Since making her acting debut in 1986’s “The Karate Kid Part II” as Kumiko, Daniel LaRusso’s Okinawan love interest, actress Tamlyn Tomita has been featured intelevision shows and films such as ABC’s“The Good Doctor,”the CBS All Access series “Star Trek: Picard” and San Francisco filmmaker Wayne Wang’s movie“The Joy Luck Club,”based on Bay Area author Amy Tan’s bestselling novel.

But on New Year’s Day, Tomita comes full circle as she returns to the “Karate Kid” world for season three of “Cobra Kai,” the hit Netflix series that follows the popular film franchise.

Tomita, who was born in Okinawa and is of Filipino and Japanese descent, spoke with The Chronicle from her home in Los Angeles about reprising her role as Kumiko more than 30 years later, filming “The Joy Luck Club” in the Bay Area and why she owes her success to Ralph Macchio, who plays Daniel LaRusso.

Q: What compelled you to come back to play Kumiko?

A:Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, the writers of this series (whomMacchio calls the Three Amigos), emailed me in the summer of 2019 saying that they’d love me to reprise the role of Kumiko as Daniel-san goes back to Okinawa. I was pleased as to where the script is going, but I was even more thrilled to find out that Chozen, our adversary from “Karate Kid II” (played by actor Yuji Okumoto), was going to be an integral part of Daniel-san’s journey back to Okinawa.

We had talked about (Kumiko’s) character, where they thought she would be or had been, and I said, “I’m all on board. The only thing that I need to ask is if I was able to inject a little bit more Okinawan authenticity.” Because to be quite frank and truthful, when I did the film in 1985, I was a nobody. I knew nothing about moviemaking or storytelling or political correctness or authentic representation of one’s culture, especially when it comes from my own particular culture. They gave me that permission to bring Okinawan language, to bring Okinawan behavior, props and costumes to the set, and we were able to integrate a little bit more of an authentic Okinawan flavor to the piece.

We (Okumoto and I) were just so thrilled. It was like having that kind of reaction of “Where am I? Am I back in 1985?” It was just this roller-coaster ride of being able to reminisce. We felt really blessed, because who gets a chance to relive or revisit characters 35 years later? I think that’s the real gift.

Q: The tea scene between you and Ralph Macchio is such an iconic scene in “The Karate Kid Part II.” What was it like to film it?

A:God does really work in mysterious ways, and I’m a very big believer in that.

When I was at UCLA, there was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a class in Urasenke-style tea ceremony. I was studying Japanese history at the time. I thought this would be fun. I took that course in 1984. When I auditioned for “Karate Kid” in 1985, I told them I had taken a tea ceremony class and they thought I was lying and I went, “No, I know the tea ceremony!”

The scene is a quintessential expression of love and respect and honor towards a revered guest. What I was trying to do was re-create with my spirit and my intention as to how I look towards Ralph Macchio/Daniel-san the character. That’s me trying my best to be a character, Kumiko, but also as Tamlyn Tomita trying to really imbue that scene with all the intention of what a true Japanese tea ceremony is all about. It’s just that mishmash of all those kinds of emotions that I hope still successfully was translated in that scene. That really still works for me when I see it — looking at Ralph with my nervousness, with my intent, with my desire to show the true meaning of the tea ceremony.

Q: Now, stepping into the role 35 years later, are we seeing that sort of same butterflies-in-your-stomach kind of feeling between the two of you in “Cobra Kai”?

A:Sure, because I think you remember someone that you were in love with or had a very special relationship with 35 years ago and didn’t get it together — you know, ships-passing-in-the-night kind of thing. But knowing that Daniel-san is happily married and has two children I think it is very fulfilling for (Kumiko) because she’s happy that he’s so happy and that she comes into his life again to help him in a period of life where he needs help.

但你仍然有这种感觉,就像任何一个人ould be when you see your first crush 35 years later, like, “Oh my God, he’s so, so cute. And he’s still so nice. And whoever got him is a lucky woman.” That’s the kind of sentiment and feelings that I try to imbue, because for me as an actor, Ralph and the whole cast make me so happy and so proud that they taught me everything as an actor. What I know now, I owe to Ralph.

Q: Let’s talk about “The Joy Luck Club,” which was recently added to theNational Film Registry of the Library of Congress. What are some of your favorite memories filming the movie?

A:There’s a whole slew of memories for me and for all the girls. We shot in the East Bay before it was developed into the shopping paradise that it is.

We knew as Asian American actors, as women, that this was going to be something special, that it was going to be a significant film because it was such a touchstone of stories written by Amy Tan. All of us had read the book before going into the film, and we were so excited.

There were a lot of dinners that we tried to squeeze in en masse, meaning all the (onscreen) daughters and mothers included, because we felt that we should spend all the time together to know each other, to bond with each other. That was a responsibility not only as characters, but as actors of our backgrounds.

We were very noisy. Our mother actors shared war stories of growing up in Hollywood and in their personal triumphs and tribulations as to their careers in Hollywood as well as their personal stories. We were talking and laughing all the time. It was a joyous period of being able to tell these stories.

We all still communicate with each other — we’re still very close with the actors who play our mothers — and we know that we were a part of something extraordinary.

Q: What role do you want to be most remembered for?

A:Over the course of my career, I look back at it and say, “Oh, I want to be known for my body of work.” But I think I’ve come to a point in my life where I really do want to be remembered for Kumiko because that was the start of my career. That was the start of my storytelling. That was the start of my responsibility and my obligation as an Asian American to tell stories in a more authentic, truthful light and of my personal growth.

I was blessed with this opportunity to learn while I was working on the set of “Karate Kid.” I still take all that knowledge of what I do to this day.

“Cobra Kai”:Action drama series. Season three begins streaming on Netflix on Friday, Jan. 1.