Unblinded with Sean Callagy - Ralph Macchio: Legacy, Identity & The Karate Kid Journey

Episode Date: December 2, 2025

In this powerful and nostalgic conversation, Ralph Macchio sits down to explore his life before The Karate Kid, the making of the legendary film, his connection with Pat Morita, the evolution of Cobra Kai, and the deeper legacy behind a story that shaped generations. Macchio shares never-before-heard personal reflections, family roots, career highs and lows, and the emotional responsibility that comes with being part of one of the most beloved stories ever told.This episode blends humor, heart, inspiration, and cinematic history — reminding every listener why The Karate Kid isn’t just a movie, but a universal hero’s journey.TIMESTAMPS00:00 — Introduction & honoring Ralph MacchioHost shares Ralph’s cultural impact and personal significance.04:00 — Growing up on Long IslandFamily, roots, laundromats, musicals, Gene Kelly influence, tap dancing at age 3.10:00 — Early acting: Bubble Yum commercial & first breakLanding roles, getting “bitten by the entertainment bug.”13:30 — The Outsiders dream come trueAuditioning for Coppola, connecting emotionally to Johnny Cade.20:00 — The Karate Kid auditionHating the title at first, being 19, the Macchio curve, meeting John Avildsen.25:00 — First audition with Pat MoritaWhy nobody believed “Arnold from Happy Days” could be Mr. Miyagi — until they met.30:00 — Watching iconic scenes & behind-the-scenes storiesThe one-take sequences, rehearsals, humor, and nostalgia.37:30 — The emotional legacy of The Karate KidMentorship, father-son dynamics, Miyagi’s essence, and why it still resonates.42:00 — Realizing the cultural impactFirst sneak preview, crane pose, crowds cheering, producer predicting sequels.48:00 — Lean years & staying groundedCareer slowdowns, family stability, creativity, and avoiding destructive pitfalls.55:00 — The rise of Cobra KaiWhy Macchio initially said “no,” how the creators won him over, the Creed comparison, and reinventing the universe through Johnny’s eyes.1:05:00 — What Cobra Kai means to him todayGray areas, character depth, threading Miyagi through the story.1:12:00 — Legacy, future projects & directingDesire to tell stories, mentor younger actors, stay creative, and cook more.1:19:00 — Emotional reflections: nostalgia, mentorship & paying legacy forwardFinding meaning in the quiet moments, learning from his kids, and scenes that impacted him decades later.1:30:00 — Final clip & closing thoughtsThe championship scene, chills, and what the franchise symbolizes today.1:35:00 — Ralph’s final messageKey HighlightsRalph’s humble beginnings and family business roots.The Outsiders audition that changed his life.His hilarious first reaction to the title “The Karate Kid”The magical first read with Pat Morita.Why Miyagi is the heart and soul of the franchise.The emotional responsibility of playing Daniel LaRussoThe 30-year “no” to all Karate Kid reboot ideas.How Cobra Kai finally got it right.The importance of paying legacy forward.Reflections on fame, family, and staying grounded.Hidden behind-the-scenes stories fans never knew.What Ralph hopes to create in the next chapter of his career.

The audition for the karate kid came up. And I heard the title, The Karate Kid, and I said, this is got to be the worst title of anything I've ever heard in my life. When someone pitched that Rocky Balboa and Daniel Rousseau would have two kids that would meet and both be in trouble, and they would fight crime between Newark and Philadelphia. Kay, I should catch your ass to you. If you bully me in all these ways, in that movie, it's become a piece of everybody's childhood or life or inspiration. in a way I just watched the end of that, and I'm saying, where are these movies now?

I was saying this back in the green room that I couldn't be more honored to have every speaker here, and we explained the unique significance of Cassie from earlier today, and we had a conversation about Hollywood celebrities and sports figures, and so many these people that are going to be here have such an impact on everyone, and certainly on me as well, but there is no one coming here that, Mr. Ralph Machia, that has a bigger impact. You know, when the karate kid came out, and we are clear that your career is certainly more than simply the karate kid. And there's a litany of films, not the least of which my cousin Vinny,

and all these beautiful, wonderful things of impact. Let's hear it again for that. Yeah, okay. that your work transcends. So we are very clear that it's not like, okay, like the karate kid is here, like Ralph Machio is here. And we're clear. And what we want to do today is to make sure that we acknowledge and honor just the incredible impact you've had on the people in the room. I've explained to our partners and elite, a long time on blinded people mastery.

The place the karate kid holds in our legend, our training, the video clips that we watch and endure. And by the way, for all of my lawyer friends out there, there is fair, use, fair comments of what you're allowed to use clips for. So I'm very clear what we can and cannot use. All good. And what I am, like, incredibly present to is the impact you had on my life, their lives. And I feel like a little kid with such a massive space of identity impact sitting with you. And it really is truly a dream come true and honor for me. me and I thank you for being here.

Oh, thank you, Sean. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. So from that place, would you mind just sharing a little bit about growing up? I know you're a northeast guy, what was life like, and, you know, prior to the acting world, please. Well, I grew up on Long Island, which is on the other side of the two rivers. Many people say, you grew up in New Jersey, didn't you?

And they don't, you know, because it kind of morphs art and life. but um recita right I um mom dad my dad's a self-made man still both my parents

still with us 88 now slow and down a bit thank you um that's you know tough at this chapter of life because it's um

you know it's changed but um but I have both of them and my brother my younger brother about two and a half years um and it was just the four of us in kind of, you know, middle of Long Island, Dick's Hills, Huntington area.

My dad owned a bunch of, like, one or two laundromats. That was sort of his, he, that was the onset of his business. And then what came from there is the cesspools would overflow from the soapy water. So he had to buy a pump truck. And then from that pump truck came the largest Long Island liquid waste removal. So he did it all of them. It would never went to college. right at a high school.

I grew up in Brooklyn. That's sort of the quick Cliff Notes version of my dad. So I was brought up in a working class environment. My mom worked at the office. I would have to do my time at the laundromat on Saturdays, giving change to the customers, dreaming about maybe being on Broadway or movies.

