March 10, 2025 • 17 mins
In this exclusive interview, Martin Kove dives into his latest role in the film Queen of the Ring, which tells the inspiring story of wrestling pioneer Mildred Burke. Discover what drew him to this project and the character he portrays. Plus, Kove opens up about the alternate ending filmed for his iconic character, John Kreese, in Cobra Kai's series finale, revealing a dramatic scene with Terry Silver that didn’t make the final cut. Don't miss this fascinating conversation with one of Hollywood's most legendary actors!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Battleground Podcast. You'll play for all things
wrestling and exclusive interviews with some of your favorite wrestlers.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Wound podcast, Stop It, What's up you guys? Welcome back
into iHeartRadio's official wrestling podcast, the Battleground Podcast. It is
battle from one of your favorite iHeart Radio stations that
you hear across the country and well, if you're looking
for something to do this weekend, I highly suggest going
(00:37):
to the movie to see what I know will be
a fan favorite, especially when it comes to the wrestling community.
Queen of the Ring in theaters this Friday. The movie,
of course, based on Mildred Burke of the NWA, and
you know her story and somebody who is a part
of the movie that helped told that story. Everybody give
it up for our guest today, Martin cove joys us So, Martin, sir,
how are you doing. It's an honor to have you here.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
I'm good. I'm really good. I think people really like
this movie. It's you know, ash Aveilson, who's you know
his father? I worked for a Karate Kid, He directed
Karate Kid, he directed Rocky. It's a terrific story, terrific
underdog story, and I only saw it a few days
(01:20):
ago and it was brilliant. I saw it in Nashville
and it was really terrific. And Emily is marvelous. Emily
Bets Richard's is marvelous. And the fighting is really good,
good good stuff. Women doing some work and female wrestlers,
and Emily does some great work as well. So it's
(01:44):
it's really good. It's kind of like watching Karate Kid,
you know, it's sort of like watching Rocky, you know,
it's all these elements.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Yeah, and it was a fantastic movie. We were part
of the premiere last Thursday in Nashville. A great movie.
Excited to see for the rest of the world to
see this in theaters this Friday. And of course you
play legendary promoter Al Haft, who a lot of people
know as the creator of the Midwest Wrestling Association and
also co founder of the NWA. What drew you to
(02:15):
this product? Were you a fan of professional wrestling before
this was presented to you or you know, how did
this all come about?
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Well, I mean I remember as a child growing up
in Brooklyn watching Man Mountain, Dean Haystex Calhoun, all these wrestlers.
I remember Channel nine, Channel eleven, you know, and I
was very young and it was interesting theatrics. Were they
(02:44):
getting hurt? I couldn't tell because I was probably five
or six, you know, but I remember always saying, Wow,
these are really good athletes. They really can take abuse,
you know. And I wasn't quite into football yet, and
so that was on. It was on, I don't know,
Friday night, Thursday night, something I don't remember, because it
(03:06):
was that in westerns and that's what I've watched as
a child. And then, you know, doing a film with
hul Cogan, a couple of movies, Movies of the Week
for TNT, and then he took me to, you know,
a couple of wrestling matches and an old friend of
mine now who I've done promo with, Britt Baker, you know,
(03:29):
and she shows up. I think she was in one
of the episodes in Cobra Katte. But in any case,
you know, you mingle with some of these people who
are in the wrestling world and you get a better
look at what it's really like and you know the
kind of athletes that they are, and it's always fascinated me.
It really has fascinated me that you have to be
(03:53):
in such great shape. You know, you really have to
be in great shape. And whether it's people can tell
that it's theatrics or they think it's real, it doesn't matter.
You know, it's to people, it's entertainment. You know, it's
just entertainment. So I enjoy it for that fact.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Yeah, So when when they when they brought this role
to you, what's going through your mind when that happened, Like,
was this an immediate Hey, I want to do this
or how did how did how did this all come about?
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Well? Al Haft was you know, out of you know,
the Midwest, and he created you know, the basically he
gave her, Mildred Burke, her first shot, you know, and
they were doing carnival stuff, you know, and and nothing
really appreciated in the American at the American standards and
(04:47):
of fighting and all, and you know, and he gave
her the shot. And you know, I think it's you know,
in Los Angeles or New York until the late sixties
early seventies, female wrestlers could not wrestle. So he gave
her a shot in the late forties, you know, and
(05:10):
she became you know, he had a lot of integrity
and had a lot of forethought and he could see
this would be very, very beneficial for people who just
enjoy athletes and enjoy wrestling, and enjoy baseball and enjoy football.
