. There is a fight in just about every episode. We’re tired from filming it, but we loved doing it for you guys. You are all going to enjoy it. Watch out for the bits of lore we add this season. Big thank you to the creators of the show Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg. They are amazing and should be really proud. I can’t wait for you to see it.

Cobra Kai, Season 6 Part 1 Premiere, Thursday, July 18, Netflix

Cobra Kai, Season 6 Part 2 Premiere, Thursday, November 28, Netflix

Cobra Kai, Season 6 Part 3 Premiere, 2025, Netflix