Rob Garrison
Biography
Rob Garrison was an American actor who played Tommy in The Karate Kid (1984). Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, he began acting at Wheeling Park High School and went on to study theater at Ohio University with a full scholarship. He graduated in 1982, and while a student he had played a convict in Robert Redford's Brubaker (1980). After college he won the role of Tommy, which he later reprised in 2019 for season two of Cobra Kai. His film credits included Iron Eagle (1986) and a cameo in The Karate Kid Part II (1986), and he worked on television in Coach, MacGyver, St. Elsewhere and Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. Later appearances came in the music video Sweep the Leg (2007), The Pledge (2011) and the short film The Static (2016). Garrison died in 2019.
59years old at death
- Born Wheeling
- Died Wheeling
- Star sign: AquariusThe sign runs January 20 to February 18
- Also credited as Robert Garrison and Robert Scott Garrison
Movie Career
- Films
- 3
- Career span
- 6 years1980 to 1986
Every film, newest first
- 1986Iron EagleIMDb rating 5.6
- 1984The Karate KidIMDb rating 7.4
- 1980Prom NightIMDb rating 5.3
Genres
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Did you know?!
Getting ready for a role
Garrison never said his famous line while filming. He looped it two months later in a recording booth, where John said he needed two seconds of something and Garrison delivered the line on the first try.
A role that slipped away
Garrison and William Zabka both tried out for the role of Johnny in The Karate Kid, but Garrison was cast as Tommy instead.
First role
While a student at Wheeling Park High School, Garrison took up acting and appeared in a small part in Starship Invasions, a 1977 film, before he graduated in 1978.
Rob Garrison movies on Netflix
Worked with
Rob Garrison shares two films with Larry B. Scott, and one with each of the others. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Larry B. Scott's page
Louis Gossett Jr.'s page
Jamie Lee Curtis's page
Tim Thomerson's page
Leslie Nielsen's page
Martin Kove's page
All films by John G. Avildsen
All films by Paul Lynch
All films by Sidney J. Furie
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.