Because remember there was no TV. This was late forties
(05:31):
and you know, TV was just starting, and you know,
he had enough perception to see what would work and
what wouldn't work in the entertainment field. He wasn't the
tycoon of the role that Walton played, you know, Walton's
I forgot the character's name, but another you know, another
(05:53):
brilliant visionary, but mostly for the East Coast, and it
was terrific. And the other part of the reason I
wanted to do it is because Ash Evilson, you know,
is the son of John and we've talked a lot,
and I just had great confidence in him being a
(06:14):
good director. And he did. He really directed this. He
wrote it, you know, and he knew exactly what he
wanted and he chose people that are good and I'm
very happy for him. I think, you know, he's got
a great career coming up. You know, he wrote it,
directed it, you know, put money into it, and it's
(06:38):
just an underdog story. To me, is the most exciting
kind of stories. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Absolutely, and I can't wait for everybody to see Queen
of the Ring in theaters this Friday. We had a
chance to see it last Thursday at the Premier Erre
in Naturville. Incredible. Everybody's gonna love this, especially if you're
a rest of fan, even if you're not a wrestling fan,
like you said the under Dark Story. It's a great
movie to go see again. Queen the Ring in theaters
this Friday. And you know, one of the cool things
(07:07):
when we saw, you know, the cast and who was
all a part of it. Queen the Ring features several
professional wrestlers in the cast, including our friend Kayley, who
also a lot of people know as Camille. She played
June Byers. How was your experience working alongside a lot
of these these athletes, These wrestlers turned actors and did
(07:30):
their wrestling back fluence backgrounds influenced the film's authenticity.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Yeah, I mean, you know, I think that, you know,
like playing tennis with an eight player, if you're a
B player and you play with an A player, your
game is going to rise. Emily, I don't think Emily
was a wrestler, and Emily became a wonderful wrestler as
Mildred Brooke, because of the stunt women, because of the
(07:56):
the wrestlers that she worked with, and it was it
was uncanny how your game rises when it's like acting
with Anthony Hopkins. You know, you can't help, but working
well as an actor, you know, the give and take
is brilliant, and so the same thing with the wrestling.
They bring your game up. And there was a lot
of devotion and a lot of they were very serious
(08:20):
old the wrestlers and the stunt women. They were wrestlers
at one time and very serious and very helpful. And
sometimes that happens. Sometimes it doesn't happens in Cobra Kai
because everybody's devoted to the original movies and they want
to be on the set of Cobra Kai because of
(08:40):
the heritage of Karate Karate Kid. You know, so it's
built in. But sometimes in a new movie like this,
it isn't built in. The devotion, the seriousness, the basic preparation,
you know, and it was all good. And I know
from preparation, because if you don't prepare in Karate Kidd
(09:03):
or in Cobra Kai, the choreography looks terrible. You know,
you're winging. You can't wing the choreography. You know, you've
got to really know what you're doing. And I bought
every single moment that was in this movie. I bought
more moments in this movie than I did as a
little kid watching Haystacks Calhoun that hit.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
The mat, you know, right, Yeah, And that's incredible because
I mean, like you said, you can see it play
out on the big screen when you go watch Queen
of the Ring, you could see the like you said,
the wrestlers, the stunt doubles. Emily, who we had on
the show last week, incredible, talked about going through the
training of wrestling and working with with Kaylee and every
(09:45):
other wrestler on there to make it look authentic and
make it look like we're watching a wrestling match. And
I think a lot of the audience is going to
see that when they see Queen of the Ring in
theaters this Friday.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Yeah. I mean, Emily was brilliant. She's really terrific. And
you know, everybody participated and contributed to a really good
movie because it's an independent movie that you know, it
could really blow up or it could just go down
the tubes. You know, you just don't know and Underdog
movies are good, but the bottom line is, man, if
(10:20):
you don't make them well, if there's not character development,
if you didn't like John Crease and Cobra Kai and
respect him, you're not gonna cry when I had that
emotional scene at the end. You're not gonna feel he's misunderstood.
