Decades prior to finding himself entangled in a self-induced personal brand crisis, where he bit a fellow actor, "Cobra Kai" star Martin Kove exhibited rude and notoriously cruel behavior towards an as-yet unknown actor, who later characterized the encounter as a "bizarre psychological twist." As Kove's actions are now under the microscope, this peculiar anecdote has resurfaced from the depths of memory.
On Sunday, Kove was escorted out of a Washington state convention after confessing to biting his former co-star Alicia Hannah-Kim's hand and subsequently erupting in anger towards her and her husband when confronted about the assault, according to a local police report.
Now, both online forums and The New York Post are revisiting an anecdote involving Kove and "Barry" actor Bill Hader. When Hader was just 20 and new to Los Angeles, he took a job driving cast members to film sets, as he recounted to Marc Maron on Maron's "WTF" podcast in 2013. One fateful day, his passenger was none other than "The Karate Kid" star Kove, who Hader claimed deliberately led him astray en route to the set—ostensibly to buy himself extra time to catch up on the script he hadn't yet read.
"I'm driving him around in my crummy car, and he purposefully got me lost," Hader told Maron. "It was an awful day."
Upon arriving late to the set with Kove, Hader recounted being sternly reprimanded by his boss, who shouted at him for his tardiness. That evening, tasked with driving Kove back home, Hader said that while they were on the freeway, Kove turned to him and inquired, "Bill, are you mad at me?"
To compensate for the morning's ordeal, Kove offered to buy Hader a dessert from the nearest McDonald's—specifically, a cookie and a milkshake. However, these treats never made it into Hader's hands. Although Kove brought both items back into the car after entering the restaurant, Hader recounted, "He comes back out eating the chocolate cookie and sipping the milkshake. And he just sits in the back and says, 'Come on, let's go.' It was the ultimate 'fuck you.' … It was such a bizarre psychological maneuver, like, 'I'm gonna get you this,' and then he ate it in front of me. I drove home in silence after that."
For Hader, Kove's nasty and uncomfortable behavior stole the thunder from his first "welcome to Hollywood, kid" moment. "I didn't talk to him after that," Hader said about the remaining days he drove Kove. "I just stared straight ahead."
While it remains unclear whether Hader ever received an apology for this dark incident, he told Maron on the podcast that he had forgiven Kove for denying him a milkshake 27 years ago. "I heard he was going through a divorce or something like that," Hader noted. "He might be a really nice guy, but I just… rubbed him the wrong way. I don't know what was going on."
On Tuesday, Kove issued an official apology to Hannah-Kim for the convention assault. "I deeply regret and apologize for my actions regarding the incident with Alicia [Hannah-Kim], a genuinely kind and wonderful person who didn't deserve to be put in this position," Kove stated in a message to TMZ, sent by Jaffe & Co. Crisis Management. "I've always respected her and considered her a highly professional and talented co-worker on 'Cobra Kai.' I was being playful in the moment but went too far, and there is absolutely no excuse for my behavior. I regret my actions, for which I take full responsibility, and again, I apologize to her and her husband. I'm committed to learning from this, and it will never happen again."
The Hollywood Reporter reached out to Jaffe & Co. Crisis Management on Thursday morning for comment on this incident involving Kove and will update this story upon receipt of a reply.
