Ralph Macchio facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ralph Macchio
Macchio in 2019
Born	Ralph George Macchio Jr. (1961-11-04) November 4, 1961 (age 63) Huntington, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1979–present
Spouse(s)	Phyllis Fierro ​ (m. 1987)​
Children	2

Ralph George Macchio Jr. (born November 4, 1961) is an American actor. He is famous for playing Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid movies. These include the first film in 1984, and its sequels in 1986 and 1989. He also plays Daniel in Cobra Kai (2018–present), a TV series that continues the story.

Ralph Macchio has also starred as Johnny Cade in The Outsiders (1983). He was William Gambini in My Cousin Vinny (1992). In 2024, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This star is right next to the one for his Karate Kid co-star, Pat Morita.

Early Life

Ralph Macchio was born in Huntington, New York. His parents are Rosalie and Ralph George Macchio Sr. His father owned laundromats and a company that handled wastewater. Ralph has a younger brother named Steven. His father has both Italian and Greek family roots. His mother's family is from Italy. Ralph shared in 1980 that his family came from Naples. He finished high school in New York in 1979.

Ralph started learning tap dancing when he was just three years old. A talent agent discovered him when he was 16.

Career

Starting Out

Ralph Macchio's first big role was Jeremy Andretti. He played this character for two seasons in the TV series Eight Is Enough. After that, he got the part of Johnny Cade in the 1983 movie The Outsiders.

The Karate Kid Star

His work in The Outsiders helped him get the role of Daniel LaRusso. This was for the huge hit movie The Karate Kid in 1984. Ralph kept playing Daniel in two more movies: The Karate Kid Part II (1986) and The Karate Kid Part III (1989). In The Karate Kid, he played a high school student. This student learned karate from his friend and teacher, Mr. Miyagi. Mr. Miyagi was played by Pat Morita. The Karate Kid movies made Ralph Macchio very famous.

Other Cool Roles

In 1986, Ralph appeared in the movie Crossroads. He played Eugene Martone, a music student. That same year, he acted on Broadway in a play called Cuba and His Teddy Bear. In 1992, Ralph starred in the funny movie My Cousin Vinny. He played Billy Gambini, who was wrongly accused of a crime.

In 1996, Ralph played the main role in a musical called How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He toured the U.S. with this show and got good reviews. He remembered dancing in a high school play of the same musical. He said he was known as the "Dancing Kid" because he had been dancing since he was three.

In 2008, Ralph appeared in the TV series Ugly Betty. He played Archie Rodriguez, a local politician. In 2011, Ralph competed on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. He made it to the semi-finals and finished in fourth place.

Cobra Kai and Beyond

Macchio in 2017

In 2013, Ralph Macchio appeared in How I Met Your Mother. In this show, one character joked that Daniel LaRusso was not the real karate kid. They said it was Johnny Lawrence, Daniel's rival.

In 2014, there was a party for the 30th anniversary of The Karate Kid. Ralph shared that the yellow 1947 Ford car from the first movie was in his garage. This was the car Mr. Miyagi gave to Daniel.

In 2017, it was announced that Ralph would play Daniel LaRusso again. This was for a new TV series called Cobra Kai. The show started in 2018. Ralph also helps produce the series. Cobra Kai takes place 33 years after the first movie. It shows the story from Johnny Lawrence's point of view. Johnny decides to open the Cobra Kai karate dojo again. This brings back his old rivalry with Daniel. Daniel has been trying to live his life without his teacher, Mr. Miyagi, who has passed away.

In 2022, Ralph wrote a book about his life. It is called Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me. In the book, he talks about the Karate Kid movies and Cobra Kai.

Personal Life

Ralph Macchio met his future wife, Phyllis Fierro, through his grandmother. He was 15 years old at the time. They got married on April 5, 1987. They have two children. Their daughter, Julia, was born in 1992. Their son, Daniel, was born in 1996 and is named after Ralph's character, Daniel LaRusso. Phyllis is a nurse. Julia appeared in Cobra Kai as her father's character's cousin, Vanessa LaRusso.

Ralph is a big fan of the New York Islanders hockey team. In 2016, a special bobblehead doll was made of him. It showed him in the team's uniform doing the famous "crane kick" pose from The Karate Kid.

What He's Been In

Movies

TV Shows

On Stage

Music Videos

Video Games

See also

In Spanish: Ralph Macchio para niños