Ralph Macchio rose to prominence with his iconic role as Daniel LaRusso in the original The Karate Kid films. He went on to reprise his role in its spin-off series, Cobra Kai. Having featured in the initial projects, his work with Mr. Miyagi (played by Pat Morita) played a crucial element that the franchise continued to work on.
Working as the lead protagonist in the original movies led him to become the most famous 16-year-old in the world at the time. Unlike other rising stars who often get indulged in dark temptations, he chose to remain grounded which led him to live a stabilized life.
Ralph Macchio Talked About His ‘Balanced’ Life
The 61-year-old actor, Ralph Macchio shared his insights on living a grounded life despite making a household name of himself with his The Karate Kid films role. In his memoir, Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me, he talked about leading a balanced life which helped him to remain humble.
“It’s a lesson there we could all use – a balanced diet, balanced relationships, a balanced life, you know?”
Rejecting those dark temptations after intense fame is quite difficult but his family contributed a lot in helping him stay grounded. Even his own actions also helped in keeping him in check.
“I give some credit to my parents in grounding me … And part of it is my own sensibilities of just being someone who … never chose to take those big risks that might lead to a slippery slope.”
He continued,
“And any time I was not working in Los Angeles, I was following my teams in New York, like the New York Mets and the New York Islanders. So I would fly back to New York to go to the games … I think that and the foundation of my upbringing had something to do with how I avoided all of that.”
It was his very efforts that continued to help him stay away from the dark side that affected many rising stars in Hollywood. It could have contributed to embracing his character even more which is why he kept on rejecting the idea of a reboot for years.
Ralph Macchio Rejected The Karate Kid Reboot for Years!
Audacy featured an interview where the Crossroads actor along with his co-star, William Zabka [played the role of his rival, Johnny Lawrence] kept on rejecting the famous series’ reboot for ‘decades.’
“I mean we both said no for decades.”
However, they eventually returned to reprise their role in the Cobra Kai series, which is a spin-off to the original movies. Despite different timelines, the series continued to sustain the original theme which was why it resonated with the old movies.
With Robert Mark Kamen credited as creator for the show, it was a critical success leading to five seasons. It was renewed for a final season early this year but the production halted due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike.
The Cobra Kai series is available on Netflix.
Source: Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me, Audacy
