Ralph Machchio is an American actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known to the general public for the role of Daniel LaRusso in the film series “The Karate Boy” and the web series “Cobra Kai”, also appeared in the films “Outcasts”, “Crossroads”, “My Cousin Winnie” and “Hitchcock”, as well as TV series "Two," "Handsome" and "How I Met Your Mother."
Childhood and youth
Ralph Machchio was born on November 4, 1961 in Huntington, New York. It has Greek and Italian roots. Full name is Ralph George Machchio Jr. At the age of three, the future actor began tap dancing and planned to become a dancer. At sixteen, while participating in one of the contests, Ralph was spotted by a talent search agent.
The agent began sending videos and photos of Ralph Machio to various casting directors, but the young man himself did not seek to become an actor. Once he even sent his friend to audition instead of himself, and he went to a beach party.
Carier start
At the beginning of his career, Machcio appeared in several commercials for well-known companies, among which the brand "Dr. Pepper" can be distinguished. The first role in the filmography of Ralph Machcio was the military comedy "To hell with the academy." The picture failed at the box office and was poorly received by critics.
In the same year, the actor received a regular supporting role in the sitcom "Eight Enough", appeared in nineteen episodes of the series. In the next two years, Machcio played in several television films, which were not particularly successful with the audience.
Big breakthrough
Ralph Machcio's first notable film was Francis Ford Coppola's youth crime drama Outlaws. In addition to him, other future Hollywood stars also appeared in the picture, including Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe and Emilio Estevez. The film was a success at the box office and was well received by critics.
However, a sports breakthrough in the creative biography of Ralph Machchio was the sports teenage drama "The Karate Boy." The film, staged by the director of the legendary Rocky, John G. Evildson, has collected more than ninety million dollars in American distribution and marked the beginning of an entire franchise. In 1986, the sequel to the picture was released, which also showed excellent results at the box office, earning more than one hundred and fifteen million dollars.
In 1986, Ralph played a major role in the musical drama Crossroads. The film was warmly received by critics, but could not show itself at the box office, collecting about six million dollars. Three years later, the actor appeared in the third part of the series "The Karate Boy", which was poorly received by critics and brought Ralph a nomination for the Golden Raspberry Award. Financially, the film also showed itself much worse than its predecessors.
Subsequent work
In 1992, Ralph Machchio played one of the main roles in the legal comedy "My Winnie's Cousin", which became a box office hit and received excellent reviews from critics. A year later, he played in the comedy "Naked in New York," which received mixed press reviews and was able to earn at the box office only a million dollars.
In subsequent years, the actor starred without much success, appearing in several series and low-budget films. However, he worked quite successfully on Broadway, appearing in several successful musicals. In 2003, Ralph starred in the rather unexpected role of a hit man in the crime action movie Midnight - Time to Die. In 2005, Machcio appeared in the role of himself in the popular TV series "The Beauties", three years later he received a regular role in the soap opera "Betty the Ugly Girl".
In 2011, Ralph Machchio took part in the twelfth season of the popular show "Dancing with the Stars" and took fourth place in the competition. He himself later called participating in the project extremely useful for his acting career. A year later, he appeared in the biographical drama "Hitchcock" in a small supporting role. Also in 2012, he took part in the independent comedy "He is much more popular than you," where Ben Stiller and Jesse Eisenberg became his screen partners. In 2013, the actor played himself in the sitcom "How I Met Your Mother."
Recent projects
The actor appeared as a guest star in the popular TV series "Clairvoyant", after which he repeated his role in the final of the project in the form of a television film. Ralph Machchio also took part in the series "Deuce" from David Simon, screenwriter of the legendary crime drama "wiretap". In addition, he appeared as a guest star in two episodes of the sitcom "Kevin Will Wait."
In 2018, the premiere of the release of the web series "Cobra Kai", which is a continuation of the series of films "The Karate Boy," but focuses primarily on the series antagonist Johnny Lawrence, performed by William Zabka. Ralph Machcio also appears in the image of Daniel LaRusso. Both actors acted as executive producers of the project.
"Cobra Kai" received excellent reviews from critics and became the most successful series of the streaming service "YouTube Red". The premiere of the second season of the project is expected.
Ralph Machcio also tries himself as a screenwriter and director, he is the creator of three short films.
Personal life
Ralph met his future wife Phyllis Fierro at the age of fifteen. The couple legalized their relationship in 1987, the couple have two children - daughter Julia and son Daniel. Phyllis is a nurse.
Ralph Machchio is a fan of the New York Islanders hockey team and a fan of singer Bruce Springsteen. He maintained friendly relations with Pat Morita, the performer of the role of Mr. Miyagi in the series “The Karate Boy,” until his death in 2005.