Gianni DeCenzo Talks Dimitri’s Journey in Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 2

[00:00:09] Johnny, thank you all for joining me today on Pop Culture Unplugged. Yeah, thank you so much for having me, man. Yeah, third time. Crazy. Third time. Amazing. We've got to keep doing this every year, I guess. Yeah, we'll make it a little tradition. We'll have like our birthdays and then we'll celebrate this. We'll get like a cake or something. There you go. We got Cobra Kai Part 2, man. How does it feel, man? We've been waiting for, you know, just a few months from Part 1 to be released and we got Part 2 now. It's like we all want it at once. That's what it feels. I know. We're not happy with Netflix.

[00:00:38] I know. I feel so bad. When I found out that they were doing it in three parts, I was like, oh, there's going to be a lot of angry fans out there. I feel your pain, man. I'm right there with you. I want to be able to like spoil it and share it, but you know, we'll see. It'll be worth a wait.

[00:00:53] How does it feel to be returning, you know, Cobra Kai in its final chapter, my friend?

[00:00:59] I mean, the main theme of this final season is like bittersweet. That's what I keep telling people because like, you know, it sucks to end this. We've been doing this for six plus years.

[00:01:10] We've got a family, a little karate family made out of this, but it's really nice to be able to end it on our terms and end it on such a high note because you don't want it to be like, oh, the show got canceled after like 12 seasons and there's not going to be an ending. Sorry, guys.

[00:01:28] I think that the creators of the show and the writers of the show really did an awesome job finishing up this chapter of everyone's life. It's been awesome.

[00:01:39] Dimitri, you know, he's come a long way since season one. I mean, look at his path, you know, he's grown up. There's a lot of changes in him, you know, like tell us a little bit about his journey now.

[00:01:49] I mean, yeah, his journey, especially this last season is insane. We've seen him go from being this sarcastic nerd that wants to keep to himself at the cafeteria lunch table to now competing in an international karate tournament.

[00:02:06] This is something that I don't think he ever would have thought of in his wildest dreams. And he's got, you know, such a great group of friends to back him up.

[00:02:15] Now this season in particular, we're seeing a, you know, a bit of turbulence between him and his binary bro, which, you know, is nothing new.

[00:02:23] But for it to come from Dimitri's side now of like being the aggressor is new.

[00:02:30] And I'm really excited for people to see kind of how he goes about that.

[00:02:35] My favorite thing about Dimitri being kind of this bad boy this season is that he saw Hawk like, okay, when he went through his transformation,

[00:02:45] he got a new haircut. So, I mean, that's what I got to do. So we see, you know, Dimitri rocks like this pompadour.

[00:02:51] It's, it's kind of his go-to thing.

[00:02:54] Yeah. I'm really excited for people to see what the new Dimitri is like this season.

[00:03:00] He's a little cocky. I've noticed this season.

[00:03:02] He's super cocky. I mean, he's always kind of had like this sort of cockiness to him,

[00:03:07] but now it's kind of got this arrogance to it.

[00:03:10] But it's, yeah, it's a lot of fun to get to play it this season.

[00:03:14] Yeah. And I like, you know, like his relationships, you know,

[00:03:17] when you mentioned with Eli, even with Sam and Miguel, you know, like how do you,

[00:03:20] how would you say they evolved in this part of the season, especially part two?

[00:03:24] I mean, like, you know, like I said, they really become like a family.

[00:03:28] He had no friends. It was just him and Eli against the world.

[00:03:32] But now, you know, they're, they're brothers. I seriously wouldn't have thought that,

[00:03:38] oh, going into spoilers here. I wouldn't have thought that, you know,

[00:03:42] Dimitri meeting Robbie would eventually share a bed with him. You know,

[00:03:46] these are the kinds of things like they, they really became one big family.

[00:03:51] And I love it. It's, it's great to see, you know, the, the writers,

[00:03:55] they did such a great job weaving these people's lives together.

[00:03:58] In part two, we also see you lose his girlfriend. Yeah.

[00:04:03] That's a tough one for him.

[00:04:06] He had a, he had her for, you know, how many seasons?

[00:04:11] He had a good, like two seasons. Yeah. Yeah. I think, yeah.

[00:04:15] That's more than I could ever hope for Dimitri. We'll see what happens.

