‘Cobra Kai’ tough guy actor Martin Kove is romantic in Tampa Bay film

ST. PETERSBURG — People just love to yell at Martin Kove, the actor best known for playing John Kreese in the “Karate Kid” movies and “Cobra Kai” series.

They’re not screaming out of anger, but rather fandom, reciting some of his character’s famous and nefarious lines.

“I’ve gotten ‘Mercy is for the weak’ everywhere I’ve gone for forever,” Kove said. That line is from the first “Karate Kid.” “And now they love the line that I used when I was arrested in Season 5 of the series: ‘I am Cobra Kai.’”

He’s fine with the yelling. After all, the bad-guy character has provided Kove with four decades of fame.

“I’m a big romantic,” he said. “I can do non-edgy characters, too.”

He plays that type of character in “A Taste of Love.”

Filmed primarily in Dunedin, it premieres at the Sunscreen Film Festival in St. Petersburg at 7:30 p.m. April 27 at the Sundial AMC 12. Kove will attend the screening.

Financed in part with $500,000 in Pinellas County money and made to double as a tourism video for the area, it is still seeking distribution. The movie follows a struggling culinary television star who must choose between saving her family restaurant and her dream career as a celebrity chef.

Kove plays the chef’s father.

“There are no fights, no edge,” he said. “It’s just a sweet romantic story.”

Kove is not the only “Cobra Kai” actor featured in “A Taste of Love.”

His son, Jesse Kove, played John Kreese’s teenage bully in “Cobra Kai” flashback scenes. In “A Taste of Love,” he is the chef’s love interest.

And Susan Gallagher plays Kove’s onscreen “A Taste of Love” wife, although “Cobra Kai” fans might not recognize her.

“They’re used to seeing me filthy from head to toe and with rotting teeth,” Gallagher laughed.

In “Cobra Kai,” she plays Homeless Lynn, the street lady who often pops up to antagonize the misunderstood Johnny Lawrence.

“I think fans will get a kick out of ‘Taste of Love,’” Gallagher said. “It’s a chance to see three ‘Cobra Kai’ actors playing totally different roles than they are used to. I love Homeless Lynn because she is so sassy. But it was fun to play a nice person too.”

Kove, whose nearly 300 movie and television credits are primarily tough-guy characters, echoed that sentiment.

“In Hollywood, it’s easy to get pigeonholed,” he said.

Besides John Kreese, Kove said, most recognize him as an antagonist from “Rambo: First Blood Part II” and “Wyatt Earp.”

Police detective Victor Isbecki in the 1980s television crime drama “Cagney & Lacey” is among his favorite characters. That’s because the detective is tough, but also kind and honest, which he said is closer to the real him.

He said he’s the type of guy to cry through movies and emotional experiences. “I think I cry at supermarket openings,” he said.

He brought people on the set to tears during the filming of “A Taste of Love.”

“There is a scene where I am talking about my mother leaving me the restaurant,” Kove said. “It was a very emotional scene, and the crew was crying. I did this movie because I loved the script and because I really do enjoy playing softer roles.”

There was another reason, too. His girlfriend, Mary Scavo Squire, has a home in Tampa Bay, which meant more time with her.

“I’m a romantic,” he said. “It’s nice to get to show that in a movie.”

Sunscreen Film Festival premiere, lineups

“A Taste of Love” premieres at 7:30 p.m. April 27 at AMC Sundial 12 Theater No. 1. Stars Martin Kove, Jesse Kove, Susan Gallagher, Erin Cahill and Ashley Dulaney will be in attendance.

For tickets and the Sunscreen Film Festival’s full lineup of movies and events, visit sunscreenfilmfestival.com.