Biography

Thomas Ian Griffith

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Thomas Ian Griffith was born on March 18, 1962 in Hartford, Connecticut. His father was a college professor, his mother a dance teacher. Griffith trained as an opera singer in New York City with Metropolitan Opera star Delia Rigal. He attended the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, majoring in English literature and music. While still in school, he was cast in the Broadway show The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. He continued to work on Broadway and in regional theater until moving to Los Angeles to star in his first feature film, The Karate Kid Part III. After a successful acting career, Griffith segued into writing full time, including developing multiple pilots for NBC, Universal and Warner Brothers TV. He is married to actress/screenwriter Mary Page Keller. They have two sons, Conner and Eamon.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous

Trained Tae Kwon Do under Master Jun Chong. Besides Tae Kwon Do and Kenpo Karate, he's also trained in kickboxing, wrestling and fencing. He also has experience in stage combat.
Has studied Tae Kwon Do since childhood; he's also a black belt in Kenpo Karate.
Despite appearing much older and noticeably larger, Griffith is actually younger than Ralph Macchio, whom he co-starred with in The Karate Kid Part III (1989).
Trained with Loren Avedon in preparation of his role in The Karate Kid Part III (1989). While sparring, Avedon accidentally broke some of Griffith's ribs.
He spent part of his youth traveling with his mother to the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada to participate in Irish step dancing competitions.

[on action movies] It's like a kid playing, all the things you got in trouble for.
I didn't come from the typical martial arts background and then became a movie actor. It's sort of the other way around. I'm looked upon as a theater actor who happened to know martial arts before I got into the movies. So people tend to look at me in a different light.
I became addicted to Tae Kwon Do. It was a great sport to have on the side while I was working as an actor in New York.
I'm not real big socially. I've never been one for going out to parties. I do my own thing. I'm more for a one-on-one relationship. I prefer spending time with my girlfriend.
No matter what happens, I will always be the same person.

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