Because I grew up watching what was the 430 movie or the Channel 11 movie, the million dollar movie in New York. Maybe some of the Jersey books. WPIX? Yeah, WPIX. You got it. And so I'd come home from school. I know I'm jumping around, but I'm trying to give you like just little pieces of what life was like for me.

And my mom would have all the old musicals on. My dad would be working out during the day. Mom would have the MGM musicals. And I watched those. And that's what I was first bitten by the bug of that, you know, that story. storytelling and that Gene Kelly was I wanted to be Gene Kelly from the from day one. I just loved Gene Kelly his masculinity, his smoothness, his, you know, those were bigger than life movie stars. So I started tap dancing lessons at age three because my my dad thought it would be good for me. It wasn't

in his playbook initially. He wanted to tell me. But he didn't want me to be bashful. And And so, like he was, or he explained that he was as a kid. And my mom wanted to be Betty Grable, if you know who Betty Grable is. I'm dating myself. But these are great movies stars of that era. So that's kind of how I was bitten by the entertainment bug. And I would, you know, I always look younger for my age than I am. I'm still trying.

I'm still trying. If you think this man looks amazing. Say yes. Now, I am blind, but I'll go with what? next side. So anyway, so to bring this portion in for a landing, that's what, that's, you know, what lit my fire. I enjoyed being on stage.

I enjoyed telling stories, whether it was dance, and I wasn't even that great, but I knew where to land and I knew how to smile. And I got by on that for a bit. And in between I was dreaming I could also be Tom Seaver and throw, you know, be a 20 game winner in Major League Baseball, but that was not going to happen. So I had all those kind of aspirations, but it came from a very functional loving family. Both my parents were very supportive of anything through my schooling, although they didn't always agree on things. I was given the opportunity to explore. I understood the value of a dollar.

My dad would still be like, you know, you see those two aluminum cans over there? Put those, you bring them, you get 10 cents, you put that in the bank. You know, it's like little, little, he's done that with my kids. So that's the long rambling story of what got me bit from the entertainment bug. And then I got, as it happens to often, I got lucky. I was in the right place at the right time. And what was that? That was a movie called Up the Academy.

It's not at the top of the resume. But a bubble yum commercial. That's probably more famous. I did a bubble yum commercial that you could watch on YouTube and at my expense just ripped me to shreds. But it played Saturday. mornings and that was sort of I went in and I got the part and then I went in for the movie of the academy I got the part and then at that point I was I was I hadn't paid my dues but stuff was coming to me I wound up paying my dues a little bit later after all that the big success

and then it was about how to how to sustain and not be at the top of the wave you know and that's that's really a lot of the lessons that I've learned over the years are or or from and And so that's kind of how I got into it. The Outsiders was a big. I love that movie. You've seen The Outsiders, yes? We're going to do it for Johnny all night long. So The Outsiders was a book I read when I was 12 years old,

which was somewhere between falling in love with Gene Kelly and tap dance shows and wanting to be, you know, Robert De Niro or Dustin Hoffman, who are kind of my Pacino, all those guys. grown up. So I read that book. It was written by a 16-year-old girl, S.E. Hinton, who is still with us. And I just, I wanted to be in that movie. It was the first book I read without my parents saying, you have to keep reading. And so when they auditioned for that, I just, I had to have that part. I just had to, and I said it to Francis Ford Coppola. I said, I have to have this party. So I wanted you to read for this part. I said, no, I want this part.

And somehow, through it all, that was the first super dream come true for me where I set out and got exactly what I wanted. And it wasn't, and I learned later that there were other actors that might have done workshops beforehand, but somehow it landed in my lap and it holds a special place. And what was it about that part in the outsiders? I just connected. At 12 years old, I connected to that kid, even though I didn't have that broken family life. He had an insecurity about him. He was smaller. He was kind of the runt of the litter. He was of the guys of the gang and the group. He was the one they protected. He felt a little bit inferior. And I had some of those things from the aspect of looking young for my age, not. being, you know, probably going to puberty last. I'm still waiting on that. Sorry, it was a big joke. I had a swing.

It was like a beach ball over the middle of the plate. But so, you know, so I connected to some of those adolescent insecurities that he was dealing with. And I had, and he was a sympathetic character. And I felt an affinity for him. And he was also described physically. like to how I was dark hair, big dark eyes, kind of puppy dog elements to him. And so I just felt like I could be this guy. And I could, and then it was Francis Ford Coppola.

I've seen the godfather like 40 times. I was like, I have to make this happen. Wow. And by the way, remember Charlie Sheen, Francis Ford Coppola, his dad in Apocalypse now. So we have a friend of... Oh, you have a lot of Coppola. Can I have these last two days? Yeah, a lot of that going on.

And Emilio Estevez, his brother. Amen. Yes. So from there, the outsiders, and what happens for you from the outsiders? Well, it was, you know, that movie did well, but it did not do at its onset. And it's like any art form. It's defined over time. You know, you don't remember what won the Oscar last year, but you remember where you were when you saw, you know, E.T. or the Godfather or, you know.

So art is defined over time. but that film, it came out, and I was super proud of it and super, you know, it was beyond for me because it was, I was in that dream come true section of the onset of my career. And the karate, the audition for the karate kid came up. And I heard the title, The Karate Kid, and I said, this is going to be the worst title of anything I've ever heard in my life. Maybe inside my head, I wrote this in a book that I wrote my moroc called Waxing On, because you have to call it Waxing On, where I said to myself subconsciously, maybe I hate this title so much because if I ever get the part, I'd have to carry it for the rest of my life. Wow. And how old were you?

I was 19 when I audition. So I call it the Machio Curve. I played 16 for 47 years. It's my own little thing. So I was 19. I auditioned and I read the script and I found it inspiring, though corny, was my initial reaction. Some of the high school stuff I found corny, but the Miyagi character was written. And I think this is a great thing.

points to make in this setting. The Miyagi character was written. There was some humor peppered throughout, but he was, you know, this wise master, and that's kind of what, you know, what he is, but it was probably a little less of what Pat Marita brought to it in his brilliant, brilliant performance as Mr. Miyagi. But that mentor student, father-son uh uh relationship was was just beautiful on the page

um i went and i read for john avelson who had directed rocky who i spent my child in running up and down in library steps pretending to be uh stalone at the time and uh so i was i was you know this was another how is this happening to me uh experience and it was my first reading with him where you could watch on youtube you honestly go to YouTube and watch Ralph Machu and Pat Marita's first reading, and you can see my audition. And it's interesting, I didn't recall it at the time because when you're in it, you don't know it. But when I look back years later, and even today, if I watch that audition right now, that's the kid.