[00:04:20] It's, it's going to be an interesting thing. That's, you know, that's his,

[00:04:24] his queen.

[00:04:25] So to speak. Right, right, right, right.

[00:04:28] Yeah. So I think they, they belong together, but we'll,

[00:04:32] we'll find out what happens. I mean, we see what happens, but you know,

[00:04:35] I don't want to do too much.

[00:04:36] Part one was in the summer. Now we got part two.

[00:04:39] Like when you were reading like the scripts for the, you know,

[00:04:41] the first two parts, what went through your head?

[00:04:43] What went through your mind?

[00:04:45] I mean, it's, it's really cool. The, these three parts,

[00:04:49] we can see kind of, you know, the way the story progresses.

[00:04:52] Part one is really like, we're in training mode. We're hardcore training.

[00:04:55] We're deciding who's going to represent us.

[00:04:57] And then part two is like the actual event. And I knew, you know,

[00:05:02] going through part one, like, okay, yeah,

[00:05:04] this is going to be a lot of setup. But when we get to part two,

[00:05:07] it's going to just completely unfold. It's going to be insane.

[00:05:11] And, you know,

[00:05:12] I did a lot of stretching in part one,

[00:05:14] because I knew it was going to be completely insane.

[00:05:18] And yeah, the fights that we do this season,

[00:05:21] we have the big fight with the roided out Russians.

[00:05:25] That one was,

[00:05:26] I think my personal favorite just because we got to see it just completely

[00:05:33] unfold.

[00:05:33] Everything that we had been setting up in these two parts just completely

[00:05:37] collapsed in on itself.

[00:05:38] We had, you know, a pretty insane death.

[00:05:44] That was completely unexpected.

[00:05:46] I didn't think that was going to happen.

[00:05:49] No one told us about it until we got the actual script that yeah,

[00:05:55] Quan he's, he's a goner and I liked him too.

[00:05:58] I liked this character, Brandon. He does such a great job.

[00:06:01] Uh, he started out doing stunts, like just stunts.

[00:06:06] And it,

[00:06:06] it really shows because he just completely kicked all of our asses this season.

[00:06:11] He's insane.

[00:06:12] It's funny.

[00:06:13] Oh yeah.

[00:06:15] So I spoke,

[00:06:15] so I spoke to him the other day,

[00:06:16] but I interviewed him during part one also.

[00:06:19] So as soon as he jumped,

[00:06:20] as soon as he jumped on the interview that day,

[00:06:22] I said, listen, man,

[00:06:22] I was like,

[00:06:23] I'm mad at you because I asked you a question about his journey and you had to

[00:06:27] hold it.

[00:06:28] And he was like, it was the hardest secret secret he had to keep.

[00:06:31] Dude.

[00:06:32] I feel so bad for him.

[00:06:33] Yeah.

[00:06:33] He's like any interview that he does.

[00:06:36] He just has to keep a secret that he's not around for the whole thing.

[00:06:40] That's right.

[00:06:41] Speaking of the,

[00:06:42] of the tournament,

[00:06:43] uh,

[00:06:43] you know,

[00:06:43] that's a massive milestone for you guys too.

[00:06:45] Like,

[00:06:45] uh,

[00:06:46] how,

[00:06:47] how do you think Demetri approaches this tournament and the challenge that he

[00:06:50] faces in this tournament?

[00:06:51] I mean,

[00:06:52] you know,

[00:06:53] originally he had no expectation that he would even make it there.

[00:06:56] And so,

[00:06:57] you know,

[00:06:59] realizing,

[00:06:59] Oh my God,

[00:07:00] I have to represent Miyagi-Do.

[00:07:02] And this is going to determine the fate of karate in the Valley forever.

[00:07:06] And the fate of,

[00:07:07] you know,

[00:07:07] Miyagi-Do worldwide on the world stage.

[00:07:11] Uh,

[00:07:11] I think that there's a lot of pressure and now,

[00:07:13] you know,

[00:07:14] added pressure of him beefing with his best friend.

[00:07:18] That's,

[00:07:18] you know,

[00:07:18] that was his confidant.

[00:07:19] And now he doesn't have that support system anymore.

