Interview with Matt Mills, The Karate Kid Musical

Embarking on its first-ever UK and Ireland tour is The Karate Kid Musical, a new show inspired by the iconic 1984 film. Coming to life on stage thanks to a Tony Award-winning design team and an electrifying new score, this musical is about a teenager who learns karate from a wise mentor to defend himself, build confidence, and overcome challenges both in competition and in life. Now on its tour, we were joined by Matt Mills, who plays John Kreese, to find out more about this new production.

You’re starring in the UK tour premiere of The Karate Kid musical - what’s it like to be part of bringing this iconic story to life on stage?

Being part of any iconic franchise is always an honour. I grew up watching The Karate Kid and I’ve always loved the story. As British people, we love underdog stories, and I’ve had the privilege to be able to play many brilliant characters in my career. Funnily enough, John Kreese wasn’t on my radar in any way, shape or form until this musical came along, and with the resurgence of interest in the Karate Kid universe with recent offshoot Cobra Kai I’ve found that being able to play a character as fully realised as John Kreese is immense. Alongside this, being part of the legacy and mythos that started with Martin Cove feels like a massive honour.

What can audiences expect from this adaptation of The Karate Kid?

I think that what audiences can expect from The Karate Kid – The Musicalis a lot of insanely intense choreography by the phenomenal Keone and Mari Madrid, as well as a brilliant score and music that really brings these characters to life and allows us a look into their inner dialogue in a way that wasn’t explored in the film. I think they can expect exceptional performances from every single member of the cast, and we are all committed to making sure audiences have the best night possible. 

What initially attracted you to the role of John Kreese, and what were your first impressions of him as a character?

There were a few things that initially attracted me to the character of John Kreese. There’s one scene in particular where John Kreese is speaking to Johhny about his time in Vietnam and how traumatised he has been and he confesses he is a broken man in this vulnerable moment. When you play very interesting people such as John Kreese, you get to explore a character who seems absolutely repugnant and awful but you can still find their humanity. I think that this is that sort of role and it’s been brilliant to find this character when working alongside the rest of the company in rehearsals and on stage.

He is an iconic villain so how are you approaching making the role your own?

My approach for John Kreese is really my approach for any character which is to: sit down, learn the lines, have ideas about the character based on the learning of those lines and really having a level of comprehension with the words of Robert Mark Kamen (the original writer of the Karate Kid franchise). I also watched Martin Cove in the original Karate Kid movie and Cobra Kai alongside learning a lot from my fellow cast members. By working with the cast and seeing their interpretations of their characters, it has helped me define who my Kreese is. With the throes of performance now in the second venue, Manchester Palace Theatre, there is still an element of figuring it out and going through the process, but this is very exciting!

Production images by Manuel Harlan.

Did you take any inspiration from Martin Kove’s original portrayal, or did you try to build something completely new?

I did a bit of both! I watched a lot of him in both Kobra Kai and the Karate Kid. This was also imbued with my own experiences of training in karate for seven years and this was a sort of amalgamation of both in terms of building my character.

As this production incorporates martial arts, how important was it to understand karate as a foundation when developing the musical?

I think understanding Karate is very important to the kind of physical language of the show. Miyagi is very much like water and is fluid being more built around defence but having strong attacks once that defence yields an opening for that. He shows restraint and balance. On the other hand, Cobra Kai is very front footed and aggressive, sort of staccato and hard hitting. This is a show that melds musical theatre language and also karate, a beautiful blend with Keone and Mari Madrid’s choreography and Drew Gasperini’s score and songs.

What has the fight choreography process been like for you? Has it presented a lot of challenges?

For me it hasn’t, mainly because John Kreese doesn’t have any actual fights with anybody in the musical. I primarily wanted to John Kreese to have a presence, size and stature which involved training in the gym and putting on a descent amount of muscle for the role. I’ve studied Wado-Ryu karate for seven years, and tied in with our brilliant fight director Kevin McCurdy it has built in great fight choreography into my karate. He made sure my form and technique was really strong.

How does the addition of the music develop this story even further do you think?

I think this musical uses music effectively as it gives the inner monologue of the characters allowing audiences a new way to see these characters struggles and dreams. There’s some brilliantly moving pieces in the show, specifically numbers from Gino Ochello (playing Daniel LaRusso) and Adrian Pang (Mr Miyagi), and I think that the addition of music for The Karate Kid on stage is perfect!

What has the energy been like in the rehearsal room when developing this show?

The energy in the rehearsal room has been brilliant. It’s been so collaborative and I think everyone has felt no matter what part you’re playing you’ve been able to add a bit of yourself into this musical. It genuinely makes for a brilliant, collaborative space where we can really create a show founded on the utmost respect and positive energy between the creative team and company members. It’s been one of my favourite rehearsal processes I’ve had in my career so far!

Finally, why should people come and see The Karate Kid Musical in 2026?

I think you should come and see The Karate Kid - The Musical because the show speaks to all generations - from the people who watched the original film, the people who have passed it down through the generations, and for those kids who watched Cobra Kai and other offshoots of the original movies. The story comes to life in this new musical adaptation with dynamic choreography which engages the audience and there is no better place to see this than on the stage! If you want an experience that is intrinsic to karate, to musical theatre and to good storytelling (with phenomenal performances!) then this is the perfect show for you to book!

The Karate Kid Musical embarks on a UK tour until 1 August, before playing a limited season at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Canada.