That's Daniel Rousseau. Like, it wasn't, it didn't take, you know, months and months of work to find it. It was, it seemed like, you know, I was just meant to, I had the kind of East Coast. bravado that he had but yet he was kind of a you know he thought he was a tough guy but he wasn't which is part of what makes him interesting and then and then that project you know just happened for me they flew me out to to California on an option deal which is you know and but it was it wasn't until we found Mr. Miyagi that they were gonna sign off and and Pat Marita

This is my favorite story and it feels so right for this setting. Nobody wanted Arnold from Happy Days as Mr. Miyagi. Myself included on the onset because I grew up Tuesday nights on ABC, if you remember, Laverna and Shirley, Happy Days, Mork and Mindy. I mean, this was our, you know, and I just remember Arnold is like, bah, ha, Fonzie we go, you know, and he's, and then I'm reading this. That's why I alluded to Miyagi being this grounded, a wise master of martial arts and philosophy.

And I was just like, how is that guy going to do this? And it's interesting when I look forward. I went through my share of pigeonholing for a while of, you know, you kind of get boxed in. And I was at that time boxing in who Pat Marita was as an actor. because I only knew what I had seen. And when I walked in to John Avelson, the director, his office, I was in L.A. They had me out there.

And Pat Marita was over there, and we had our scenes, and we had one scene, and we just started reading it, and John was just videotaping. As soon as he started speaking, like all of Arnold's from Happy Days, like I didn't even know that was the same actor. And he had these beats and these comedic, comedic rhythms, but yet this earnest kind of what you want when someone is teaching you to connect. He had such a connection,

and I just listened and reacted, and it was a tango to the perfect music. And from Jump Street, like there was no finding it. It was just there. And I still think if you play a scene from that movie, it's still there. And it doesn't happen very often, but that kind of marriage and connection of those two characters, as you alluded to before, is quite inspiring and just a privilege to be a piece of that puzzle. Amazing.

Well, it's here for Ralph Masha. And, yes. So what I love to do for a moment, is just play a quick clip and see your reaction to it. Is that cool? Yeah. Okay. Tink, ready?

Yeah. So we're going to look right back here. So it's going to be, this is going to, yeah, you'll see. I think you're familiar. Depend? On what? Reason. How's free French?

Karate for defense only. That's not what these guys are taught. I can see No such thing a bad student only bad teacher Teacher said student do Did you go with me? You know, I can't Why you said it was a good idea, right?

For you good idea for me good idea No get involved Oh, but you already are involved, I mean you're... What? I gotta carry your way too. Thanks don't do me any more favors, okay pal? Daniel, son? What? Okay.

There you go. Oh, excellent. Excellent. Mr. Miyagi. Miyagi. Miyagi. Okay. So, like many of you,

please help. Yes, I will. And let's see how it goes from there coming back. So what does that bring forward for you? If, anyway. Well, instinctively, I have two things to, well,

two things to start to share about that scene. One, what does he say? No, get involved and everyone laughed. That on the page is not necessarily funny, but with the textures that Pat Marita had in that carrot and the through line, the connective tissue, he had that humor raised the bar. And obviously, JCPenney, 398, what kind of belt do you have? It's, you know, but also that scene was, There was a few things in that movie, and it's not done as much anymore because we've just thrown into the TikTok generation where everything's cuts, cuts, cuts, cuts, cuts. But that entire scene from the moment Laruso wakes up and realizes he helped him out and saved him from the skeletons all the way up to JCPenney 398 is one shot, one continuous. And we spent a while on it.

It was just, and that was one of the scenes. It might have been the scene, the first scene I read with him when I auditioned when I was saying that, when we read together. But that's the setup to the perfect payoff. You know, doing the chores and then being karate skills, the student, the aggressive student wanting the answers before asking the questions. You know. Yes. So perhaps. I have all these Daniel sons in the audience.

Yes. If you are a Daniel son, say yes. Tink, let's say yes, Sensei. Yes, yes, yes, and you are now, Sensei. We'll get that in a moment and beyond. But this may be more about them even than it is about you. We're all of us coming up. We've got a tank?

Here we go. Four days, I've been busted my ass. I've been a goddamn thing. You learn plenty. I learned plenty. I learned how to sand your decks, maybe. I've watched your car, paint you. paint your fence I learned plenty right and not everything is a scene oh bullshit I'm

going home man Daniel son Daniel son what come here now show me wax on wax off wax on wax on wax off wax on wax off hey wax on that wax off concentrate look my eye black hand thumb inside wax on hat wax on hat Wax off. Show me pent a fence. Up, down. Up. Down.

Other side. Show me sand the floor. Thanks. And if you wax on, wax off the next two days, you can do that. Yes. So if I can ask, what, how do you feel about watching the clips, like being present to it? Is it like, yeah, been there done at nine million times? Is it, yeah, I'll say something about it for the audience.

Does it still resonate for you? Like, what's present for you when you see those moments? When I watch that I remember, I mean, obviously, there's such a warmth of nostalgia, certainly. And I remember the day. Like, I remember, you know, I see the green paint that they put on my family. I remember I put him to, you know, John saying, I wanted him to look like he's been painting all day. And we were, you know, so I go into things that you're not thinking. about besides just you know the emotional part of the scene I start thinking

you know it's that bittersweet because Pat is no longer here John Avels is no longer here so a lot of the creators that made this magic are no longer with us so there's a there's a nostalgia embrace for me but there's also I remember how often we rehearsed that scene every scene we shot up into that point with that was probably about two-thirds of the way through the filming of the movie. And any time we were sitting around, John Avelson would say, well, work on the scene, the payoff. We need the payoff scene.