[00:07:23] Um,

[00:07:23] it,

[00:07:24] it really is kind of a difficult thing for him,

[00:07:26] but I think,

[00:07:28] you know,

[00:07:29] going worldwide,

[00:07:30] he's kind of trying to sow his oats a little bit here,

[00:07:34] so to speak.

[00:07:35] Um,

[00:07:35] he's flirting with the,

[00:07:37] the,

[00:07:38] the local women.

[00:07:39] He's,

[00:07:40] you know,

[00:07:40] he's really trying to explore himself and who he is as a person.

[00:07:44] He's trying to discover himself,

[00:07:45] um,

[00:07:47] more than anything.

[00:07:48] Uh,

[00:07:49] so yeah,

[00:07:49] I think that there's a lot of anxiety and fear in it,

[00:07:52] but I think he's also really enjoying the vacation,

[00:07:54] you know,

[00:07:55] do you think,

[00:07:56] do you think he's trying to prove something to himself also with this

[00:07:58] tournament?

[00:07:59] Oh yeah.

[00:08:00] A thousand percent.

[00:08:00] I mean,

[00:08:01] in season one,

[00:08:02] part one,

[00:08:03] uh,

[00:08:03] part one.

[00:08:04] Yeah.

[00:08:04] He is kind of put down and like told that,

[00:08:08] you know,

[00:08:09] he's not good enough.

[00:08:10] He's this and that.

[00:08:11] And then Yasmin comes along and she's like,

[00:08:14] no,

[00:08:14] dude,

[00:08:15] don't,

[00:08:15] don't just like sit back and take the loss.

[00:08:18] Before you even lost,

[00:08:19] just go for it.

[00:08:21] You,

[00:08:21] you can prove yourself.

[00:08:22] And it really does kind of show him that.

[00:08:24] Yeah,

[00:08:24] I,

[00:08:24] I can,

[00:08:25] I can prove myself and who I am as a person and as a fighter.

[00:08:30] Uh,

[00:08:31] I'm,

[00:08:31] I'm really excited for that.

[00:08:33] What's your thoughts on the iron dragons for part two?

[00:08:35] Dude,

[00:08:36] they're insane.

[00:08:37] I don't know if you had a chance to,

[00:08:39] uh,

[00:08:39] to interview Patrick.

[00:08:41] I did the other day.

[00:08:41] Yeah.

[00:08:42] Okay,

[00:08:43] good.

[00:08:43] Yeah,

[00:08:44] dude,

[00:08:44] he didn't have any sort of fighting experience prior to,

[00:08:48] this.

[00:08:48] And when he did it,

[00:08:49] they really just threw him in there and he had to learn super fast.

[00:08:53] And I think he did an insane job.

[00:08:56] He did really good.

[00:08:57] And he's also just a really great guy.

[00:08:59] He's huge too.

[00:09:00] I'm six foot.

[00:09:01] I don't know how tall he is.

[00:09:04] He,

[00:09:04] yeah,

[00:09:04] he makes me look like a pipsqueak,

[00:09:06] um,

[00:09:07] which is great.

[00:09:08] Love it.

[00:09:09] Uh,

[00:09:09] but yeah,

[00:09:10] the iron dragons is a,

[00:09:11] is a whole other beast.

[00:09:12] You see,

[00:09:13] you know,

[00:09:14] Cobra Kai giving Miyagi-Do a hard time is like one thing,

[00:09:17] but then Cobra Kai being,

[00:09:19] you know,

[00:09:20] totally wrecked by the iron dragons is,

[00:09:23] it just shows you what we're in for and what's in store for the rest of the,

[00:09:28] the show.

[00:09:29] It's there.

[00:09:30] They're quite the adversary.

[00:09:31] I gotta say.

[00:09:32] I think the fans are going to fall in love with him too.

[00:09:34] What do you think with Patrick?

[00:09:36] Oh,

[00:09:36] I think so.

[00:09:36] I mean,

[00:09:37] it's,

[00:09:37] it's very sad.

[00:09:39] What's going on with Patrick's character.

[00:09:42] Um,

[00:09:43] he's,

[00:09:43] he's got a real rough go of it.

[00:09:45] I would say it kind of mirrors what Johnny went through in the original movie.

[00:09:50] No,

[00:09:51] you have the pressure from your sensei being like,

[00:09:53] you know,

[00:09:53] do good.

