Ralph Macchio

Ralph Macchio met Phyllis Fierro through his grandmother when he was 15. They have been married since 1987 and have two children, Julia and Daniel. Fierro is a nurse practitioner, and Julia appeared as Vanessa LaRusso in Cobra Kai.

Macchio is of Italian ancestry, with additional Greek ancestry through his father. He is a fan of the New York Islanders and served as the team's celebrity captain in a 1991 trading-card series. In 2018, he threw out a ceremonial first pitch at a New York Mets game, with William Zabka serving as catcher.

Macchio began tap dancing at age three and was discovered by a talent agent at 16 after performing an Eddie Cantor impression at a local dance recital. His first screen appearance was in a Bubble Yum commercial, and he made his film debut in Up the Academy in 1980. That year, he also joined the television series Eight Is Enough as Jeremy Andretti.

His breakthrough film role came as Johnny Cade in Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 adaptation of The Outsiders. He appeared alongside Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon and other members of the ensemble cast. At age 20, Macchio played the 16-year-old Johnny Cade.

In 1984, Macchio played Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid, portraying a teenager who learns karate from Mr. Miyagi, played by Pat Morita. Macchio returned as Daniel in The Karate Kid Part II in 1986 and The Karate Kid Part III in 1989. He was 22 when he first played the 17-year-old character, and the role made him internationally famous.

Macchio reprised Daniel LaRusso in Cobra Kai, which premiered in 2018 and continued the story of the original film trilogy. The series also brought back William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence and explored Johnny's attempt at redemption while revisiting his conflict with Daniel. Macchio served as an executive producer and directed the episode "Sleeper." The series concluded after six seasons and 65 episodes.

He later played Daniel again in Karate Kid: Legends, alongside Jackie Chan. Macchio also appeared in Coldplay's 2024 music video "The Karate Kid" and joined the band onstage to perform the song in Melbourne.

Macchio played Eugene Martone in the 1986 film Crossroads and appeared on Broadway in Cuba and His Teddy Bear with Robert De Niro. He returned to the stage in the U.S. touring revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, playing J. Pierrepont Finch from 1996 to 1997.

His major film roles outside the franchise include Bill Gambini in My Cousin Vinny, opposite Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei, and Joseph Stefano in Hitchcock. His television work includes Archie Rodriguez in Ugly Betty, Officer Haddix in The Deuce, and appearances as himself in Entourage and How I Met Your Mother.

In 2011, Macchio competed on Dancing with the Stars and finished fourth. He published the memoir Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me in 2022, a reflection on the legacy of the films and Cobra Kai that became a New York Times best seller.

Macchio directed the short films Love Thy Brother and Across the Alley, both of which won awards at U.S. film festivals. He also produced American Gypsies for the National Geographic Channel and worked as an executive producer on Cobra Kai and Karate Kid: Legends.

Although he had learned some karate before filming the original movies, Macchio trained in the Okinawan Gōjū-ryū defensive style used for Mr. Miyagi's character. He earned a black belt in karate in April 2025, more than 40 years after the release of The Karate Kid. The World Karate Federation later presented honorary black belts to Macchio and Jackie Chan at the U.S. premiere of Karate Kid: Legends.

Macchio was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame in 2022 for his contribution to martial arts and sporting culture. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in November 2024.