You need the payoff scene. You know, that's got, it can't be fast enough, it can't be quick enough, it can't be sharp enough. And as witness to even the first time I saw this movie, that was the first, that was when the world was like, we are so into this story. Because we've been taken on this ride, and everyone was feeling that sense of accomplishing. through the kids, Zulu Rousseau's recognition. The message is Robert Mark came in, I need to mention his name,

he wrote this screenplay, and he's still with us. And he will, if he was here right now, he'd say, how come you haven't mentioned my name a few more times? We have that sort of give and take between the two of us. And, you know, a lot of credit, you know, it's in the writing. It's in the execution, certainly, in the casting and the visuals and all that. But the foundation, and if you're, you know, you tell me of how much you use these pieces, one of these days you should, you know, connect with him as well because he would, you know, that's where that, it came from. And for him, it came from a personal experience. He was picked on as a kid and he had a master, Okinaw and his own Miyagi. And that's where that story came from. So when I see, when I watch that scene and I see, I see. that father's son, that mentor student, that Ian and Yang give and take, where both grow.

And that's the beauty of that film is Miyagi gains as much in his life as Daniel does from each other. So it's a two-way street of inspiration. It's really quite beautiful. Amen. Let's hear for that. So maybe let's jump forward a bit and we'll come back to something. maybe towards the end of our time together. But so this happens.

When did you realize the impact? How transformational was the karate kid for your life? And when did you become present to, if that transformation occurred to it, and what it was going to mean forever? Yeah, that's, I mean, that happened in phases. I mean, as early as the exit of the first sneak preview of that movie, which is the first time I had seen it.

The introduction and the waxing on book is all about my experience. Seeing that movie is the first time not having seen anything and seeing it with an audience of about, you know, about six, seven hundred people in New York City. And I walked in that theater, you know, kind of the average kid that maybe two or three people said, hey, I think I saw you in the outsider. It's really cool. And I came out of that movie. Like, I won the Super Bowl with Stanley Cup and the, and the, and, the average kid that.

the World Series. You know, I had to be ushered to the car and everyone on the street was doing the crane pose. And the producer Jerry Weintraub, he turned to me, goes, listen, we're going to be making a couple of these. That night, he said it. And I couldn't process any of that. I just knew I was in something special. People were, you know, jumping, hugging, high-fiving. You don't see that too often anymore in a movie theater.

First of all, you don't see anyone in a movie theater because everyone's on their phone. But so it was, so that was the onset. And then it snowballed from there, but it was. I'm sorry. Good question. If you saw the karate kid and all of a sudden wanted to take up karate and be the karate kid, say yes. Yes, thank you. I know.

Or open a bonsai kiosk at a mall. I always say, why didn't I come up with the bonsai tree kiosk? it's amazing it's amazing but then it became pop culture that's what started to happen you know and obviously it was sequels so there was part two

was in 86 and part three which is you know not my favorite of all the karate kids though people it gave Cobra Kai such seeds to grow more fruit it's amazing

Even the shortcomings in the Karate Kid trajectory bare fruit in the end. It's really quite unique and amazing. But I think what started happening, interestingly, I think a lot of the writers that grew up on that movie that would write sitcoms and movies would reference the movie. This is years later. so maybe 10 years after it started to be popping up on every talk show, sitcoms, late night

then there was the Comic-Con started getting really popular people would be dressing up in the shower costume or the skeletons and it started to become then there a theory where Johnny Lawrence might have been the good guy

and Laruso is the bully which is how sort of onslaught of Cobra time. How does that land with me? Yes. Initially it was like WTF, man, no way. Did you be messing with Miyagi dough? Initially, that's how I was. And I took it because I, that characters become such a part of me.

And not only from a part of me, but a part of how people view me, they feel like this was a kid they grew up with. Daniel Luzzo had no business winning anything. And that's the beauty of that character because he's a piece of all of us. You know, it wasn't like he was a ninja on page two. He had to discover and learn and be the novice and be given these gifts of knowledge and legacy and pay that forward. And that's, you know, this is not, I mean, we don't know each other obviously very well at all. But that's what these folks are doing here. These are lawyers, accountants, financial service providers, doctors, holistic health care providers, real estate professionals.

These are people who are training. And we talk about the deep practice. We use the framework of the karate kid all the time in terms of deep practice, the rise of their influence, what they do with how they emotionally get themselves to use it. We have deep practice every morning 8 a.m. that people in these programs come into to increase their influence and their integrity, how they cause yes. and again, it's this journey of the karate kid is what these folks are literally experiencing. And if you feel that way about what you're doing here, say yes. Yes, so please.

It's amazing. Amazing. I mean, that's kind of the evolution of what it was like for me. And certainly the whole Johnny's the Real Karate Kid videos that came out about that, how I met your mother, the Barney Stinson, say and we actually did an episode of how I met your mother, William Zapka, who is awesome as Johnny Lawrence, both in the movie and Cobra Guy. I got a shout out to him, but we, it became like this ground swell of a discussion. And then I looked at that instead of saying, well, wait, they're not

seeing it the right way. To me, it was like, this is 20 years later and these people are still arguing about the theories of this movie. That's probably, that means we have a real. footprint in society in the world in a good way. So it became, you know, it had a, Cobra Chi was just another angle into that universe. And in the end, if you've watched that entire series, it kind of lands like a really good karate kid movie. It's just, you know, everyone got to wear a different jacket here or there, you know.

If you've seen the Cobra Kai, say yes. yeah like incredible right like incredible imagine imagine your work just walking into like any random room in the world and like like half the people plus have seen the things that you do like how many people in here have never seen ralph macho ever on screen if you have not ever seen him in anything ever foreseeing him today never ever raise your hand how crazy is that it's crazy 99.5 plus percent of people have seen your work. Like, how does that feel? That's insane.

You've done that. It's like I'm an exercise right now. It's really, it's overwhelming. It's hard to, it's hard to, you know, to put into words that is the good news is most, thankfully, or, you know, smile about it. It's like, you know, they could be the other side. Like I, you know, there are people that we've all seen. seen a thousand times in which we hadn't. I'm glad I've sustained some form of likeability and inspiration throughout.

