Actor of the Week - Ralph Macchio

Ralph Macchio

Nov. 4, 1961 -

He was, is and always will be the Karate Kid, Daniel LaRusso or Daniel-san. That's how the world remembers Ralph Macchio. However, Macchio was no one-hit wonder, by any means.

Macchio enjoyed the huge success of starring in three Karate Kid movies in the 80's, before handing the role over to a girl in 1994's Next Karate Kid. That girl happened to be future Oscar winner Hilary Swank.

The funny thing about those Karate Kid movies, was Macchio was far from actually being a "kid". He was 23yrs old upon filming the first movie, 25yrs old for the second and the ripe old age of 28yrs old when he filmed his final installment of The Karate Kid. The eternally youthful looking Macchio didn't actually start looking like he was out of his teens until he was like 45. I'm sure this hindered his opportunities as an actor later on in his career. However the 80's was a boom for Macchio.

It's easy to forget Macchio's other accomplishments as an actor, what with all the hype over his Karate Kid role. But, he was in several other very good movies in the 80's and early 90's. He played a major role in The Outsiders as a juvenile delinquent running from the law and a blues loving classical guitarist in the underrated Crossroads. That is not to mention his success in the early 90's with movies such as My Cousin Vinny.

Unfortunately, as Macchio's looks began to mature to what would be a normal state for most people, he began finding good roles hard to come by. Macchio is still acting, but his blockbuster success is far behind him. I would still love to see him in some better roles than what he gets now. Macchio hasn't lost the ability to act, just the ability to act like a teenager.

I'll be typin' at ya later,

Bob the Blogger