Here’s the 411 on Cobra Kai’s Sensei Kim actress, Alicia Hannah-Kim.
Netflix’s Cobra Kai continues the legendary story that began 40 years ago in the iconic ‘80s film The Karate Kid.
Cobra Kai has experienced enormous popularity since it debuted in 2018, in part for respectfully carrying on the legacy of the original Karate Kid trilogy.
[ Cobra Kai Season 6: Release, Cast & Everything We Know ]
Meet Alicia Hannah-Kim - Biography Details
Alicia's Acting Journey Started in Sydney
Born and raised in the land down under, Sydney, Australia, Alicia Hannah-Kim first pursued the field of acting in her hometown. During an interview with A Book Of, Hannah-Kim was asked how she came to be an actor:
“It started for me with theatre school in Sydney and booking my first job through the school, which led to me getting an agent. I always loved old movies and did a lot of dance and music but I’m not sure I ever thought acting was something I could do seriously, I just loved the escapism of it.”
When the question was posed of who and what her biggest inspirations were, Alicia Hannah-Kim had a veritable laundry list of influences, naming legendary zoologist Jane Goodall and world-class tennis player Serena Williams, among others:
“Sincerity and integrity are the big ones. Being in nature. It’s so Pollyanna, but I could fill this page with inspiration because I find it anywhere I can. Good design - architecture, clothes, art or just a thing that works properly. Actors who make interesting choices. Courage. Jane Goodall. A good meal. Everyone on Chef’s Table! Jeong Kwan. My parents. SERENA WILLIAMS. IU. I could go on. I’m an unapologetic”
Hannah-Kim was also questioned about her favorite role during the sit-down. She cited playing Joan of Ark in a production of George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan back in theater school:
“I remember doing Saint Joan as a kid in theatre school and feeling electrified by her conviction. I think that connection is the thrill of acting… for me anyway…”
Alicia Learned Korean During the Pandemic
During COVID-19 lockdowns, Hannah-Kim elected to keep herself busy by learning another language: Korean. She spoke to journalist Jae-Ha Kim in 2022 about her strong desire to advance her skills in speaking it:
“I learned Korean again during the pandemic! It’s to a point where I’m conversational and just so eager to improve. I still take lessons weekly. I need more Korean friends, please! I speak some French and what I call restaurant Italian. I’m always so impressed by multilingual people.”
Jae-Ha Kim also inquired about Hannah-Kim’s experiences as a child of diaspora, as she has roots in South Korea despite growing up in Australia:
“We have family in Holland, Australia, the United States and South Korea, so I was always aware of the diversity of the diaspora. I think a lot about my parent’s generation or my mum’s best friends from school who are now based in England, Canada and Malaysia. My experience growing up was always watching them connect with their childhood friends who were now scattered across the world after immigrating and all their different experiences.“
Nonetheless, Hannah-Kim wears her status as an Australian like a badge of honor, noting how “proud and grateful” she is in that respect:
“I am really proud and grateful to be Australian. I had your typical Aussie suburban kid life. It’s a great place to grow up – safe, outdoorsy and multicultural. I went to school with so many different ethnicities. Diversity for me was simply normalcy.”
Alicia Knew Her Cobra Kai Role Was Special During the Audition
36-year-old Alicia Hannah-Kin (born on July 28, 1987) joined the cast of Cobra Kai in its fifth season in a recurring capacity as the antagonistic Sensei Kim Da-Eun. It is a role the actress has reprised for Cobra Kai’s sixth and final season, scheduled to drop in three parts.
Hannah-Kim, who had previous experience with yoga and Muay Thai spoke to Deadline about the role where she reflected on the secrecy surrounding the audition process:
“I didn’t even know what I was auditioning for because there was so much secrecy but her entrance alone was so epic I knew that Kim Da-Eun was someone special. Playing a baddie can be delicious and I’m vigilant about not being reduced to a stereotype as I’ve experienced in the early roles of my career and I was fortunate that the creators were ambitious about crafting something real and layered.”
She additionally hyped up Cobra Kai Season 6 during the interview, sharing what she was most excited about in the new episodes, commenting that Sensei Kim’s journey is “wild” throughout:
“I’m super excited because I know the fans have been waiting for this big finale conclusion, and so it’s exciting to me that we’re beginning that. I know it’s going to be in three parts and so everybody is going to come on this long journey with us to unravel the final season. I’m so excited about that. I’m really just bursting for everyone to see my character’s journey this season because it is wild. It’s going to be hard for me to not spill spoilers all year.”
Alicia Wants to be in a Mission: Impossible Movie
Hannah-Kim has her sights locked on one of Paramount’s most enduring film franchises, Mission: Impossible.
But beyond entering the Tom Cruise-fronted series, she’d love to work with popular directors like Steven Spielberg, Kim Won-Seok, and Parasite’s Bong Joo-ho:
“I’d love to work for a master director like Spielberg. I’d love to work in Korea and Australia, too. There’s such a wealth of artistic excellence in Korea right now. Director Bong Joon-Ho, obviously, and I’m a huge fan of Director Kim Won-Seok. Can I play a spy in MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, please? Everything. The list is endless and it’s good to dream…“
She’d also jump at the chance to appear in another attention-grabbing Netflix series, Squid Game, even if it was just for “the chance to die in the series:”
“Are you kidding me? In a heartbeat. I would compete in a real-life Squid Game for the chance to die in the series. God, I don’t think I’ve ever been so stressed watching a show. It was brilliant. Just brilliant. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Director Hwang Dong-hyuk cooks up for season 2. It’s really my dream right now to work on something in Korea."
Alicia is Developing Her Own Film Projects
Sitting down with Grazia Magazine, Alicia Hannah-Kim revealed that she has multiple projects of her own in the works, which is not something she’d ever have predicted she would end up doing. Her film will be in dual languages, English and Korean, which is representative of her own heritage:
“I didn’t think I had that in me, honestly. It’s my dream to work in Korea, so I am developing a film that would be in English and Korean.”
Not one to rest on her laurels, Hannah-Kim has also pitched a docuseries. She indicated that through working on these various personal projects, she is learning a lot about herself:
“I’m pitching a docuseries right now that I’ve developed, and I’ve also started writing, which has been a new thing for me. I think I’m sort of slowly chipping away at any kind of limitation that I had placed on myself. Also, one of the most powerful things about representation for me has been understanding that you can do anything. Anything that I thought that I couldn’t do was maybe fed to me by a lack of representation of not seeing myself in media — but that has changed so much.”
She also draws energy from her peers, mentioning how “inspired” she is by their creative works, as well as the power of representation:
“Now when I see my contemporaries out there producing, writing, directing, acting, I’m so inspired by them, and it fosters that environment of, ‘Oh, we can create, too. We can create our own projects. We have a voice.’ That’s what representation gives you.”
How To Follow Alicia Online
For those wanting to catch up on the continuing adventures of Alicia Hannah-Kim, she is on Instagram at the handle @thealiciahannah and X (formerly Twitter) @AliciaHannah.
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