So it's a privilege. I mean, I don't make light of what I've brought to all this, but at times I feel like I stepped in something and it just bloomed like roses. I'm just trying to stick the landing and pay that legacy forward to the next generation. That's how I look at it. That's how I look at it. Thank you. and thank you

and so you mentioned a few minutes ago that you know there was the there was another side to like the rise he said after the wave and what did you mean by that please well that was you know there were

I call those the lean years as far as from an acting career and and and what looks like success on paper however my wife and I

who have been married 38 years right there. Thank you. Had two children. My son is the youngest. He's going to be 30 next week. It's insane to say this out loud. Let's hear from that, by the law.

So a lot of my focus at that point was on my family and being a young dad. But there were their challenges of, you know, the sort of their, when you look at, say you look at the timeline, it was a short amount of time. when you look at the outsiders in 1983, I mean, there's other credits, but I'll name the ones that we know the most that were most successful. The outsiders, through the karate kid, and my cousin Vinny, was about, you know, nine years' time. And so by 92, my cousin Vinny was 92, 93, 94, then everything just started to get quiet as far as work. for me as an actor in the mainstream. One, I was

not maturing into the leading man roles as would be the norm because I still looked, I still had a childlike energy, which I still try to have. Which is beautiful, infectious. Yes, and you have it too. We both have it. Yes. Thank you.

I said, have you met Sean? I said, my only concern, they said, would you want some coffee? I said, no, if I have coffee between Sean and I, the room's going to explode. In a good way. Thank you, brother. Thank you. So those, I would say, you know, from the mid-90s to the,

you know, mid-2000s was, you know, smaller parts here and there. I started writing. I started directing some short films. I was trying to stay creative, but I might not have always been the most pleasant guy every day to be around because it was, you know, it was such a, you know, a launch for me.

You know, like I mentioned, from the bubble gum bubble yum to outsiders to karate, to my cousin Vinny. It was like, yes, yes, yes, yes. And then all of a sudden kind of the bottom dropped out in the mainstream for me. And it was challenging. I had my wife, who's amazing and my family upbringing, who I slowly introduced you to at the onset, as the kind of safety net and the foundation of,

who I was and am and I think that's and obviously my children as a part of what you know kept me on my feet I've always I get asked so many actors so many famous kids of the 80s or whatever got you know went down a dark path whether it was you know whether it was drugs or or things like that why didn't that happen to me and some of that is my own sensibilities. A decent amount is my upbringing. And it was interesting in California. I just wanted to be back in New York watching the Mets because they were good at that time.

Or the Islanders that were winning Stanley Cups at that time. You got four in a row. Four in a row. That's it. Those are my guys. They got a game tonight. They got to get better. but one thing at a time.

So I would always go back home, back to Long Island, in between projects. So I think that that was, I didn't, I always kept one foot in Hollywood and one foot out, and therein lies the balance for me and how I think I skirted those difficult times or that rabbit hole of getting sucked into when things are negative or not easy

and it's not working for you. So I'd like to believe, you know, it's all those components that led me to come out the other side. What happened in recent times with things happening, whether it was when I was on Dancing with the Stars and became really, you know, a real groundswell of popularity during that

or some other roles or projects I did. And then leading into Cobra Chi, that's what happened with Cobra Chi and even the Jackie Chen, the karate kids. Legends movie. Just that's, how many examples of that are there where a 40-year

property all of a sudden became relevant for 10-year-old kids who watched the show with their parents and their grandparents? And that's really unique. And that's, I don't know, I don't know how that happened. So I got to believe, but can I

just offer you a slight challenge in one thing? You're so incredibly humble and you're so, just such a kind human. Like if you feel that resonant, say yes. But dude, like, it's you. I mean, yes, it's the movie to carry

all those things, but it's you. And people love you. Like, if you just, like, love Ralph Machio, like, say yes. Dude, and she will kill me. She will kill me for saying this, right? I've been doing this for really long time.

And you just met Ty's mom. She never comes to anything. This is my first wife. She's in the building because you're here. That's why she's here. So I'm going to thank you for that. Because I'm not bad at what I do too. Thank you. That's the power you have. Like it's so incredible, the influence that you have. And so yeah, please, like Cobra Kai. Like it's amazing, extraordinary, mind blowing. And how did it happen? What is that about for you? Well, I mean, first of all, thank you. Sometimes it takes these kind of scenarios for me to even get

clarity in that way because when you're inside the bubble, you know, you know, don't we see clearly, right? But Cobra Kai, the three creators of that show, came and they had heard, and it was truthful, that I had no real desire to go back

to play Daniel LaRousseau. Again, partially, because I heard so many bad ideas over the years. Hey, you know what you should do? You know, especially in those lean years, I'd be getting, hey, funny, I need, listen, you got to do this.

You've got to do this. a kid who's got a problem and then you're going to give meaghi to the kid and then you're going to and everyone had their idea the funniest the craziest idea was when someone pitched that Rocky Balboa and Daniel Russo would have two kids that would meet

and both be in trouble and they would fight crime between Newark and Philadelphia and what's funny about that is those are the movies they're making now you know because of the but

But so I always said no. I said no for 30 years. Mainly one, you know, I don't know where that magic was going to come again. I didn't have. Pat Marita was no longer here. I don't know how you enter that world and not have Miyagi. So I was not, I did not have the tools to figure that out. But so these three writers who had been known for Harold and Kumar and Hot Tub Time Machine,

those are the ones that are going to bring my legacy back and they're all from Jersey they are they are better they are yeah that's John Hurwitz Hayden Slossberg and Josh Heald great guys they created the Cobra Chi series and they knew more

about the Karate Kid films than I did they cared so much and they they convinced me it was not easy because they had Billy Zapka, he was in, the studio was in, and they were like, you've got to get Ralph, and Billy's like, yeah, good luck with that.

