a b Freeman, Hadley (August 25, 2020). "Karate Kid Ralph Macchio: 'I'm at peace with the choices I made' ". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021 . Retrieved August 23, 2021. Haddad, Vincent (February 11, 2019). "Masculinity on the Mat". Public Books. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020 . Retrieved October 19, 2019. Stylist Matthew Marden; grooming by Elizabeth Yoon using Shiseido and Sachajuan; digital tech by Sarah Keum; photo assistant Jan Erting; retouching by Jill Lewis For 30 years and more, whenever the American actor Ralph Macchio attends a sports event, the chances are that a live image of his face will flash up on the arena’s big screen. Macchio’s name will appear, always accompanied by a three-word explanation of who he used to be. “Guys, remember the Karate Kid from the 1980s? He’s here, he’s alive, he watches baseball, too!” Macchio is a fan of standup comedy. But if he sits in the audience at a show he must always be prepared to be singled out. “Hey Ralph, didn’t I see you waxing on and waxing off at a car wash? You guys might know Macchio from The Karate Kid trilogy. And if you don’t know him from those movies, then you don’t know him at all…” What shines through in the book is Macchio’s passion for the franchise and his respect for the cast and crew members he’s worked with. The late Pat Morita, who played Mr. Miyagi, Daniel’s disciplined teacher, is remembered fondly by Macchio who admits he wasn’t sure Morita was the right actor to play the pivotal role. Once the two screen tested, it became clear there chemistry would go down in cinematic history and Macchio frequently praises his late co-star.

Kenneally, Tim (March 28, 2011). "Ralph Macchio, Elijah Wood Think Bad Thoughts in Indie Music Clip". The Wrap. Archived from the original on April 4, 2011 . Retrieved March 28, 2011.

Ralph Macchio has had a long and successful career but there’s no doubt that the character he’s most associated with is Daniel LaRusso from ‘The Karate Kid’ franchise. He played the character in three films – ‘The Karate Kid’ (1984), ‘The Karate Kid Part II’ (1986) and ‘The Karate Kid Part III’ (1989) – and he reprised the role for the hit series ‘Cobra Kai’, which started in 2018 and is still going strong. Nearly 40 years after the original film was released, Macchio is sharing his experiences and stories from the franchise in his new book ‘Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me’. At 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 his character Daniel receives from Miyagi in the first film was sitting in his garage. [24] Macchio is almost too pure for this world. He's avoided the usual child star scandals. Especially considering that for a huge chunk of time from "My Cousin Vinnie" until "Cobra Kai" his career was essentially over. That would cause a lot of folks to spiral (cough Corey Feldman cough) but Macchio is a family man who seems pretty grounded. The memoir is heartfelt, and insightful. It is funny, and a little frustrating (like -- why wouldn't Macchio have watched The Next Karate Kid from start to finish, even if just in support of Morita's continued live in the Miyagiverse? He should have. He still should. It was actually a nice edition). Personally, I hope Cobra Kai never ends. And obviously, we want season 6. But you also mentioned in the book that there are spin-off ideas, including a Miyagi prequel. And you said you'd be really interested in that. If that happened, would you contribute to it creatively?

a b c d e f g h i j "Ralph Macchio". Biography (TV program). August 16, 2019. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020 . Retrieved November 13, 2019. Goldberg, Lesley (August 4, 2017). " 'Karate Kid' TV Sequel, Starring Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, a Go at YouTube Red". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 28, 2019 . Retrieved February 9, 2018. Reading is my favorite hobby. I honestly don’t watch much TV these days and there is only one show I would watch over reading a book - Cobra Kai. So when I learned Ralph Macchio had a book coming out, I was beyond excited! I got an Advanced Listening Copy (narrated by Ralph himself) from Penguin Randomhouse and needless to say, I finished listening in less than a day. Cerone, Daniel (July 1, 1989). "Macchio at 27: The Man Who Lives Inside the 'Kid' ". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022 . Retrieved August 23, 2021. I’d recently though I’d try another audiobook memoir. Let’s just say that Sensei Lawrence may have been correct when he chastised Miguel with “There’s no tapping out in karate!” But in audiobooks… that’s not really the case. On that one I managed about an hour and felt rather frustrated and drained and I stopped after an hour or so. That’s all I have to say about that.

Waxing On

Ralph Macchio: I think he would love it. You know, there's some magic dust that is sprinkled in and sprinkled across The Karate Kid universe. From when I got cast in 1983 to today, it's just been blessed from so many vantage points. I think he would have loved it. I think if he was here, Cobra Kai would be different. It would have to be. But it was important to me that Miyagi, his character, was laced throughout the storytelling in Cobra Kai. The writers of the show felt that way similarly.

I am a Ralph Macchio fan. Always have been, however . . . I have since seen The Outsiders, Karate Kid I & II, and My Cousin Vinny -- each over 100 times. Easy. Karate Kid III was very . . . meh. I enjoyed The Next Karate Kid very much (Probably watched it 3 or 4 times). Cobra Kai -- I have watched each season more than once. Ralph Macchio: It's great to hear from you guys about that because we [the actors] are so inside of it that we don't know. And the writers do a great job of knowing what you guys want. Moreso than I can see. That was a great deal of fun. I mean, my first fight with Silver was in episode 5, LaRusso gets beaten up pretty bad. The book will be Ralph Macchio's celebratory reflection on the legacy of The Karate Kid in film, pop culture, and his own life. It will be a comprehensive look at a film that shaped him as much as it influenced the world. Macchio will share an insider's perspective of the untold story behind his starring role--the innocence of the early days, the audition process, and the filmmaking experience--as well as take readers through the birth of some of the film's most iconic moments. Ralph Macchio just seems like a really NICE guy. He is the narrator for the book, which I always think adds a nice little bit of extra that they are reading their own words, so they can put the inflection and expression on what they feel the most strongly about.

Success!

The other exchange I remember from the meeting is when they asked me whether I was bumped by the boy’s infatuation with his own mother. Did I feel it was an incestuous problem that audiences would have an issue with? I wish I could say that I had an insightful answer, but I believe I just tap-danced around it and expressed my view that as long as it was entertaining, it should be okay. Not my most brilliant response, but at the time it was met with pleasant nods from the two legendary filmmakers. Welsh, James M.; Phillips, Gene D.; Hill, Rodney F. (2010). The Francis Ford Coppola Encyclopedia. Scarecrow Press. p.167. ISBN 9780810876514. a b Chi, Paul (June 1, 2009). " 'The Karate Kid' All Grown Up". People. Archived from the original on May 19, 2018 . Retrieved May 4, 2018. I put a counter-proposal to Macchio: that it is thrusting people, more forceful people, who benefit most from opportunities. In other words, maybe being nice has not always served his interests. “Huh. That’s interesting. Maybe I did undercut myself. I’m thinking this through now – this is a new thought in my mind. What happens is, it’s very hard not to become desperate when you want to find work that isn’t there. There was a section of time when that was happening to me. That’s often when actors go off the deep end or down a dark path. Because it’s such a seductive thing, success.” He kept out of trouble, he guesses, because he was always more interested in his Long Island life than his Hollywood one. He was nice.