[00:09:53] You guys,

[00:09:54] you gotta be tough,

[00:09:55] be bad.

[00:09:56] Um,

[00:09:57] but he's just a sensitive boy at the end of the day.

[00:09:59] He just wants some loving.

[00:10:01] He just wants some love,

[00:10:03] man.

[00:10:03] Where's the love?

[00:10:04] Come on.

[00:10:05] So in part two,

[00:10:07] also,

[00:10:07] tell us about the,

[00:10:08] that awesome brawl at the end of part two,

[00:10:10] but that's insane.

[00:10:11] I heard it was two days worth of filming almost.

[00:10:14] Yeah,

[00:10:14] it was two days.

[00:10:16] Uh,

[00:10:16] we filmed my section with Jacob who plays Eli.

[00:10:21] Uh,

[00:10:22] we go up onto the stage and we have that whole brawl.

[00:10:25] Um,

[00:10:26] we re choreographed that thing like three times.

[00:10:29] I want to say,

[00:10:31] and we didn't really get it down until right before we called,

[00:10:34] action.

[00:10:35] So we were on our toes.

[00:10:37] Like I literally wouldn't know what the fight was until they called action.

[00:10:41] And then muscle memory just kicked.

[00:10:43] And I was like,

[00:10:43] okay,

[00:10:43] I'm just going with this.

[00:10:45] I guess I throw this punch here.

[00:10:47] Um,

[00:10:48] and it was a lot of fun.

[00:10:49] And then eventually it completely like just falls apart.

[00:10:54] We are all just brawling.

[00:10:57] And then Quan dies.

[00:10:58] That whole section,

[00:10:59] I want to say was like completely improvised,

[00:11:01] safely improvised.

[00:11:03] You know,

[00:11:03] we were throwing just some shadow punches and never actually making any contact.

[00:11:08] Hopefully.

[00:11:09] Um,

[00:11:10] it was a lot of fun,

[00:11:11] but it was,

[00:11:12] it was very nerve wracking.

[00:11:14] Uh,

[00:11:15] yeah,

[00:11:16] it was crazy.

[00:11:17] That's crazy.

[00:11:18] You know,

[00:11:19] six seasons.

[00:11:19] Is there like for Dimitri,

[00:11:21] is there,

[00:11:22] or even know for yourself,

[00:11:23] like,

[00:11:23] you know,

[00:11:23] he's had,

[00:11:24] he's had a few rivals.

[00:11:25] Was there anybody that you were excited about that you,

[00:11:27] you had seeds with for the season that you fought?

[00:11:31] Yeah.

[00:11:32] I mean,

[00:11:32] for me,

[00:11:33] it was,

[00:11:33] I really enjoyed Quan,

[00:11:35] uh,

[00:11:36] just because there was,

[00:11:38] especially in the second part,

[00:11:40] he,

[00:11:41] um,

[00:11:41] he just picked on my character a lot.

[00:11:43] Like he would,

[00:11:44] you know,

[00:11:45] knock my pamphlet out of my hand and really kind of like,

[00:11:48] he'd knock into me.

[00:11:49] And it's like,

[00:11:50] dude,

[00:11:50] I don't even know you.

[00:11:51] Why are you doing this to me?

[00:11:52] Um,

[00:11:53] I thought it was great.

[00:11:54] Uh,

[00:11:55] and there was like one fight scene where,

[00:11:58] you know,

[00:11:58] we're huddled up and we're like,

[00:11:59] okay,

[00:11:59] we're going for it.

[00:12:00] And then they just sprint at us.

[00:12:02] Dimitri literally just turns around and Quan just knocks him right out.

[00:12:06] So it's like,

[00:12:07] dude,

[00:12:08] here we go again on the international level,

[00:12:10] just getting completely wrecked.

[00:12:13] Uh,

[00:12:13] it was really great.

[00:12:14] And Quan is just our Brandon who plays Quan.

[00:12:17] He's just such a good,

[00:12:18] like,

[00:12:19] you know,

[00:12:19] he's so good at playing this,

[00:12:21] like,

[00:12:21] Oh yeah,

[00:12:22] this dick.

[00:12:23] That's like,

[00:12:24] why are you doing this to us,

[00:12:25] man?

