Cobra Kai stunt duo on how they went from martial arts to Hollywood
Husband-and-wife world-champion martial artists Justin Ortiz, 32, and Jewelianna Ramos-Ortiz, 26, laugh when they recount the story of their first audition in 2018 as stunt performers for the Netflix series Cobra Kai.
They tell the tale with an air of absurdity as they describe just how foreign they felt in the land of film auditions.
While they both had accolades as martial artists – Ortiz as a multi-world champion in karate and
kickboxing , Ramos-Ortiz as a multi-world champion in sport karate – neither had any experience with film. They had no professional headshots or résumés.
In the first round, the instruction was vague: 'Show me what you got,' the casting director said.
'I'm saying in my head, 'Wait a minute, what do I got? What can I do?'' Ortiz recalls, feeling panicked. 'I was like, 'OK, they want traditional karate, so I'm going to give them some traditional forms, and I'm going to start breaking into my creative stuff, do some flips and then I'll end it.' So I did that.'
Justin Ortiz (second right) and Jewelianna Ramos-Ortiz (third left) in an episode of Cobra Kai. Photo: Netflix
Ramos-Ortiz gave it her best, too. In the final round, the fight coordinator taught them a choreographed sequence to perform on camera. Relying on their instincts and backgrounds in martial arts competitions, they hit their marks and added some of their own flair. For the first time all day, the casting team broke their stone faces and stood to clap.
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