The Karate Kid franchise which began in 1984, starred Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso. He played a young Italian American teenager who learns to defend himself against school bully Johnny Lawrence played by William Zabka, by learning martial arts from eccentric war veteran Mr Miyagi. Following two more films with the two actors, the franchise further expanded with Hillary Swank and later, with Jaden Smith playing the lead protagonist.
The film series gave rise to a 2018 comedy television series called Cobrai Kai which saw Macchio and Zabka reprising their famous roles more than 3 decades later in a continuation of their rivalry-turned-friendship. Apart from feeling a sense of nostalgia on portraying these beloved characters again, Zabka was extremely excited to co-star with 3 alums of the original films with whom he hadn’t had the opportunity to star with in the earlier installments.
This Karate Kid Actor Finally Had His Dream Realized In Cobra Kai
Not every actor gets to go back to a beloved role as an adult that he or she epitomized as a young star. Ralph Macchio and William Zabka got this unique opportunity when they were signed on to reprise their cult characters Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence from The Karate Kid films, for the 2018 television series, Cobra Kai.
The show explored the narrative from Zabka’s character’s point of view, when he decides to reopen the Cobra Kai karate dojo, and rekindles his old rivalry with Macchio’s character. The first and second seasons premiered on YouTube Red/Premium in May 2018 and April 2019 before Netflix acquired the series in June 2020 for subsequent seasons.
While it was a nostalgic trip down memory lane and pleasant déjà vu for both actors to go back to their famous roles once again, another big incentive for Zabka to be in the show in season 5. It had to do with some of the other actors who were key cast members of the original film trilogy.
Thomas Ian Griffith who played the villain Terry Silver in the third film, Daniel’s enemy-turned-friend Chozen played by Yuji Okumoto in the second film, and Mike Barnes who plays Sean Kanan in the third film, were all roped in for season 5 of the series. This was a huge cause of excitement for Zabka as he had never done any scenes with these three stars in the original films. Expressing his emotions to Slash Film, he said,
I knew Sean. I knew Sean before he even got Karate Kid … but I never met Thomas. Knew Yuji well. But I was fans of them in the film and the Karate Kid franchise as their characters. So to get to rub arms with them on screen has just been really fun. What a joy. And all the great dynamics that the creators have come up with for how these characters rub in today’s world. So it’s been a lot of fun.
The show became extremely successful especially with audiences who were ardent fans of the original films and the characters. After 5 seasons, the series is going strong, with the 1st part of the 6th season all set to release on Netflix on 18th July, 2024.
The Karate Kid Was A Double-Edged Sword For Ralph Macchio
For a significant part of the 80s, Hollywood star Ralph Macchio was a household name thanks to the cult blockbuster trilogy The Karate Kid. Macchio, who played a young teenager who learns martial arts as a defense mechanism from bullies, was one of the most popular young stars who was touted to become an industry A-lister.
Ironically, the films that gave him the foothold to superstardom, were also detrimental with regard to his future in the industry. Macchio who was never able to make his career take off in Hollywood post The Karate Kid, was seen as a one film wonder with no other pedigree to his name.
In the process, he also missed out on some lucrative projects like Sidney Lumet’s 1988 film Running on Empty owing to his commitment to The Karate Kid franchise at the time. The part was eventually played by River Phoenix who got an Oscar nomination for his performance.
As a result of these missed opportunities, the celebrity had to face some below-the-belt comments about his position in Hollywood, which he spoke about candidly in an interview with The Guardian.
Hey Ralph, didn’t I see you waxing on and waxing off at a car wash? You guys might know Macchio from The Karate Kid trilogy. And if you don’t know him from those movies, then you don’t know him at all.
Macchio, though, learnt to take all the criticisms in his stride and ever indulged in a bit of self-depreciation that helped him keep his sanity. In 2018, his career came a full circle when he was called to reprise his famous character from The Karate Kid for the series Cobra Kai which will air its 6th season in July 2024.
Cobra Kai can be streamed on Netflix.
