Thomas Ian Griffith
Born: 1962-03-18 in Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Known For: Acting
Biography
Thomas Ian Griffith (born March 18, 1962) is an American actor and martial artist. He is best known for portraying Terry Silver in the 1989 film The Karate Kid Part III, a role he reprised in the 4th season of the Netflix series Cobra Kai. Griffith became obsessed with Tae Kwon Do while in high school and earned a black belt when he was 18. His knowledge of Tae Kwon Do helped him land his first feature film: 1989's The Karate Kid Part III, in which he played Terry Silver. In 1996, Griffith starred in the film Hollow Point alongside Tia Carrere, as DEA agent Max Parish and FBI agent Diane Norwood respectively. Griffith has also collaborated with director John Carpenter. He played head vampire Jan Valek in the 1998 film Vampires and co-created the comic book series Asylum, together with Carpenter and producer Sandy King. Griffith appeared in the 2002 film XXX, in which he portrayed Agent Jim McGrath. His first TV role was on the soap opera Another World, as Catlin Ewing, whom he played from 1984 to 1987. In 1999, he starred in the TV movie Secret of Giving with Reba McEntire; earlier in 1999, he had appeared in Reba's video for the song "What Do You Say". He also starred as Rock Hudson in a 1990 TV movie Rock Hudson. He has made guest appearances on a number of television shows, including In the Heat of the Night, Wiseguy, and One Tree Hill. From 2013 to 2017, Griffith periodically wrote and worked as a story editor for the NBC television series Grimm and became a co-producer in 2015. In 2021, Griffith reprised the role of Terry Silver from The Karate Kid Part III in Season 4 of Cobra Kai.
Filmography
2024
- Cobra Kai: Inside the Dojo as Self
2020
- Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square ... (Consulting Producer)
- Reunited Apart as Self
2019
- Virgin River ... (Writer)
- Dolly Parton's Heartstrings ... (Writer)
2018
- Cobra Kai as Terry Silver
2011
- Grimm ... (Writer)
2009
- Mr. Troop Mom ... (Writer)
2007
- Black Friday as Cash
2005
- The Closer as Deputy D.A. Thomas Yates
- Sea Wolf: The Pirate's Curse as Captain Jeffery Thorpe
2003
- One Tree Hill as Larry Sawyer
- Cold Case as Mitch
- Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision as Brandon Miller
2002
- xXx as Agent Jim McGrath
- Beyond the Prairie, Part 2: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder Continues as Cornelius Loudermilk
- Black Point as Gus Travis
2001
- High Adventure as Chris Quartermain
2000
- A Vision of Murder: The Story of Donielle as Doug Brister
- For the Cause as Evans
1999
- Escape from Alaska as Neal Meekin
- Secret of Giving as Harry Withers
- The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax as Jack Farrell
1998
- Vampires as Jan Valek
1997
- Kull the Conqueror as General Taligaro
- Behind Enemy Lines as Mike Weston
- The Guardian as The Guardian
1996
- Hollow Point as Max Parrish
1994
- Crackerjack as Jack Wild
- Blood of the Innocent as Frank Wusharsky
1993
- Excessive Force as Terry McCain
- Ulterior Motives as Jack Blaylock
1991
- Night of the Warrior ... (Writer)
1990
- Rock Hudson as Rock Hudson
1989
- The Karate Kid Part III as Terry Silver