Sarah Bahr, Ralph Macchio on Getting In His Final Kicks in ‘Cobra Kai’, NYTimes, Feb. 7, 2025.
When Ralph Macchio was first approached about doing a “Karate Kid” series about the adult lives of Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, he was skeptical.
“I was like, ‘I’m a car salesman?’” said Macchio, who starred in the original 1984 film as Daniel, a teenage transplant to Southern California, who learns karate and defeats his bully, Johnny (William Zabka), on the mat.
“They didn’t have me at hello,” he said.
But at a meeting that lasted over three hours in the courtyard of the Greenwich Hotel, in Lower Manhattan, the creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg won him over with their vision for that series, “Cobra Kai.” It wasn’t only a nostalgia play. It also looked to introduce a whole new generation of karate kids.
It's the two generation angle that I've found most interesting. On the one hand we have Daniel and Johnny pick up where they left of two decades ago. But they've both got kids, and those kids are into karate too. And they've got their own dynamic between each other and among the other kids. So we've got this rich interaction between these two dynamics.
From the interview:
Is there a specific moment when you remember saying, “Daniel LaRusso absolutely would not do that”?
There’s a scene in Episode 5 of this season when Daniel punches Johnny in the face. And I said, “It really has to be warranted.” And they said, “Well, he’s off-balance, these things are going on,” but it’s not just that. That was a debate because it’s a great scene for William: He gets punched in the face, and he normally would have punched back, but he doesn’t, which is a beautiful thing. It shows his growth. I don’t know if we agreed completely whether it was warranted enough, but at the end of the day, we shot the scene. It works. There’s redemption. But I wanted that to be hotter so there would not be a question of why he would lash out at that.
What was it like watching a new Kid, Xolo Maridueña, effectively play the Daniel role as Miguel?
I don’t like being the old guy, but I like being the guy telling them stories from back in the day, and they all lean in, and they love hearing them. And I’m quite inspired by their work ethic — I remember standing here watching Miguel put the headband on. Xolo was just coming out of his shoes with excitement, and it was just like: “Wow, I was in this backyard painting fences before you guys were born. And now I’m teaching you how to paint the fence and wax the car.” It’s the one time I got truly emotional early on in the show.
Later:
How are you like and not like Daniel?
I’m far more analytical and prepared on the upfront for as many curveballs as possible. I’m not a complete control addict, but I like to hear something out and digest it before I jump. But Daniel — because it makes it far more entertaining — jumps first and then deals with the repercussions later.
We’re very much alike in the sense that his family, his mom, his mentor in Miyagi, are what he holds the highest. He’s a good-hearted person who cares and is vulnerable yet open and positive. That’s who I’d like to believe I am. [...]
If you got to choose how your character died ——
—— going off a cliff with the ultimate spinning tornado kick.
There's more at the link.
The final episodes of Cobra Kai air tomorrow.
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