Tanner Buchanan doesn't need to fight to win over a crowd these days, but it certainly
doesn't hurt that he has the skills to throw down when the occasion calls for it.
If you're a fan of Buchanan's work in "Cobra Kai" you're no doubt familiar with his moves
as Robby Keene.
And in "He's All That," Buchanan proves yet again why he's a boss in a scene that reminds
us a lot of "Cobra Kai."
"Why'd you just take off your shirt?"
"I don't know.
That's for me to know and for you to find out."
"What?"
In "He's All That," Cameron Kweller is hardly the kind of guy you'd expect to see squaring
up with the most popular kid in school.
He purposefully exists under the radar of the cool crowd, and when he's been bullied
by Jordan Van Draanen in the past, he's always brushed it away with sarcasm.
"They're assholes, and I remind them that they are.
It's my place in the ecosystem."
That is, until he escorts Padgett to a swanky Roaring '20s-themed birthday party alongside
his best friend and his social media-obsessed little sister, Brin.
Since Brin is an unabashed superfan of Padgett's music video superstar ex-boyfriend, Jordan,
this moment is something of a dream come true for her.
Unfortunately, Brin quickly finds out what a jerk Jordan really is, and Cameron finally
stops sitting on the sidelines to step up and defend his little sister with some moves straight
out of Cobra Kai.
"Cameron, come on.
He is not worth it."
"No.
Not this time."
"Cameron, please!"
One of the first things "Cobra Kai" fans are bound to notice about Cameron's fighting is
that he immediately adopts a defensive posture that allows, and even encourages, Jordan to
flail around the pool deck for a while.
It's reminiscent of the Miyagi-Do school of karate, which sees fighting as a means of
defense, not offense, against bullies.
"Woah."
As Cameron easily ducks and weaves past Jordan's efforts to land a blow, it's clear that Tanner
Buchanan took the lessons of his first on-screen sensei to heart.
"Well well, check out Captain Badass."
"I dare you to try that again."
Of course, simply embarrassing Jordan isn't enough to end the fight, so eventually Cameron
has to take Jordan down, and when he does, his moves would definitely make Robby's father,
Johnny Lawrence, proud.
It's not quite "strike first, strike hard, no mercy," but he certainly doesn't hold back.
He might not be the one to start a fight, but just like Robby, Cameron can certainly
finish it.
Perhaps it's no surprise, but Buchanan got to draw on a lot of his experiences portraying
Robby while preparing for the showdown against Jordan.
Since Buchanan began training in martial arts for "Cobra Kai," he's made a point of mastering
his spinning back hook kick, a move he pulls in this "He's All That" scene.
Buchanan was also already well-versed in working with stunt coordinators to create fight scenes
that looked amazing on-screen while maximizing safety for everyone involved.
"We're fake fighting.
We don't want to hurt the other person, so precision is a really, really big thing."
Plus, his overall commitment to fitness for his role on "Cobra Kai" meant he was already
equipped with the endurance to shoot such a technical fight sequence.
Buchanan also shared that filming in front of a crowd of cheering extras brought out
a lot of energy in the scene, which helped fuel his own momentum in the fight.
"Fighting definitely enhances our performance.
It's really fun because the crowd gets going crazy, and it gets you like really riled up,
and you have all this adrenaline.
I feel like it comes across really well on camera."
If that suit in "He's All That" took you down memory lane, well, you can thank Cobra Kai
for that.
Season 4's prom episode found him dressed to the nines in a different but similarly
lavish pool party.
He makes it look good, but throwing punches in tailored duds isn't always a party.
"Fighting in a suit was actually decently hard.
I was definitely in wardrobe fittings making sure I had enough room to move around.
It was hard, different than a gi, for sure.
In a gi you have much more room, but it was kind of fun.
It was kind of fun to be like, all fancy, and made me feel like James Bond."
Thanks for watching.
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