Ralph Macchio is best known for playing Daniel LaRusso in three Karate Kid films and in Cobra Kai, a sequel television series.
22 Facts About Ralph Macchio
2.
Ralph Macchio played Johnny Cade in The Outsiders, Jeremy Andretti in Eight Is Enough, Bill Gambini in My Cousin Vinny, Eugene Martone in Crossroads, and Archie Rodriguez in Ugly Betty, and had a recurring role as Officer Haddix in The Deuce.
3.
Ralph Macchio is the son of Rosalie and Ralph George Macchio Sr.
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Ralph Macchio's father is of half Italian and half Greek descent, and his mother is of Italian ancestry.
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In 1979, Ralph Macchio graduated from Half Hollow Hills Central School District in Dix Hills, New York.
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Ralph Macchio began tap dancing lessons at the age of three and was discovered by a talent agent when he was 16 years old.
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Ralph Macchio was cast as Jeremy Andretti for a season in the television series Eight Is Enough.
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Ralph Macchio next won the role of Johnny Cade in the 1983 film The Outsiders.
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Ralph Macchio continued to portray the character in two of its sequels, The Karate Kid Part II and The Karate Kid Part III.
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Ralph Macchio appeared in the 1986 film Crossroads, portraying music student Eugene Martone.
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Also in 1986, Ralph Macchio starred in Cuba and His Teddy Bear on Broadway, alongside Robert DeNiro.
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In 1996, Macchio performed the lead role of J Pierrepont Finch in the US tour revival of the 1962 Tony Award-winning musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and received positive reviews.
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In 2005, Ralph Macchio played himself in the HBO series Entourage.
14.
On September 20,2010, Ralph 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.
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In February 2011, it was announced that Ralph Macchio would compete on ABC's Dancing with the Stars.
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Ralph Macchio was eliminated during the semi-finals, placing fourth in the overall competition.
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Ralph Macchio appeared in Canadian band Danko Jones' music videos for "Had Enough" and "I Think Bad Thoughts".
18.
Ralph Macchio appeared in the 2007 music video for the song "Sweep the Leg" by No More Kings as a caricature of himself and Daniel from The Karate Kid.
19.
At a celebration of the 30th anniversary of The Karate Kid at the Japanese American National Museum in 2014, Ralph Macchio said that the yellow 1947 Ford convertible his character Daniel receives from Miyagi in the first film was sitting in his garage.
20.
In 2022, Ralph Macchio published the memoir Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me, in which he reflects upon the legacy of the Karate Kid films and Cobra Kai.
21.
Ralph Macchio was introduced to his future wife, Phyllis Fierro, by his grandmother when he was 15.
22.
Ralph 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.