He's not a villain. You got to develop these characters,
and Ash developed them and the actors did really good work.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Yeah, absolutely phenomenal work. I gotta say again. Queen of
the Ring in theaters this Friday nationwide. Definitely go to
the theaters. Check it out if you're looking for something
to do this weekend. I know that we're here to
talk about Queen of the Ring, but I would feel
bad myself if I don't at least get to ask
a question about Karate Kid and Cobra Kai. And you know,
(11:06):
recently you revealed that there was an alternate ending for
John Crease and the season finale where he survives a
yacht explosion alongside Terry Silver. Could you share more about
this scene and like the creative discussion that led to
its exclusion from the final cut.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Well, we always assume, you know, it's like there's one
adage that comes out Cobra Kai never dies, and neither
does John Creese, you know. And what happens is we
shot a scene where you just see my hand with
(11:50):
my ring and a cigar and I'm take picking up
a magazine. In the magazine says whatever happened to Terry Silver?
And we shot that scene and then they the writers
decided it was a little Hollywood ending. Twenty four hours later,
you go to a newsstand, then you see my hand,
(12:12):
you know, taking a magazine. That explosion was so big
that you know, John Creaes no unquestionably got out. But
the bottom line is, was he in good enough shaped
twenty four hours later to go to a newsstand pick
up a magazine for the sake of Hollywood cinema? You know?
(12:34):
So I think they chose not to use it in
episode fifteen because it was too it was hokey, it
was it would have been too much considering the demolition
of that Yeah. Yeah, And no one believes that John
Creeses is dead anyway. You know, he survives everything. And
(12:58):
I was at that comic con in Nashville, nobody bought
he was dead. JOHNS.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Grees is like Michael Myers. You can't kill him.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
You can't. You can't kill him. You know. It's just
one of those things where you know, I never wanted
to be the tough guy in the series. I always
wanted I never wanted to be a villain, so I
you know, they wrote me with vulnerability and all and
was very exciting, and I insisted on at the beginning
(13:28):
and it worked out. You know, the character has got
a lot of respect from people, and yet you know,
he's a monster. When he has to be a monster,
he's a monster. And when he has to be, you know,
just formidable and honest and loving. He cries at the
end when he cried in the arms of Billy, and
Billy cried in his arms.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
You know to me, you know, yeah, absolutely for sure.
And you know when you think about it, you look
at it and reflecting on the evolution, like what you
just talked about of John from the Karate Kid to
Cobra Kai.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
How do you.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Feel all together now that it's all said and done,
about the character's journey and the closure that it provided
in the series finale, Well, the.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Scene with Billy was a culmination of forty years of
her relationship where both of us crying each other's arms.
And episode I think it's episode thirteen. You know, all
that builds up, and it is it is not easy
(14:34):
to just throw all the qualities of John Creese out
because you finished shooting. A lot of the residual effects
stayed with me. And you know, his impatience, his omnipotence,
his anger, you know my way of the highway. You know,
all that stays with you when you're doing a character
three four months a year for five years and you
(14:59):
manage to shake it when you did the movie in
eighty four. It didn't stay with me then because the
backstories weren't looming the way you have to create a
backstory for all these characters of why they are the
way they are. I didn't create a big backstory for
John Crease back in nineteen eighty three when we shot,
I just you know, talked about him being you know,
(15:22):
working with mercenaries and being an army ranger. But nowhere
near as much as I focused on him for the series.
And you know, a lot of those residual things kept
in my body. I blew out a lot of relationships
because of these qualities that you just couldn't get rid
(15:43):
of you know, I think it happened to Heath Ledger
and Daniel They Lewis did Lincoln that way. You know,
sometimes you can get rid of it and sometimes you can't.
So I think the resolution to the character is very rich.
It's very honest, you know, it's loving, he cares about you,
and it's resolved after forty years since I broke his trophy,
(16:05):
you know, in karate Ka two, it's now a resolved
relationship where you know, he's my son and I've always
revered him as a student, and he became the student
who surpassed the teacher, which is one of the lines
I said to Terry Silver on the boat, you know,
you know, and it's exciting. It's very exciting to move
(16:29):
on and do this, you know, prodigal son, this Western
and get it on TV and do it with my son.
You know. It's very exciting.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Yeah, sounds sounds like some fun stuff right there, like
you said, And again, I know we're here to talk
about Queen of the Ring. It's out in theaters this Friday.
Go see it in theaters this weekend.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Martin.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
It is an honor and a privilege to have you
on the show. Before we let you go there. Anything
you want to say to people watching or listening to
this right now.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Well, just go to see this movie because it is
as good as Rocky made you feel and put and
the Karate Kid made you feel, this will make you
feel just as good. It's done well, and you know,
I think you know Ash learned a lot from his father,
And all the gloves are dropped in the proper places
(17:19):
so you as an audience member can pick them up
and feel what's going on. And then you know the
finale is you're just you're gonna be tingling and crying,
and just go to see the movie. So it shall
be written, so it shall be done. And remember mercies
(17:40):
for the week.