And then they had to sit and tell me they were going to make a show called Cobra Kai, and I was going to be like a car salesman who was kind of an ass. So they had a big mountain to climb. And this is a great story because they had to go from hello to what? Yeah, yeah, exactly. This is what, yes. Exactly. So they pitched me the content.

which they did not have me at hello. But there was something about timing. Here's the thing, and this might be an interesting point. I had just seen the movie Creed, the first movie Creed, which was quite a good film. And if it did one thing, it did many things, but if it did one thing, it proved that you could enter a certain universe from another perspective and it seemed fresh and new. So how do you not make Rocky 7? You make Creed, which is about Apollo Creed's kid, and then you get into that Rocky Balboa world

without making that same cookie cutter concept. So I'd seen that, and I saw how that work, and they were pitching Cobra Kai, the Johnny Lawrence story, and that was the entry point in, so everything was from a different prism. What was it like to be the kid that was kicked into the face? as opposed to the kid who delivered that kid, you know. And then it was really when they started talking about the kids,

the next generation. If you remember the characters like Miguel and Robbie and Samantha, Johnny and Daniels' kids and how they would play in the story that I started to see the landscape and see where this could go. I still had no idea. I knew, I was like I was on the edge of the pool. And I had no idea if it was 82 degrees and warm or ice cold. But I knew I had to take the swim at that point.

I felt that they cared so much about the characters. Now, once I got into it, it took a little bit longer than the promise to get Laruso back to where I think he would have landed. But that's what kept the show up in the air, you know, figuring out the way that every character had a little good, a little bad. Let's put it this way. Karate Kid's very black and white. You know, Miyagi, Daniel, good, crease, Johnny Lawrence, bad. Cobra Kai, there's a lot of gray areas with the characters. So that created more length of story, and certainly for a series.

And then it just hit at the right time. And every time it came out, each season, there was another pandemic surge, and everybody was home. And it was the only thing to watch. And it was amazing. It was amazing. That's here for that. And, but in that, right, so but in that, doesn't, you know, Mr. Miyagi kind of cracks the door, right, for that in the karate kid when he says in that clip we watched, no bad student, only a bad teacher.

Exactly. Right. And then they end up as the true villains of the movie. And what I thought was so, like, it was mind-blowing how they brought, like, all the characters in, like, from one, two, and three in that. And, you know, yeah, like, what would you say from your perspective? perspective, Ralph, is the legacy of Cobra Kai, I mean, only because then you now have the Crot Kid Legends and Jackie Chan. So where's it all sit in your heart? How do you look back now at Cobra Kai and Legends and where does it all go from here? Well, I think that, you know, yeah,

no such thing is bad student-only bad teacher. It's, you know, and it's interesting because you think of Johnny Lawrence's character and Daniel Rousseau's character. These two, that's what they did a beautiful job with. said if either one of them, if Johnny Lawrence had Miyagi and Daniel Lewis had John Crease, where would those paths go? I mean, they were two kids in need of mentorship. And that, we always stayed true to that in the storytelling. But the one thing I said to John Josh and Hayden, the Cobur Kai creators, on the day they pitched before I jumped in, is I said, I just need to have the thread of Miyagi

throughout this series. I said if that disappears, then I'm making a mistake because I don't want Daniel Luzzo's story even when he falls, skins his knees, acts like a jerk, whatever. You know, you need conflict for story. I need those elements because that's where the magic happened.

You know, yeah, it's fun. Get him a body bag. sweep the leg, all those funny things. But the heart and soul and the genuine human elements that work from that initial story was always important to me to thread throughout. And the same thing with Karate Kid Legends, which was very much a studio coming up with, hey, how could we get Jackie Chan and Ralph Macho and do this again? And I just, it was the same note I had.

As long as I can share a piece of that legacy. in the story that what was the magic that started it all, then I could feel that I don't undercut the integrity of the character or the story or this universe. And it's always been super important to me. And I think it's proven itself, I mean selfishly on one hand, but I think it's proven itself. It keeps the show and all these episodes, whether the motion pictures or the series

grounded in a way. And so going forward, it's, you know, I think there was, you know, I think it was time to land the Cobra Chi plane. It definitely felt like it was time. I always joke. I said, it's amazing. I probably would have moved from the valley and taken up a different sport after six seasons, you know. Ralph's sensibilities was like, I'm tired of getting my ass kick.

Let me try. Let me try softball. But it makes her better entertainment. I think that I never say never, like say, are you going to do any more? Are you going to continue? It's, it needs a little, you know, I don't want to say there's karate kid fatigue because there's so many lessons you can still mine from that story in these characters. But I also don't want to overstay the welcome.

It's about, like I say, paying the legacy forward. If there's a piece that is genuinely authentic, that you could make fresh, then I'm open, I'm open to it. But, man, it's been one hell of a ride. And just to hear your story and how you use these pieces and the work that you guys are all doing is, I mean, this is the gift that keeps on giving, just even sitting here. Oh, thank you, right. Thank you.

And, thank you. You know, so, you know, we talk about heart and integrity, and you just embody it. just feeling and hearing how Ralph Macho is speaking of Pat Marita, Mr. Miyagi, and just this, this abiding loyalty. Decade after decade, tears are welling up for me because that's just who you are. And I think, you know, we talk about influence and how, what a heroic characteristic, heart integrity are. Like, you just embody it.

And there's no manufacturing. You're just so authentically who you are. and I think that's at least a core part of why you're as beloved as you are. And if you guys, that resonates, yes? Yeah, yeah. So, thank you. And you love the Mets and you're loyal to the Mets. And take, if we can throw out the picture from my dad for a minute, I'd love to just show

about that for a quick sec. My dad's 80th birthday just passed as a quick Met Fan to Met Fan footnote. And he's in the hospital. So we brought Dwight Good and Mookie Wilson, thanks to Darren Prince, to see him in the hospital, just a week ago, and he and I were in box 113A in the front row behind first base in 1986 when the ball rolled through Bill Buckner's legs. I was there. I was at that game.

Where were you? Oh, I swear to God. Where were you sitting? I was sitting just behind the first base. I remember seeing Buckner's heel and seeing white behind that heel, and that's all I remember. I saw that ball roll through, and my wife and I were there freezing. Were you in the lower level or up or up? in the lower in the orange seats at Chase Stadium.

