The Karate Kidwas a smash hit that both sparked an international interest in the art of karate and earnedRalph Macchiothe breakout role that turned him into one of the definitive stars of the “Brat Pack” era. Although Macchio had done impressive work in the complex coming-of-age dramaThe Outsidersand the musical adaptationCrossroads,The Karate Kidallowed him to be both a teen idol and an action star, as the film itself would go on to be citedamong the greatest sports films ever made. It begs the question: Did Ralph Macchio really do these stunts?
What Training Did Ralph Macchio Do for ‘The Karate Kid?'
Sure,The Karate Kidwas a smash hitthat became one of the highest grossing films of 1984, but it’s pretty surprising that Daniel LaRusso would be a character he would end up playing over four decades later. Macchio reprised his role in bothThe Karate Kid: Part IIandThe Karate Kid: Part III. (The franchise would eventually continue on without him withThe Next Karate Kidand a 2010 remake of the original starringJackie ChanandJaden Smith.) He also isin the legacy sequelstreaming seriesCobra Kai, which has been a massive success on Netflix. One of the reasons that theoriginalKarate Kidstill holds up today is becauseMacchio did a majority of his own stuntsandlearned karate while filming.
Macchio admittedthat he only had minimal karate trainingbefore being cast inThe Karate Kid, as he had begun jiu-jitsu lessons when he was still in elementary school, and had no experience with martial arts. It was after a meeting with directorJohn G. Avildsen, who had already directed his own sports classic with 1976’sRocky, that Macchio realized that learning the actual stunts would be integral to the character. Macchio and his co-starPat Morita, who received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Mr. Miyagi, were trained in “a classic Okinawan style” meant to reflect their chivalrous attitude. The only instance in the original film in which Macchio wasn’t allowed to perform his stunts for real was during a fight scene with Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) in which he had to tumble down a hill. Remarkably,Macchio said that he has yet to break a bonefilming any scene in the franchise.
Avildsen intentionally kept Macchio and Zabka apart on the set of the originalThe Karate Kid, as all the actors cast as members of Cobra Kai were trained “in a more aggressive style of martial arts.” Although the two stars were relatively friendly on set with one another, they did not become close until after Morita’s death, in which they were able to bond over the ways thatThe Karate Kidhad shaped their careers. Both Macchio and Zabka serve asproducers onCobra Kai, which was originally produced for YouTube before being picked up and renewed by Netflix. The next installment of the show’s three-part final season is set to air on Netflix in November.
Does Ralph Macchio Do His Own Stunts on ‘Cobra Kai’?
Returning to the heroic rolethat he had made iconic when he was a teenager is no easy feat, butMacchio claims that he still performs a majority of his own stunts onCobra Kai— even if his advancing age has made it somewhat more challenging. Despite ostensibly being one of the co-leads of the show,Cobra Kaiis mostly centered on a group of younger characters, including LaRusso’s children Samantha (Mary Mouser) and Anthony (Griffin Santopietro).Cobra Kaiis set to air its final set of episodes in early 2025, but Macchio will be back playing LaRusso on the big screen the same year in a currently untitledThe Karate Kidfilm in which he will be co-starring alongsideJackie Chan.
The Karate Kid
The Karate Kidis available to rent on Prime Video in the United States.
Rent on Prime Video
