While Netflix's Cobra Kai concludes with Season 6, Hawk actor Jacob Bertrand wants to keep the party going.
“For the longest time, I wanted to see Hawk and [John] Kreese (Barrett Carnahan) running a prison show. But now that Kreese is out, I don't know if that [will] happen,” Bertrand revealed during a phone call with ClutchPoints.
Instead, he would like to take Hawk to college or at least have him appear in someone else's spin-off. Either way, he seems eager to continue playing the part.
“Whether we're following Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) at whatever college he goes to, or let's say it's a Demetri (Gianna DeCenzo) at MIT show — maybe Hawk goes out for spirit week,” Bertrand explained.
Ironically, Bertrand did not attend college, so he would have to research 22 Jump Street style.
“I don't know what things they [have] got going on in college, but that could be fun,” he said. “They [have] got parties — homecoming? I don't know.”
San Diego Comic-Con
Jacob Bertrand is fresh off an appearance at San Diego Comic-Con. He was there with fellow Cobra Kai star Maridueña as they promoted their Lone Lobos podcast. While they have both gone before, going this year as talent was “sick.”
“I've been to San Diego Comic-Con once before as a fan in 2018 with Xolo, so going there not as a fan is just a crazy experience walking around the back innards and seeing all the security and everything that goes into it,” he said. “Dude, they have so many crates in the back. All the goodies are back there. I wanted to steal them so bad.”
Luckily, he did not steal anything. But he did get a picture with a Deadpool and Wolverine popcorn bucket, courtesy of Maridueña.
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While Cobra Kai Season 6 is unlikely to get a popcorn bucket, Bertrand does have a pitch for one.
“I think it would have to be like a snake curling around a big fist, and the hole is the snake's mouth,” he quipped.
Is he a Marvel fan?
As for the rest of SDCC, Jacob Bertrand was a fan of Marvel bringing back Robert Downey Jr as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday.
“Robert Downey Jr as Doctor Doom is crazy,” said Bertrand. “I'm a huge supporter of it. I think it's gonna be sick.”
However, he concedes that he is a big fan of Downey and is “crazy biased.” He also acknowledges that he is not a Marvel super fan, despite seeing all of the MCU movies.
“I wouldn't say I'm the craziest Marvel fan in the world — I would have called myself a fan before Avengers: Endgame came out,” Bertrand explained. And then you talk to people about superheroes, and they're like, ‘Well, actually, the backstory on this guy is…' I'm like, Oh, okay. I don't know as much as true fans.
“But I am a fan. I've probably seen almost every single Marvel movie,” he added.
Marvel was not his main takeaway from SDCC, though. He also went to the VIZ booth to get a special 25th-anniversary Naruto art that they had.
His friendship with Xolo Maridueña
As noted, Bertrand and Maridueña co-host a podcast. The Lone Lobos brand is also a production company, which they both want to continue growing. It sounds similar to childhood friends Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, and their story with Artists Equity.
The two share a close bond that has become a brotherhood thanks to late nights of video games. While Bertrand usually beats Maridueña at Super Smash Bros, they share the controller when playing through the Spider-Man PlayStation games.
After Cobra Kai ends with Season 6, the two have other aspirations to work together. Bertrand pitched a movie where Maridueña plays “the son of the Mexican ambassador, and I'm his bodyguard, and we have to go save something.”
Another idea he had was to go full Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Heat and square off.
“Or we could play enemies,” he pitched. “If he was a prosecutor and I was a defense attorney, and we battle each other's wits in a lawyer movie. That could be fun. Lincoln Lawyer style. I would love that.”
He also noted that Maridueña does want to become a director and producer someday. Bertrand has similar ambitions, wanting to write and direct for the silver screen while continuing to act. Luckily, they have Lone Lobos.
“Lone Lobos is a production company, so we definitely would at some point love to start producing [and] directing movies,” Bertrand said. “That's a far-off goal, but one that we're working towards.”
The early days of Cobra Kai
At this point, Cobra Kai is a staple of Netflix's programming — Season 6 is being split into three parts. This release strategy, akin to something The Witcher did with Season 3 and Stranger Things with Season 4, is “harder” for Jacob Bertrand than other seasons.
“Even just from a fan perspective, waiting three months is really hard,” Bertrand sympathized. “But Netflix has their ways, and they know what's best for the algorithm. I have gotten texts from friends being like, ‘Bro, are you kidding me? I have to wait two and a half months for the next season? What is this?'”
But some fans may forget that Cobra Kai began on YouTube Red, which is now YouTube Premium. After being shopped around, Netflix acquired it for its third season, and the rest is history. This period was “super hectic” for Bertrand and the rest of the Cobra Kai crew.