Yes. Yes. Dude, I was sitting literally 25 few from Bill Buckner. In the front row behind first base right where the dirt and the grass met. We were like in the same part of Chase Stadium. We were in the same universe. Why did it take you so long to call me? I don't know.

That's crazy, dude. That is absolutely amazing. That is amazing. All right. We're going to digress for like an hour, but not they got her. re-sign, Piedelons. All right, we'll stop there. We'll stop there, yes.

This is Dwight and Mookie. Dwight and Mookie. My dad and myself. God bless, man. Yeah, this is like a week ago. You just got out of the hospital, too. Thank you for all your prayers, by the way. My dad's out of the hospital now.

Thank you. 80th birthday in the hospital, and he's out. Yep. So if you had it all your way, kind of a two-part question, you know, it's 100 years from now. I ask everybody this question, not just folks on this stage, this is people all over the space of certainly, you know, it's 100 years from today, it's your final day, you know, the blessing and privilege of knowing it is.

Like from this day to that, what's there still that you'd like to accomplish? And I mean, like, maybe taking up table tennis or chess, you know, maybe making 10 more movies, like, whatever it is. And then when you're there, what is it that you'd like to be looking back on, that you know your heart, your soul that you brought to this planet, please? Oh, so the light, easy question is now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I thought I was getting out easy.

No, that's a great question. And not one that I've given a tremendous amount of thought to, but I think, I always, I feel I always need to be creative in some way because it drives me. And I think, I mean, there's something. about I got to direct an episode of Cobra Chi, the final season, and I loved working with those young actors, you know, the older actors as well, but I really enjoyed working with the younger actors and them listening to me and me believing how much they were taking in. And so I got

such a charge and a joy out of creating with them and caring about them as well. So that's something I like to see myself do more behind the camera and storytelling, figuring out ways of telling stories the way I grew up with them, but yet still sort of like what Cobra Guy did, embracing the nostalgia but being relevant at the same time, which is a challenge when you're competing with everyone's phones. and short content. But I'd like to take some, I like to cook, but I've never,

there's more there's more there I need to tap into. I enjoy a nice glass of wine here and there. So, I mean, I think I'd like to get, yet better at enjoying time cooking and just stopping and smelling the roses, if you will. I mean, it feels everything's just, you know, go, go, go. go, go, go. And I want to, my wife and I talk about it now

is when we look at this chapter, I'll say it out loud. I'll be 64 in November. That's incredible. That stays in this room. And listen, I can see, you know, you feel like you're

late 20s. Like you feel that way. Like, you know, and I feel people and I don't say things to just be kind. I say because it's true. Your energy. is just so infectious and youthful, and I really acknowledge that. Thank you.

Thank you so much. I'll blame my parents. It's their fault. But I look at it now at my life and what I've been able to accomplish and the blessings that I have and the work that I put into it and not taking anything away from who I am. And that, you know, you put good out there. Maybe good comes back. So I'd like to believe that that has been true for me. But I think of 20 years, I think 20 years back, and that feels like last Tuesday.

So I'm having these conversations with my wife, I think 20 years forward. And I'm saying, okay, what is this chapter? What you say 100 years from now? To the same point is what I want to enjoy. I want to enjoy time with the people I love, of course. I want to stop and take something in that normally I have to rush past because life gets in the way. And obviously some folks don't have the luxury of that or being comfortable enough for that. But, you know, when I mentioned cooking, which just popped into my head, it's just there have been times where I'll just make my, you know, Ralph shrimp where I take it and a little cayenne and mix it up with the garland.

garlic and it's making that noise in the big walk and I'm getting excited and Linguine's boiling and I'm going to make the most delicious pasta and I have the time to do that. I'm happy and it feels great and I'd love to share that. So it's like stopping for those moments. Being creative, taking, like when I mentioned directing the kids on the show, taking what I've learned from the great Pat Marito or the Francis Ford Coppola or Walter Hill, John Avalcena, filmmakers and actors. I've worked with Anthony Hopkins, someone I worked with only one day and he had such a profound effect on me. I remember those things that I felt I learned from him. I would love to hand that. So it's paying that legacy forward, taking a piece of the wisdom that I've learned that I feel

has shaped maybe the positive that I am and giving that to the next generation who is dealing with a world that is not always so positive and often is angry and hatred is a big part of the day and I like you being the you know the elixir to that if I if I can wow that is a powerful beautiful thing so as we begin to draw a close would it be okay I'm sure a lot of folks would appreciate one more clip and then just feeling how that feels for you that'd be okay good yeah okay Tink so how does that feel it feels good I was just the first thing I'm to say I I got the chills and the things I'm in it. It's like crazy. But it's, you know, it's just a, listen, it's a, it's just a beautiful payoff in the story and all that stuff. And the crane, no, can do, you know, if you could do it, you see, it's going to work every time where it really doesn't work. But that's just between. I tried it. It doesn't. It's a little bit, yeah. It's, you know, it's cinema magic, certainly. It's Bill Conti's music. It's everything coming together, you know,

it's it's hard to even put into words you know when I've seen it it kind of never gets old you know I don't watch it daily so it's been a few minutes but seeing it again and feeling all you guys you know

what it meant to you when you were in the theater or when you watched it with your kids and it's you know it's quite unique and it's really inspiring to me to be connected to that. You know, you don't always want to talk about yesterday and life you want to talk about tomorrow and what you could be doing because you get lost in its nostalgia.

And if not that I'm guilty of it, I have no choice. Everybody I meet wants to talk about in 1984, right? Cobra Kai helped with that a little bit. But I don't look that as a negative. You know, I get asked that question. You know, a lot of actors don't want to talk about their most famous thing or those. say, I'll come on, Sean's, you know, fireside chat, but don't ask me about that. Let's talk about other stuff.

To me, the karate kid, Daniel Leruso, since it's so on point with this in this setting today, is that character is bigger than, and that story and what's happened is bigger than the actor who played the part bigger than anyone in that movie. It's become a piece of everybody's childhood or life or inspiration in a way. I just watched the end of that, and I'm saying, where are these movies now? You know, I want one of these now. You know?

