Macchio began tap dancing lessons at age three and was discovered by a talent agent at age 16.[1] He also had minimal training in martial arts, learning a little karate and jiujitsu in elementary school, long before getting the role of Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid film franchise.[8]
Macchio's work on The Outsiders helped him win the role of Daniel LaRusso in the 1984 blockbuster film The Karate Kid. He continued to portray the character in two of its sequels, The Karate Kid Part II (1986) and The Karate Kid Part III (1989).[1][10] In The Karate Kid, Macchio portrayed a "high school weakling turned bullybuster"[11] who learns karate from his friend and mentor, Mr. Miyagi (portrayed by Pat Morita).[12] Macchio's work in the Karate Kid series made him "stratospherically famous."[10]
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.[13][14]
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.[15] 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."[16]
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.[17] 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 Super Deluxe convertible that his character Daniel receives from Mr. Miyagi in the first film was sitting in his garage.[18]
In 2022, Macchio published the memoir Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me (Dutton), where he reflects upon the legacy of the Karate Kid films and Cobra Kai.[20]
In 1986, 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][22]
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."[23][24]
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.[25]
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.[26] 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.[27] Macchio appeared in Canadian band Danko Jones' music videos for "Had Enough" and "I Think Bad Thoughts."[28]
Macchio was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2024.[30]
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 together: Julia (b. 1992) and Daniel (b. 1996).[31][32][33] Fierro is a nurse practitioner.[31][32][18] Julia appeared in seasons 4 and 5 of Cobra Kai, portraying her father's character's cousin named Vanessa LaRusso.[33]
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.[34] A 2016 bobblehead promotion saw his likeness in the team's uniform donning the iconic 'crane kick' pose from The Karate Kid.[35]
Macchio earned his black belt in karate in April 2025,[36] 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.[37] 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.[38]
^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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