“We didn't know if we were getting another season, then we found out we were not getting another season with YouTube, and the show was ending,” Bertrand recalled. “It was like, Oh man. That was a fun run.
“But then we heard whisperings that other networks were trying to buy it — I think it was Hulu or Peacock in the running. I remember being on the phone with Xolo, [I said,] ‘Dude, wouldn't that be so crazy if it got picked up by Netflix? That'd be insane,'” he continued.
His wish came true. Jacob Bertrand described Cobra Kai's move to Netflix as the “perfect storm” thanks to the pandemic.
“Everyone was at home 'cause there was a global pandemic going on, and the show just popped off because there [was] so many people waiting for content,” he explained.
On the Cobra Kai mohawk
One of Hawk's signature characteristics is his mohawk, which is surprisingly real in every season except Season 6.
“It's physically impossible for the American flag mohawk,” Bertrand explained. “You can't put red dye and white dye next to each other and not have them bleed into each other when I shower.”
Normally, it's “half a can of hairspray and pray,” but the wig presented a new challenge for Bertrand. A mohawk wig does not “stick on as well” as a full wig, and it flops around.
Working with his girlfriend, Peyton List
Another perk of working on Cobra Kai — besides the hairspray — is working with his girlfriend, Peyton List. The two previously starred in The Swap together in 2016.
After getting the obligatory jabs in — “I hate her. She's the worst,” he joked — Jacob Bertrand had nothing but praise for List, who he calls a “rockstar.”
“She is just funny and really f**king good at what she does,” Bertrand praised. “She is one of the few actors I've worked with that has no problem fully committing to a character and making it believable.”
Watching her on set is “fun,” especially in the earlier seasons of Cobra Kai. She also opened Bertrand's eyes to new approaches to acting.
“Her and I have different memorizing speeds, [and] the way she approaches a character is different than me,” he said. “I like to snap in and out of character, and she is someone that takes the time to have this nuanced approach and marinate in the character, marinate in a decision.
“She is constantly marking up her scripts [and] is very intentional. That is something I learned from her — being more intentional and trying to be as genuine as you can in every single moment, whether the camera is on you or not, whether it is your coverage or not, whether it is your line or not,” he continued.
Realizing it is almost over
Cobra Kai Season 6 is its last. For Jacob Bertrand, he came to that realization later than his co-stars. It was not until his final fight scene that he finally had the “weird” revelation.
“Everyone came to it at different times,” said Bertrand. “I think I came to it the latest because I have a care-free attitude about most things. It's weird thinking you are not going to show up to work with these people every single day for the next couple of years.
Luckily, he sees Maridueña “all the time” as well as Gianni DeCenzo. Once Cobra Kai ends, he expects the cast to get back together for Comic-Cons and other events.
“I don't see not staying friends at all being in the picture,” he boldly claimed.
Future aspirations post-Cobra Kai
While Bertrand has been a mainstay on the small screen, he does hope to return to the big screen someday. His last movie credit is 2018's Ready Player One. But that does not mean he isn't making moves to change that.
“I would love to break more into movies,” Bertrand said. “I have done a lot of TV, and crossing over, I hear, is difficult. But I also want to start directing — that's something I'm passionate about that I'm working towards.”
One of his friends wants Bertrand to audition for the upcoming Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
“My friend is super into the Hunger Games and was like, ‘Oh, dude, they're making a Haymitch prequel, you should audition for it — you look just like Woody Harrelson!' I was like, ‘Okay, I don't know about that, but that would be cool.'”
Not reading reviews
While Suzanne Collins writing a new Hunger Games book was a big deal, Bertrand had no idea it was becoming a movie. He quipped, “My friends know more about the trades than I do!”
Smartly, Jacob Bertrand stays off social media — “I don't read comments, I just roll with it,” he claimed. This extends to reading reviews of his projects. The only ones he sees are the positive shoutouts from fellow celebrities.
“This Liverpool defender watches Cobra Kai — that stuff is cool to see, especially being a Liverpool fan,” Bertrand said. “But I don't know. I don't concern myself with that stuff. People who love painting don't [do it] to get a compliment. They do it because they love painting, you know?”
That said, the biggest compliment paid to Bertrand came from Andrew Garfield. Bertrand called Garfield the “most down-to-earth person on planet Earth.” Garfield made Bertrand realize Hollywood has regular people.
“He is one of the first people I met that I was like, These huge, insanely talented movie stars — everyone's just a dude. Everyone's just a girl.
“There is no, Oh my gosh, this is a famous person, and they are so much better than me in every way, shape, and form. Everyone's just a person and incredibly talented, but also a humble person,” Bertrand praised.
Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 1 is streaming on Netflix.
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