Cobra Kai wouldn’t be the same without original Karate Kid star Ralph Macchio back as Miyagi-Do sensei Daniel LaRusso.
Season six of the Karate Kid spin-off is wrapping up on Netflix with just five episodes left to air before it’s time to say goodbye to the hit action-packed drama for good.
From the very beginning, Daniel LaRusso star Ralph Macchio has played an integral role in Cobra Kai, from his love-hate relationship with Johnny Lawrence (played by William Zabka) to passing down Mr Miyagi’s (Pat Morita) invaluable lessons.
With the Netflix series coming to a close, subscribers are curious to know all there is about the man behind the Karate Kid himself.
Insecurities
Born in November 1961 in Huntington, New York, Macchio was the son of a half Italian and half Greek father and an Italian mum with a younger brother called Steven.
Sadly, from a young age, the Cobra Kai actor struggled with his self-confidence.
Speaking to CBS Sunday Morning, Macchio shared: “I think maybe I had certain insecurities.
“I always looked young for my age which is now paying dividends or so far so good, despite my lower back not getting the memo or my knees.
“But I think there was a bit of growing up. I was always kind of the smallest in the class, the youngest looking and when everybody else was maturing and being the star football player or the greatest looking or whatever, I was kind of a little scrawny kid.
“Arguably kind of cute but scrawny so I had a bit of insecurities about myself and I used that when designing Daniel LaRusso, using those elements I put up this cocky front to cover something that I might have felt when I was going through adolescence.
“That I might have had a little inferiority that I wasn’t as tall or strong or masculine. I’m talking in those early teen years.”
Real-life feud
It was his youthful appearance however which helped Macchio to land the role of Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid franchise, starring in the first film in 1984 at age 22.
He worked opposite fellow Cobra Kai star William Zabka as bully Johnny Lawrence and according to Macchio, they weren’t exactly the best of friends off-screen.
He previously told The View: “When I was done with the original Karate Kid film, I looked at William Zabka and said, ‘Well, thank God I never have to see that guy again.’”
Two decades went by and the pair weren’t reunited until the memorial service of Mr Miyagi star Pat Morita in 2005.
He explained: “It was at Pat Morita’s memorial where I saw Billy [Zabka] — it was in Vegas and I had to speak that day. It was a tough day.
“I saw Billy there at the memorial service and I hadn’t seen him for 20 years.
“I always say that was the first time we were on the same side of the mat. And from that point forward, this has kind of found itself and here we are.
“Now, it’s like we’re very close friends as husbands, fathers, actors and just grown men.
“[We] just have forged such a great relationship. And yet we’re so different. It’s a little bit of art imitating life, back and forth. We have that but there’s such a mutual respect.”
Injury
Back in 2018, during an interview with Men’s Journal, Macchio shared that he suffered an injury thanks to Zabka while filming a Karate Kid scene.
“Basically, I got kicked in the face,” Macchio bluntly stated.
Zabka elaborated: “I can explain: In the scene, I am supposed to be hitting Ralph with a front roundhouse kick.
“I had it pretty dialed in, so I was keeping a good amount of distance from his face in the rehearsals.
“They decided to move the camera at some point, so the blocking was a little different, but I didn’t adjust my planted foot.
“I didn’t realise until too late, and coming through the kick, it didn’t stop until it connected.”
Macchio commented: “We can laugh about it now, but the day of it was a pretty serious deal.
“Luckily, it landed on my jaw, and not my nose or the teeth, because I could have broken something.
“That would have probably shut down production. In this case, it only meant I had to put some makeup on, and eat all of my food through a straw for a bit.
Family co-star
Showbusiness is in the family as Macchio’s daughter Julia Macchio has followed in his footsteps, starring as LaRusso’s cousin Vanessa in Cobra Kai.
Opening up what it’s like working with his daughter to People, he said: “She knocked it out of the park. I was the proud father on set that day.
“As soon as she ran our first take, everybody was like, ‘Holy c***, she’s got this character.’
“It was certainly a highlight for me in season 4 and just a joy I’ve had that opportunity.”
Cobra Kai season six, part three, premieres on Thursday, February 13, on Netflix.