Welcome to the Battleground Podcast. You'll play for all things
wrestling and exclusive interviews with some of your favorite wrestlers.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Wound podcast, Stop It, What's up you guys? Welcome back
into iHeartRadio's official wrestling podcast, the Battleground Podcast. It is
battle from one of your favorite iHeart Radio stations that
you hear across the country and well, if you're looking
for something to do this weekend, I highly suggest going
(00:37):
to the movie to see what I know will be
a fan favorite, especially when it comes to the wrestling community.
Queen of the Ring in theaters this Friday. The movie,
of course, based on Mildred Burke of the NWA, and
you know her story and somebody who is a part
of the movie that helped told that story. Everybody give
it up for our guest today, Martin cove joys us So, Martin, sir,
how are you doing. It's an honor to have you here.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
I'm good. I'm really good. I think people really like
this movie. It's you know, ash Aveilson, who's you know
his father? I worked for a Karate Kid, He directed
Karate Kid, he directed Rocky. It's a terrific story, terrific
underdog story, and I only saw it a few days
(01:20):
ago and it was brilliant. I saw it in Nashville
and it was really terrific. And Emily is marvelous. Emily
Bets Richard's is marvelous. And the fighting is really good,
good good stuff. Women doing some work and female wrestlers,
and Emily does some great work as well. So it's
(01:44):
it's really good. It's kind of like watching Karate Kid,
you know, it's sort of like watching Rocky, you know,
it's all these elements.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Yeah, and it was a fantastic movie. We were part
of the premiere last Thursday in Nashville. A great movie.
Excited to see for the rest of the world to
see this in theaters this Friday. And of course you
play legendary promoter Al Haft, who a lot of people
know as the creator of the Midwest Wrestling Association and
also co founder of the NWA. What drew you to
(02:15):
this product? Were you a fan of professional wrestling before
this was presented to you or you know, how did
this all come about?
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Well, I mean I remember as a child growing up
in Brooklyn watching Man Mountain, Dean Haystex Calhoun, all these wrestlers.
I remember Channel nine, Channel eleven, you know, and I
was very young and it was interesting theatrics. Were they
(02:44):
getting hurt? I couldn't tell because I was probably five
or six, you know, but I remember always saying, Wow,
these are really good athletes. They really can take abuse,
you know. And I wasn't quite into football yet, and
so that was on. It was on, I don't know,
Friday night, Thursday night, something I don't remember, because it
(03:06):
was that in westerns and that's what I've watched as
a child. And then, you know, doing a film with
hul Cogan, a couple of movies, Movies of the Week
for TNT, and then he took me to, you know,
a couple of wrestling matches and an old friend of
mine now who I've done promo with, Britt Baker, you know,
(03:29):
and she shows up. I think she was in one
of the episodes in Cobra Katte. But in any case,
you know, you mingle with some of these people who
are in the wrestling world and you get a better
look at what it's really like and you know the
kind of athletes that they are, and it's always fascinated me.
It really has fascinated me that you have to be
(03:53):
in such great shape. You know, you really have to
be in great shape. And whether it's people can tell
that it's theatrics or they think it's real, it doesn't matter.
You know, it's to people, it's entertainment. You know, it's
just entertainment. So I enjoy it for that fact.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Yeah, So when when they when they brought this role
to you, what's going through your mind when that happened, Like,
was this an immediate Hey, I want to do this
or how did how did how did this all come about?
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Well? Al Haft was you know, out of you know,
the Midwest, and he created you know, the basically he
gave her, Mildred Burke, her first shot, you know, and
they were doing carnival stuff, you know, and and nothing
really appreciated in the American at the American standards and
(04:47):
of fighting and all, and you know, and he gave
her the shot. And you know, I think it's you know,
in Los Angeles or New York until the late sixties
early seventies, female wrestlers could not wrestle. So he gave
her a shot in the late forties, you know, and
(05:10):
she became you know, he had a lot of integrity
and had a lot of forethought and he could see
this would be very, very beneficial for people who just
enjoy athletes and enjoy wrestling, and enjoy baseball and enjoy football.