[00:12:25] What the heck?

[00:12:27] Um,

[00:12:27] I love him.

[00:12:28] Brandon's a great guy.

[00:12:29] And when the fans see that episode,

[00:12:31] they're going to,

[00:12:32] they're going to be mad.

[00:12:33] He's gone.

[00:12:34] Yeah.

[00:12:34] I know.

[00:12:35] I told him that the other day.

[00:12:36] Yeah.

[00:12:37] I was so mad that he was gone.

[00:12:38] I wanted to see him in part three.

[00:12:40] I wanted more of this guy.

[00:12:42] Um,

[00:12:42] but I mean,

[00:12:43] that makes like what we do see of them all the better.

[00:12:46] Just like,

[00:12:47] Oh,

[00:12:47] this is like a very selective amount that we get of this guy.

[00:12:50] And it's,

[00:12:50] it's so delicious.

[00:12:51] Right.

[00:12:53] Without giving too much away.

[00:12:54] What can you tell us about part three?

[00:12:56] What can you tease about Dimitri?

[00:12:57] Can you tease anything about him?

[00:12:58] Yeah.

[00:12:59] I die.

[00:13:00] I die in part three.

[00:13:01] Don't say that.

[00:13:02] Yeah.

[00:13:03] Kreese finishes the job.

[00:13:05] Uh,

[00:13:05] no,

[00:13:06] uh,

[00:13:06] all I can say is there's a lot going on in part two,

[00:13:11] a lot that has been unresolved.

[00:13:12] You know,

[00:13:13] we got the death of Quan that we kind of have to deal with.

[00:13:17] This has never really happened before.

[00:13:18] The,

[00:13:18] the worst that's ever happened was,

[00:13:20] you know,

[00:13:20] you get a couple of scrapes and bruises,

[00:13:21] but you walk it off.

[00:13:23] Uh,

[00:13:23] but this is like a life that was lost.

[00:13:26] Um,

[00:13:27] and we also got to see the,

[00:13:30] the binary bros work out their issues.

[00:13:32] And now we can see them work together in the final,

[00:13:36] final part to really get through it.

[00:13:39] yeah.

[00:13:39] And this is,

[00:13:40] this is it,

[00:13:41] man.

[00:13:41] The third part,

[00:13:42] whatever happens happens.

[00:13:44] That's how it ends.

[00:13:45] Uh,

[00:13:46] I think it's,

[00:13:47] it's going to be great,

[00:13:48] but hopefully the,

[00:13:48] the fans like it.

[00:13:50] It's going to be crazy.

[00:13:51] I know I asked you this question last time we spoke,

[00:13:53] but have you thought about the whole spinoff thing?

[00:13:55] Would you want to revisit this character someday again?

[00:13:58] I,

[00:13:59] I mean,

[00:13:59] I definitely would.

[00:14:00] I think it would be really cool to see like the binary bros college years.

[00:14:05] Uh,

[00:14:06] that,

[00:14:07] that would be my go-to.

[00:14:09] I always thought maybe it'd be like,

[00:14:11] you know,

[00:14:12] they discover an underground robot fight club and they,

[00:14:16] you know,

[00:14:16] enter in that building,

[00:14:18] these robots that do karate to help pay the bills.

[00:14:22] Um,

[00:14:22] just,

[00:14:23] you know,

[00:14:23] kind of real steel meets fight club is,

[00:14:25] is my go-to,

[00:14:26] but there's,

[00:14:28] there's been a lot of talks,

[00:14:29] uh,

[00:14:30] of spinoffs.

[00:14:31] I would like to see anything.

[00:14:33] I think they could go anyway.

[00:14:34] It'd be awesome.

[00:14:35] How about the legacy of Demetri?

[00:14:37] What do you want the fans to remember about him?

[00:14:39] You know,

[00:14:40] I want them to know no matter what happened,

[00:14:44] he never compromised who he was as a person.

[00:14:47] Yeah.

[00:14:47] He got better at martial arts.

[00:14:49] Yeah.

[00:14:49] He kind of got a little bit cocky in this,

[00:14:51] this final season,

[00:14:52] but he was always true to his sarcastic nerdy self.

[00:14:56] Not once did he back down from who he was as a person.

