Ralph Macchio

Ralph George Macchio Jr. ( , ; born November 4, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Daniel LaRusso in the ''Karate Kid'' films (1984–1989, 2025), a role he reprised in the martial arts series ''Cobra Kai'' (2018–2025). For his work in the latter, he was nominated for two Critics' Choice Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2024, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Macchio's film appearances include the coming-of-age crime drama '' The Outsiders'' (1983), the comedy '' My Cousin Vinny'' (1992), and the musical drama '' Crossroads'' (1986). He also held recurring roles in the comedy drama series ''Eight Is Enough'' (1980–1981) and ''Ugly Betty'' (2008–2009), and in the drama series '' The Deuce'' (2017–2019).

Early life

Macchio was born in Huntington, New York in 1961. He is the son of Rosalie (née DeSantis) and Ralph George Macchio Sr., who owned a few laundromats and a wastewater disposal company. Macchio has a younger brother named Steven. His father is of half Italian and half Greek descent, and his mother is of Italian ancestry. In a 1980 screen test, Macchio said his family was from Naples. In 1979, Macchio graduated from Half Hollow Hills High School West in Dix Hills, New York.

Macchio began tap dancing lessons at the age of three and was discovered by a talent agent at the age of 16. He also had minimal training in martial arts, as he learned little karate and jiujitsu when he was in elementary school, long before getting the role of Daniel LaRusso in ''The Karate Kid'' film franchise.

Career

1980–1983: Early roles

Macchio was cast as Jeremy Andretti for a season in the television series ''Eight Is Enough''. He next won the role of Johnny Cade in the 1983 film '' The Outsiders''.

1984–1989: ''Karate Kid'' fame

Macchio's work on ''The Outsiders'' helped him win the role of Daniel LaRusso in the 1984 blockbuster film '' The Karate Kid.'' Macchio continued to portray the character in two of its sequels, '' The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986) and '' The Karate Kid Part III'' (1989). In ''The Karate Kid'', Macchio portrayed a "high school weakling turned bullybuster" who learns karate from his friend and mentor, Mr. Miyagi (portrayed by Pat Morita). Macchio's work in the ''Karate Kid'' series made him "stratospherically famous."

During this period, Macchio also appeared in the 1986 film '' Crossroads'', portraying music student Eugene Martone. That same year, Macchio starred in ''Cuba and His Teddy Bear'' on Broadway, alongside Robert De Niro.

1990–2016: Later career

In 1992, Macchio starred opposite Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei in the hit comedy film '' My Cousin Vinny'', playing Billy Gambini, who was wrongfully accused of murder while passing through a small Alabama town. In 1996, Macchio performed the lead role of J. Pierrepont Finch in the U.S. tour revival of the 1962 Tony Award-winning musical '' How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', and received positive reviews. Referring to his performance as a chorister in a high school production of the same musical, Macchio said, "I was known as the 'Dancing Kid,' not that I was all that great. But I had been dancing since the age of three, taking lessons at the June Claire School of Dance in Babylon, Long Island."

In 2005, Macchio played himself in the HBO series '' Entourage''. Beginning in October 2008, Macchio appeared in several episodes of the ABC Network television series ''Ugly Betty'' as Archie Rodriguez, a local politician who is Hilda's love interest. Macchio appeared in the 2007 music video for the song " Sweep the Leg" by No More Kings as a caricature of himself and Daniel LaRusso from ''The Karate Kid.''

As of November 2008, Macchio was ranked No. 80 among VH1's ''100 Greatest Teen Stars''.

In June 2010, Macchio appeared in Funny or Die's online short, "Wax On, F*ck Off", in which his loved ones stage an intervention to turn the former child star from a well-adjusted family man into an addict besieged with tabloid scandal in order to help his career, with frequent references to ''The Karate Kid''. A recurring joke in the sketch is that Macchio is confused for an adolescent. The short was lauded by ''TV Guides Bruce Fretts, who referred to the video as "sidesplitting" and "comic gold."

On September 20, 2010, Macchio played the adult Carl Morelli in a staged reading of the Charles Messina play ''A Room of My Own'' presented by The Bleecker Street Theatre Company. In February 2011, it was announced that Macchio would compete on ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars''. He was eliminated during the semi-finals, placing fourth in the overall competition. Macchio appeared in Canadian band Danko Jones' music videos for "Had Enough" and "I Think Bad Thoughts."

In April 2012, Macchio was cast in the film '' Hitchcock'', based on the non-fiction book '' Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho''. He portrayed '' Psycho'' screenwriter Joseph Stefano.

In 2013, Macchio appeared in ''How I Met Your Mother''. One of the main characters, Barney Stinson, asserts that Macchio's character, Daniel LaRusso, in '' The Karate Kid'' is not the real karate kid; instead, it is Johnny Lawrence, Daniel's nemesis in the film.

During a celebration of the 30th anniversary of ''The Karate Kid'' at the Japanese American National Museum in 2014, Macchio said that the yellow 1947 Ford convertible that his character Daniel receives from Mr. Miyagi in the first film was sitting in his garage.

2017–present: ''Cobra Kai''

On August 4, 2017, it was announced that Macchio would reprise his role as Daniel LaRusso in a 10-episode Karate Kid revival series for YouTube Red titled ''Cobra Kai'' that debuted in 2018. Macchio also co-executive produces the series with William Zabka. The series begins 33 years after the events of the first film, and re-examines the " Miyagi-Verse" narrative from Johnny's point of view, beginning with his decision to reopen the Cobra Kai karate dojo, and the rekindling of his old rivalry with Daniel, who has been struggling to maintain balance in his life without the guidance of his now deceased mentor, Mr. Miyagi.

In 2022, Macchio published the memoir ''Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me'' ( Dutton), in which he reflects upon the legacy of the ''Karate Kid'' films and ''Cobra Kai''.

He was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2024.

Personal life

Macchio was introduced to his future wife, Phyllis Fierro, by his grandmother when he was 15. They married on April 5, 1987, and have two children, a daughter named Julia (b. 1992) and a son named Daniel (b. 1996, named after Ralph's character Daniel LaRusso). Fierro is a nurse practitioner. Julia appeared in seasons 4 and 5 of ''Cobra Kai'', portraying her father's character's cousin named Vanessa LaRusso.

Macchio is a fan of the New York Islanders hockey team and was featured as the team's celebrity captain in the 1991 Pro Set Platinum trading card series. A 2016 bobblehead promotion saw his likeness in the team's uniform donning the iconic 'crane kick' pose from ''The Karate Kid''.

Macchio earned his black belt in karate in April 2025, a little more than 40 years after portraying Daniel LaRusso in ''The Karate Kid''. In 2023, Macchio said that before the filming, he was trained in the Okinawan Gōjū-ryū defensive style of karate used by Pat Morita's Mr. Miyagi character. In May 2025, Macchio and his '' Karate Kid: Legends'' co-star Jackie Chan were awarded an honorary black belt by the World Karate Federation during the film's New York premiere.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Music videos

Video games

Book

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References

External links

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Ralph Macchio & Yuji Okumoto Present Best Fighting Game at The Game Awards 2020
– The Game Awards, December 2020.
Ralph Macchio of "Cobra Kai" on Memoir "Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me"
– The View, October 18, 2022.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macchio, Ralph
1961 births
Living people
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American male film actors
American male karateka
American male television actors
American people of Greek descent
American people of Italian descent
Gōjū-ryū practitioners
Male actors from New York (state)
People from Dix Hills, New York
People from Huntington, New York
People of Campanian descent