Because remember there was no TV. This was late forties
(05:31):
and you know, TV was just starting, and you know,
he had enough perception to see what would work and
what wouldn't work in the entertainment field. He wasn't the
tycoon of the role that Walton played, you know, Walton's
I forgot the character's name, but another you know, another
(05:53):
brilliant visionary, but mostly for the East Coast, and it
was terrific. And the other part of the reason I
wanted to do it is because Ash Evilson, you know,
is the son of John and we've talked a lot,
and I just had great confidence in him being a
(06:14):
good director. And he did. He really directed this. He
wrote it, you know, and he knew exactly what he
wanted and he chose people that are good and I'm
very happy for him. I think, you know, he's got
a great career coming up. You know, he wrote it,
directed it, you know, put money into it, and it's
(06:38):
just an underdog story. To me, is the most exciting
kind of stories. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Absolutely, and I can't wait for everybody to see Queen
of the Ring in theaters this Friday. We had a
chance to see it last Thursday at the Premier Erre
in Naturville. Incredible. Everybody's gonna love this, especially if you're
a rest of fan, even if you're not a wrestling fan,
like you said the under Dark Story. It's a great
movie to go see again. Queen the Ring in theaters
this Friday. And you know, one of the cool things
(07:07):
when we saw, you know, the cast and who was
all a part of it. Queen the Ring features several
professional wrestlers in the cast, including our friend Kayley, who
also a lot of people know as Camille. She played
June Byers. How was your experience working alongside a lot
of these these athletes, These wrestlers turned actors and did
(07:30):
their wrestling back fluence backgrounds influenced the film's authenticity.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Yeah, I mean, you know, I think that, you know,
like playing tennis with an eight player, if you're a
B player and you play with an A player, your
game is going to rise. Emily, I don't think Emily
was a wrestler, and Emily became a wonderful wrestler as
Mildred Brooke, because of the stunt women, because of the
(07:56):
the wrestlers that she worked with, and it was it
was uncanny how your game rises when it's like acting
with Anthony Hopkins. You know, you can't help, but working
well as an actor, you know, the give and take
is brilliant, and so the same thing with the wrestling.
They bring your game up. And there was a lot
of devotion and a lot of they were very serious
(08:20):
old the wrestlers and the stunt women. They were wrestlers
at one time and very serious and very helpful. And
sometimes that happens. Sometimes it doesn't happens in Cobra Kai
because everybody's devoted to the original movies and they want
to be on the set of Cobra Kai because of
(08:40):
the heritage of Karate Karate Kid. You know, so it's
built in. But sometimes in a new movie like this,
it isn't built in. The devotion, the seriousness, the basic preparation,
you know, and it was all good. And I know
from preparation, because if you don't prepare in Karate Kidd
(09:03):
or in Cobra Kai, the choreography looks terrible. You know,
you're winging. You can't wing the choreography. You know, you've
got to really know what you're doing. And I bought
every single moment that was in this movie. I bought
more moments in this movie than I did as a
little kid watching Haystacks Calhoun that hit.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
The mat, you know, right, Yeah, And that's incredible because
I mean, like you said, you can see it play
out on the big screen when you go watch Queen
of the Ring, you could see the like you said,
the wrestlers, the stunt doubles. Emily, who we had on
the show last week, incredible, talked about going through the
training of wrestling and working with with Kaylee and every
(09:45):
other wrestler on there to make it look authentic and
make it look like we're watching a wrestling match. And
I think a lot of the audience is going to
see that when they see Queen of the Ring in
theaters this Friday.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Yeah. I mean, Emily was brilliant. She's really terrific. And
you know, everybody participated and contributed to a really good
movie because it's an independent movie that you know, it
could really blow up or it could just go down
the tubes. You know, you just don't know and Underdog
movies are good, but the bottom line is, man, if
(10:20):
you don't make them well, if there's not character development,
if you didn't like John Crease and Cobra Kai and
respect him, you're not gonna cry when I had that
emotional scene at the end. You're not gonna feel he's misunderstood.
He's not a villain. You got to develop these characters,
and Ash developed them and the actors did really good work.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Yeah, absolutely phenomenal work. I gotta say again. Queen of
the Ring in theaters this Friday nationwide. Definitely go to
the theaters. Check it out if you're looking for something
to do this weekend. I know that we're here to
talk about Queen of the Ring, but I would feel
bad myself if I don't at least get to ask
a question about Karate Kid and Cobra Kai. And you know,
(11:06):
recently you revealed that there was an alternate ending for
John Crease and the season finale where he survives a
yacht explosion alongside Terry Silver. Could you share more about
this scene and like the creative discussion that led to
its exclusion from the final cut.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Well, we always assume, you know, it's like there's one
adage that comes out Cobra Kai never dies, and neither
does John Creese, you know. And what happens is we
shot a scene where you just see my hand with
(11:50):
my ring and a cigar and I'm take picking up
a magazine. In the magazine says whatever happened to Terry Silver?