[00:14:59] And,

[00:15:00] uh,

[00:15:00] I hope,

[00:15:00] you know,

[00:15:01] if you take anything away from that,

[00:15:03] you can learn not to back down and stay confident in who you are,

[00:15:06] because that's something that I think I definitely learned playing the

[00:15:09] character.

[00:15:10] I think it's a great lesson for anyone to,

[00:15:11] to learn.

[00:15:13] Definitely.

[00:15:14] Any messages for the corporate guy fans?

[00:15:16] Uh,

[00:15:17] just,

[00:15:17] you know,

[00:15:17] thank you so much for watching.

[00:15:19] I know when the show first came out,

[00:15:21] there was a lot of fear and panic of like,

[00:15:23] Oh my God,

[00:15:23] they're going to ruin the karate kid.

[00:15:25] Oh no,

[00:15:26] they can't do this,

[00:15:27] but you guys stuck in there.

[00:15:29] You saw,

[00:15:30] like,

[00:15:30] we really care about this show and we really want to make a great thing for

[00:15:33] you.

[00:15:34] And I'm glad that you guys have enjoyed it.

[00:15:36] I hope you enjoyed this final season just as much as we've enjoyed making

[00:15:40] it.

[00:15:40] And,

[00:15:40] uh,

[00:15:41] yeah,

[00:15:41] couldn't ask for a better audience.

[00:15:43] You guys are awesome.

[00:15:43] Seriously.

[00:15:44] Love you guys.

[00:15:45] I'm going to say February something for a part three,

[00:15:47] right?

[00:15:48] Yeah.

[00:15:48] The final part,

[00:15:49] February.

[00:15:50] Oh,

[00:15:50] when I found out that we weren't going to get the whole thing until next

[00:15:53] year,

[00:15:53] I was so sad for like,

[00:15:55] everyone,

[00:15:56] you know,

[00:15:56] it sucks that we have to wait this long,

[00:15:59] but it,

[00:15:59] like I said,

[00:16:00] it's worth it.

[00:16:00] It's worth it.

[00:16:01] Are those episodes longer or the average 30 minutes or so?

[00:16:04] Do you know,

[00:16:04] you have any idea?

[00:16:05] I think they're average there.

[00:16:09] There might be some episodes that are a little longer.

[00:16:12] I think we're 35 to 45 minutes.

[00:16:15] Is that,

[00:16:15] that's like our range.

[00:16:17] Um,

[00:16:19] yeah,

[00:16:19] it's,

[00:16:20] but it's,

[00:16:20] it's not going to feel like slow at all.

[00:16:23] It's going to go by super quick.

[00:16:24] You're going to have to like press rewind a couple of times.

[00:16:27] That's right.

[00:16:28] Yeah.

[00:16:28] Hey,

[00:16:28] I had to pause it when Quan died.

[00:16:30] I turned,

[00:16:30] I turned around my wife and I was like,

[00:16:32] what just happened here?

[00:16:33] This is crazy.

[00:16:34] You got to take a minute to digest that.

[00:16:35] Just a teenage boy died there.

[00:16:39] Yeah.

[00:16:39] That was their first,

[00:16:40] first death in the series.

[00:16:42] I think.

[00:16:43] Yeah.

[00:16:44] First,

[00:16:44] first murder.

[00:16:45] Yeah.

[00:16:45] For sure.

[00:16:47] It's who knows,

[00:16:49] who knows what happens.

[00:16:50] That's right.

[00:16:50] That's right.

[00:16:51] Yeah.

[00:16:51] We'll have,

[00:16:52] we'll have to get you back on for part three.

[00:16:53] We'll continue on this conversation.

[00:16:57] You're going to hate me for not saying certain things.

[00:16:59] That's okay.

[00:17:01] Johnny,

[00:17:01] this is great.

[00:17:02] Like I said,

[00:17:02] we got to get you back on for part three.

[00:17:04] Continue on this.

[00:17:05] Yeah,

[00:17:05] no,

[00:17:06] I'm there,

[00:17:06] man.

[00:17:06] Yeah.

[00:17:07] I got to,

[00:17:07] I got to preserve my record.

[00:17:09] Can't let anybody else,

[00:17:10] but I want a cake this time or next time.