Ralph Macchio

Birthday: 4 November 1961, Huntington, Long Island, New York, USA

Birth Name: Ralph George Macchio

Height: 174 cm

Ralph George Macchio was born on November 4, 1961 in Huntington, Long Island, New York. He started out in various TV commercials in the late 1970s before appearing in the puerile comedy movie Up the Academy (1980), then a regular role in 1980 on the television series Eight Is Enough (1977) followed by a decent performance as teenager Johhny Cade in the The Outsiders (1983) based on the popular S.E. Hinton novel about troubled youth.In 1984, Macchio scored the lead role in The Karate Kid (1984) directed by Rocky (1976) director John G. Avildsen. The film was a phenomenal success, being highly popular with adults and children alike. The movie spawned two equally popular sequels The Karate Kid Part II (1986) and The Karate Kid Part III (1989), both again starring Macchio and Pat Morita, and both directed by Avildsen.Macchio also starred in the blues road movie Crossroads (1986), featured alongside Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny (1992) and, looking to toughen up his image, Macchio played a hit man in A Good Night to Die (2003). Arguably, movie audiences still identify Macchio very strongly with his Karate Kid role, but as his features have gained a more weathered, adult edge, he has found opportunities and positive reviews from appearances in stage productions showcasing his acting talent. It would be great to see this versatile actor score some broader and more challenging film roles. Show less «

(2012, on the Karate Kid legacy) Daniel LaRusso, talk about an ingrained part. It becomes your alter...Show more »

(2012, on the Karate Kid legacy) Daniel LaRusso, talk about an ingrained part. It becomes your alter ego: People think that's actually my name, they think I grew up in Newark, they think I actually know martial arts. I keep fooling them into believing it's true, but... That character, he's become part of popular culture, a relatable underdog that hopefully will continue to entertain generations. He really was the every-kid next door that we all believed we could be. He had no business winning anything, but in the end, he was victorious. It's a great coming-of-age story, and, well, what can I say? Almost 30 years later, and people are still reciting lines to me to this day. Show less «

Guys like Spielberg and Zemeckis and really anybody who is a storyteller-filmmaker today has studied...Show more »

Guys like Spielberg and Zemeckis and really anybody who is a storyteller-filmmaker today has studied Hitchcock and the way he visually tells a story. He was the master of suspense, certainly, but visually you would get a lot of information from what he would do with the camera and what he would allow you to see as the story was unfolding. Show less «

I remember making the all-star team in Little League when I was around 11 years old. I was not a gre...Show more »

I remember making the all-star team in Little League when I was around 11 years old. I was not a great athlete, but I loved it, so making starting second base in the all-star was great for me. I think someone must have been sick and they slotted me in. Show less «

The truth is, you have a much richer life if you somehow lead one that you can hold together.

There's an audience out there for all these different types of things. Whether it's comedy, motion-p...Show more »

There's an audience out there for all these different types of things. Whether it's comedy, motion-picture drama, family movie or a cool, cutting-edge indie, it's nice to know that I can span all those different genres. Show less «

(2012, on Crossroads) That film was arguably one of the better-looking films I've ever been in, and ...Show more »

(2012, on Crossroads) That film was arguably one of the better-looking films I've ever been in, and some of the coolest music ever, including probably one of the greatest guitar duels ever to come out of Hollywood, between Steve Vai and myself, although it wasn't me. I was faking it all the way. But it's still a very cool project. Joe Seneca was phenomenal in that movie, Jami Gertz. And I'll run into people left and right who'll go, "Dude, Crossroads!" I was introduced to Sean Lennon, who did the score for this one film I did, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead, and he just went on and on about how he tried to emulate the guitar duel from Crossroads, and all his guitar friends were obsessed with it... It was a Columbia film, and I was doing the Karate Kid films with them, and since that was pretty successful, they were trying to keep me in the family, at least for a little while. Our biggest concern was that it was still mentor-student, and we wanted to not necessarily stay on that path. But the film is very different in tone, and Walter Hill was a filmmaker who'd made his mark with The Warriors and 48 Hrs., and he was shooting Streets of Fire right before then. We just sort of hit it off and figured we'd go down this path with that film. Show less «

(2012, on My Cousin Vinny) We all knew it was a funny script, and obviously Joe Pesci was at a peak ...Show more »

(2012, on My Cousin Vinny) We all knew it was a funny script, and obviously Joe Pesci was at a peak there, with Goodfellas and everything going on. And Marisa [Tomei]... Who knew she would be the spectacular talent she is? I mean, we knew when we saw her, but who knew that was going to be an Oscar-winning performance? And Fred Gwynne... The whole cast was great. I had the part that was the least funny, but I had to be in the movie. And I got to say "the two yoots." People yell that out to me. I could walk down the street today, and someone could yell that out. That, and "I shot the clerk." But it's great to have a couple of those. My Cousin Vinny, The Outsiders, The Karate Kid... When I look back at that time, any one of those, you'd be happy with. So I got pretty lucky. Show less «

I've come up in the scripted world, and I have wished there were more time slots for us to tell comp...Show more »

I've come up in the scripted world, and I have wished there were more time slots for us to tell compelling scripted stories and not fill the airwaves with a lot of fluff and tabloid entertainment. Show less «

(2012, on the Beer League) That was a movie I turned down, like, three times. And then finally we ju...Show more »

(2012, on the Beer League) That was a movie I turned down, like, three times. And then finally we just made it work. I got to play softball with Artie Lange, and he's so funny. I'm a big Artie fan, and I found him very likeable and loveable amid all his Howard Stern stories, and obviously, the demons he wrestles with and all the stuff that's happened with him in recent times. I haven't heard first-hand, but I've heard he's on the rebound, which is great to hear. So yeah, it was fun. We played softball in Jersey in a movie that was made for under $2 million or about that, and I got to be the voice of reason, the only guy in the group of Beer League softball players that orders egg whites and toast with no butter and grapefruit juice. I loved that scene in the diner. It's really funny. Again, it's at my expense, being the guy who's a little whipped by his wife, but he does provide the logic to all the crazy guys. Show less «

Ralph Macchio

Ralph Macchio's FILMOGRAPHY

Ralph Macchio'S roles

Feedback about this page?