Thomas Ian Griffith Biography

Thomas Ian Griffith was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Mary Ann and Thomas Joseph Griffin Sr.

As a child Thomas was part of the youth Irish dancing group, The Griffith Dancers, which was led by his mother. The group traveled and performed across the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom.

When he was 12, he became interested in taekwondo and studied at the S.K. Tae Kwon Do Academy in Hartford, earning a black belt at 18. He later earned a black belt in American Kempo and trained in boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, fencing, and stage combat.

In 1980, Thomas made his professional acting debut on Broadway when he joined the cast of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. He revealed in an interview that he was hired more for his physique and dancing skills than his acting abilities. The role allowed him to move to Manhattan where he would continue to work on Broadway.

The next year he landed a role in the sports musical The First, which told the story of Jackie Robinson.

In 1984, Thomas made his on-screen debut on the soap opera Another World, playing Catlin Ewing. He stayed on the show for 53 episodes, ending in 1987. Over the course of his career so far, Thomas had developed a reputation for being able to perform and choreograph his own stunts.

In 1989, he put his skills to use when he was cast in his most famous role, Terry Silver in The Karate Kid Part III (1989) with Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. It was Thomas' feature film debut, and he played the antagonist to Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso.

The part led to a series of lead roles in action films such as Kill Fee (1992), Excessive Force (1993) with James Earl Jones, and Crackerjack (1994). He also wrote for the first two films.

Thomas would eventually retire from acting in 2007 to focus on writing and producing. In 2008 he wrote the TV film Mr. Troop Mom. Starting in the second season of the series Grimm, Thomas began writing episodes. He wrote 32 episodes from 2013 to 2017. He would come on as a producer for the series in 2015 until 2017.

In 2021, he came out of actor retirement to reprise his role as Terry Silver in the fourth, fifth, and sixth seasons of the hit Netflix show Cobra Kai. In 2023 he wrote two episodes of the Netflix series Virgin River and became a co-executive producer with his wife Mary Page Keller for the series’ sixth season.

Thomas met Keller on Another World and they married in 1991. They collaborate on most of the projects they work on. Together they have two sons. ~Ryan Donahue

Filmography:

Cobra Kai (2025)
The Pirate’s Curse (2002)
xXx (2002)
Black Point (2001)
High Adventure (2001)
For the Cause (2000)
Avalanche (1999)
Vampires (1999)
Kull the Conqueror (1997)
Behind Enemy Lines (1997)
Hollow Point (1996)
Beyond Forgiveness (1994)
Crackerjack (1994)
Excessive Force (1993)
Kill Fee (1992)
The Karate Kid Part III (1989)