And to not miss the magic, I didn't tell them to clap. Like, these people just reflexively were in the moment clapping when that happened. And this is not a moment of nostalgia for much of the people, many of the people in this room. This is a living embodiment.

of the journey they're going through. And every time we watch this, and it's not purely inspirational, it's everything that Daniel Rousseau, Mr. Miyagi, yourself, Pat Marita, the movie All the People involved that you so beautifully acknowledged and mentioned generously,

integrously, and abundantly, it's the story of deep practice. It's a story of transformation. It's a story of possibility. And while, yes, it's a fictional tale, it's the truth of every hero's journey is we lose ourself, we find ourselves through this progression of finding the guide

and then going through the trials and the guide painting this picture for us of what we need to do. We want it. We're desperate for it. Then we find it and they're like four days I'm your goddamn slave man like I'm out of here and it da-da-da-da-da-da-da-wlocked-hand and you know blah-b-b-b-and all of a sudden this magical transformation at stage one is present

and the journey continues since you have this moment and then the beauty of the moves and I'll just say this from my heart I'm certainly not speaking for anybody else here I love the karate kid to end three because I'm not a critic and I didn't watch the movies to be like

well which movie's better and is it just a repeat and recycle it's characters I love finding new stress and new challenge you know and the karate kid two you're there for Mr. Miyagi right you're there taking that trip You're there and you're risking yourself.

And the third one, another challenge. You get annoyed. He doesn't go with you and tell you what you want to hear. So we have another fall away in the hero's journey and you lose yourself and you find yourself. And it's beautiful and it's spectacular. And I don't read what critics say and I can care less. I'm not a movie critic. I'm a person that loves the characters, the story.

And you and everything you brought forward. It is such a powerful inspiration and magical for you to be here. And just quick footnote, how do you? not punch Johnny Lawrence in the face? When at the end he goes, hey, you're not so, you're okay, Lou Rousseau. Every time he says that in the movie, I want to see you like, just punch him in the face to trouble. Like, I'm okay.

I just catch your ass to you. If you bullied me in all these ways, which is also you and Daniel, she'll like, like, thanks. It's just so pure. Like, that, like, that's the least that he could possibly have said to you after everything he did. And you just receive it so perfectly great. graciously. Like, who doesn't wish and dream we could be that in the face of all the crap we take from

the, like, the forces of darkness and then just to receive it so graciously and humbly. And I think that's an easily overlooked moment. And people can even say, I just like, it's not real. And they could have, like, made that him not say that or something. I think it's, it's even more magically beautiful in the end. And final, final, I believe that these, these dynamics of the film, films that, like, what if Johnny Lawrence is just something we all have to face? And what if that Johnny Lawrence is actually, like, inside of us and our fear? So there's, and you could go, like,

never thought of that. The director's never thought of that. But that's the beauty of what you created. You all created is it leaves us with this endless hero's journey, this mythology, this legend that lives on not only nostalgically, but so presently for so many people in the world and people in this room. And final final. Is there anything you'd want this group to know? Going out of here from how you make your pasta to like what's on your heart, if you had like one final message for these amazing humans. Please, Mr. Ralph Machia, what would it be? Wow. You know, from my perspective, it's, I know I've odd nauseam said, paying legacy forward. But it's, it's, I know I've, I've had nauseam said, paying legacy forward.

But it's finding those moments in your life, at least for me. And some of them, the clarity doesn't happen until later. It happens at a surprising time. Even things that I learned from my own kids that I look back and see a small moment that I receive something positive from them. But in the moment I didn't see it. And then later it becomes, it becomes clear. I know I'm kind of tap dancing a little bit here as far as is defining what I'm

trying to say, but it's finding those moments in your lives that are, that are, sometimes the quieter moments and not the loud moments, sometimes the, where the noise, the signal is clearer than all the noise, and finding the human side of that and paying that forward in some way. That's what I'm, That's what I look forward to every day is finding those little pieces of something in my life. It's not always the loudest that I can take, I'm trying to find a specific example. I remember my daughter saying to me, I think she was going through, she had her own some bullying going. on with her in school. This is back, you know, middle school time when it's the toughest.

And I didn't see it. And you would think, who should be able to see this more than the karate kid guy? It wasn't, it wasn't, it was more covert bullying less like, you know, take your lunch money, push it into the wall. It was, you know, she was being teamed up on by some in her circle. And I didn't see it. And my wife saw it before I did. And I didn't, and I might have, I wouldn't say downplayed it, but it was not on the front burner for me.

And then years later, interestingly, I was doing a scene in a probably small television movie that connected to that same moment with the daughter. And it was just this realization of clarity of I saw clearer what I couldn't see as, as the dad on the day. And I had that moment with my daughter, and I spoke to her about it years later, because I, and I, it wasn't just, I'm not saying, I just apologize for it. It was just, we had the conversation I wished I had at the time.

But going forward, I used, when I was working on Cobra Kai, sorry about the rambling, but I'm getting to the point. When I was working with the girl Mary Mouser, wonderful actress who plays my daughter Samantha, and we were dealing with this. same subject matter. I told her about my story with my daughter, Julia. And when we played the scene decades later in Cobra Kai, there was a resonance from her perspective and mine that was of a next level. So it's finding those moments, even those missteps in your life that you

could gain clarity from later and then pay that forward. It feels good for, I won't say, it was my my parental fail, but it was not my brightest moment. And I, you know, and my daughter and I and Mary, and they're very close friends. And it was kind of a wonderful connection. So sorry about the long road to that story. But I was finding it as I was explaining. That's your problem, Masha. It is an honor. It is a privilege. And your legacy lives on everywhere and certainly powerfully resonates in this space. And not only yours, but that, of course, of the Mr. Miyagi, Pat Marita, and all of those that were involved in the magic of the karate kid and the magic that you Ralph Machio bring to the world.

It has been an honor and a privilege, sir, and you're welcome back here anytime. Let's hear it for Ralph Machia. Thank you. Thank you. And may I bow to you? And thank you. There it is.