"Soulful magic" is how Ralph Macchio describes his partnership with fellow actor Pat Morita in the cult 1984 film The Karate Kid.
"'Meant to be' is such a lame thing to say but it was just effortless," he tells Jesse Mulligan.
American actor Ralph Macchio Photo: Supplied
Photo: penguinrandomhouse.com
The Karate Kid and its beloved characters Daniel Russo and Mr Miyagi have remained a part of pop culture, recently due to Netflix's hit spin-off show Cobra Kai.
The show's writers do a masterful job of being relevant and nostalgic at the same time, Macchio says - something he also tried to pull off in his new memoir Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me.
The book takes a "celebratory look back" at the experience of making the "larger than life" 1980s and also being the Karate Kid.
Macchio says it took him a while to graduate out of the role of Daniel Russo – partly because he "aged extremely slowly" – and a handful of dry years followed.
All the while, he says never rejected his connection with The Karate Kid because he could see how many people around the world loved its message and characters.
Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio Photo: Courtesy of Ralph Macchio
Macchio was 22 years old when he played the scrappy teenager Daniel who learns martial arts from a wise mentor Mr Miyagi, played by Pat Morita.
"I think I had a little East Coast bravado that I brought into the room which became Daniel's 'toughness' even though he had pretty much nothing to back it up.
"Pat cared so much for authentically portraying that character and I had a genuine straightforwardness in how I approached Daniel Russo. So when you put these two actors together there was that ease and comfort right away. There was no stuff in the way… there was no ego.
"For some reason, we were put in the same room with this great material and when we read it together it was like there was no other choice."
At Pat Morita's funeral in 2005, Macchio connected with fellow actor William Zabka who he hadn't seen since Zabka played a bully in The Karate Kid II 20 years earlier.
"I looked at him and for the first time, we were on the same side of the mat. He was mourning a friend just as I was. And it was from that point forward that we started our friendship moving forward."
Macchio and Zabka talked about reprising their Karate Kid characters somehow but weren't sure how to do it until Cobra Kai was pitched.
After shooting the first scene together, the pair shared a look and knew the "Karate Kid magic" was being carried forward, Macchio says.
Related: Listen to Julia Macchio (daughter of Ralph) talk about the stage show Flashdance.
Ralph Macchio and William Zabka in the Neflix series Cobra Kai Photo: Netflix