And we shot that scene and then they the writers
decided it was a little Hollywood ending. Twenty four hours later,
you go to a newsstand, then you see my hand,
(12:12):
you know, taking a magazine. That explosion was so big
that you know, John Creaes no unquestionably got out. But
the bottom line is, was he in good enough shaped
twenty four hours later to go to a newsstand pick
up a magazine for the sake of Hollywood cinema? You know?
(12:34):
So I think they chose not to use it in
episode fifteen because it was too it was hokey, it
was it would have been too much considering the demolition
of that Yeah. Yeah, And no one believes that John
Creeses is dead anyway. You know, he survives everything. And
(12:58):
I was at that comic con in Nashville, nobody bought
he was dead. JOHNS.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Grees is like Michael Myers. You can't kill him.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
You can't. You can't kill him. You know. It's just
one of those things where you know, I never wanted
to be the tough guy in the series. I always
wanted I never wanted to be a villain, so I
you know, they wrote me with vulnerability and all and
was very exciting, and I insisted on at the beginning
(13:28):
and it worked out. You know, the character has got
a lot of respect from people, and yet you know,
he's a monster. When he has to be a monster,
he's a monster. And when he has to be, you know,
just formidable and honest and loving. He cries at the
end when he cried in the arms of Billy, and
Billy cried in his arms.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
You know to me, you know, yeah, absolutely for sure.
And you know when you think about it, you look
at it and reflecting on the evolution, like what you
just talked about of John from the Karate Kid to
Cobra Kai.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
How do you.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Feel all together now that it's all said and done,
about the character's journey and the closure that it provided
in the series finale, Well, the.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Scene with Billy was a culmination of forty years of
her relationship where both of us crying each other's arms.
And episode I think it's episode thirteen. You know, all
that builds up, and it is it is not easy
(14:34):
to just throw all the qualities of John Creese out
because you finished shooting. A lot of the residual effects
stayed with me. And you know, his impatience, his omnipotence,
his anger, you know my way of the highway. You know,
all that stays with you when you're doing a character
three four months a year for five years and you
(14:59):
manage to shake it when you did the movie in
eighty four. It didn't stay with me then because the
backstories weren't looming the way you have to create a
backstory for all these characters of why they are the
way they are. I didn't create a big backstory for
John Crease back in nineteen eighty three when we shot,
I just you know, talked about him being you know,
(15:22):
working with mercenaries and being an army ranger. But nowhere
near as much as I focused on him for the series.
And you know, a lot of those residual things kept
in my body. I blew out a lot of relationships
because of these qualities that you just couldn't get rid
(15:43):
of you know, I think it happened to Heath Ledger
and Daniel They Lewis did Lincoln that way. You know,
sometimes you can get rid of it and sometimes you can't.
So I think the resolution to the character is very rich.
It's very honest, you know, it's loving, he cares about you,
and it's resolved after forty years since I broke his trophy,
(16:05):
you know, in karate Ka two, it's now a resolved
relationship where you know, he's my son and I've always
revered him as a student, and he became the student
who surpassed the teacher, which is one of the lines
I said to Terry Silver on the boat, you know,
you know, and it's exciting. It's very exciting to move
(16:29):
on and do this, you know, prodigal son, this Western
and get it on TV and do it with my son.
You know. It's very exciting.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Yeah, sounds sounds like some fun stuff right there, like
you said, And again, I know we're here to talk
about Queen of the Ring. It's out in theaters this Friday.
Go see it in theaters this weekend.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Martin.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
It is an honor and a privilege to have you
on the show. Before we let you go there. Anything
you want to say to people watching or listening to
this right now.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Well, just go to see this movie because it is
as good as Rocky made you feel and put and
the Karate Kid made you feel, this will make you
feel just as good. It's done well, and you know,
I think you know Ash learned a lot from his father,
And all the gloves are dropped in the proper places
(17:19):
so you as an audience member can pick them up
and feel what's going on. And then you know the
finale is you're just you're gonna be tingling and crying,
and just go to see the movie. So it shall
be written, so it shall be done. And remember mercies
(17:40):
for the week.
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