Macchio began tap dancing lessons at the age of three and was discovered by a talent agent at the age of 16.[1] 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.[8]
Career
Early roles
Macchio was cast as Jeremy Andretti for a season in the television series Eight Is Enough.[1] He next won the role of Johnny Cade in the 1983 film The Outsiders.[1]
Karate Kid films
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).[1][9] In The Karate Kid, Macchio portrayed a "high school weakling turned bullybuster"[10] who learns karate from his friend and mentor, Mr. Miyagi (portrayed by Pat Morita).[11] Macchio's work in the Karate Kid series made him "stratospherically famous."[9]
Later roles
Macchio 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.[1][12] 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.[1] 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."[13][14]
In 2005, Macchio played himself in the HBO series Entourage.[1] 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.[15] As of November 2008, Macchio was ranked No. 80 among VH1's 100 Greatest Teen Stars.[16]
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 Theater Company.[17] 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.[18] Macchio appeared in Canadian band Danko Jones' music videos for "Had Enough" and "I Think Bad Thoughts."[19]
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.[21][22]
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.[23] A recurring joke in the sketch is that Macchio is confused for an adolescent. The short was lauded by TV Guide's Bruce Fretts, who referred to the video as "sidesplitting" and "comic gold."[24]
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.[26]
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.[1][27] 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 karatedojo, 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.[28][29][30]
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.[31]
Personal life
Macchio was introduced to his future wife, Phyllis Fierro, by his grandmother when he was 15. They got 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).[32][33][34] Fierro is a nurse practitioner.[32][33][26] Julia appeared in seasons 4 and 5 of Cobra Kai, portraying her father's character's cousin named Vanessa LaRusso.[34]
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.[35] A 2016 bobblehead promotion saw his likeness in the team's uniform donning the iconic 'crane kick' pose from The Karate Kid.[36]
^Bubbeo, Daniel (February 9, 2018). "Ralph Macchio to guest star on 'Kevin Can Wait'". Newsday. Archived from the original on April 18, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2018. Macchio will guest star on two episodes ... Macchio will play 'Alviti,' the head of a company turning Long Island properties into parking lots
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