Ralph George Macchio Jr.

(/ˈmɑːtʃioʊ/; born November 4, 1961) is an American actor, known for his roles
as Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai, Eugene Martone in Crossroads, Bill Gambini in My
Cousin Vinny, and Johnny Cade in The Outsiders. Additionally, he competed on the twelfth season
of Dancing with the Stars.

Early lifeEdit

Macchio was born in Huntington, New York.[1] He is the son of Rosalie (née DeSantis) and Ralph
Macchio, Sr., who owned a ranch.[2][3] His father is of half Greek[4] and half Italian descent, and his
mother is of Italian ancestry.[5] In a 1980 screen test, Macchio stated his family is from Naples.

Macchio first appeared on American television commercials for products such as Bubble Yum and Dr
Pepper. His on-screen debut was in the 1980 film Up the Academy, and his first major role was playing
Jeremy Andretti in the television series Eight Is Enough. In 1983, he appeared as Johnny Cade in The
Outsiders alongside many young actors who had yet to become major stars, such as C. Thomas
Howell, Tom Cruise, Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, and Matt Dillon. In 1984, Macchio became
known internationally following the release of the first Karate Kid film. Playing high school senior Daniel
LaRusso, Macchio was actually in his early twenties when the film was made. He continued this success
with the film's sequels, The Karate Kid Part IIand The Karate Kid Part III. In the mid-1980s, Macchio's face
began appearing on the covers of many teen "bubblegum" magazines such as Tiger Beat, 16, and Teen
Beat. Macchio appeared in the 1986 film Crossroads, portraying music student Eugene Martone. In 1992,
he starred opposite Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei in the hit comedy My Cousin Vinny, playing Billy
Gambini, who was wrongfully accused of murder while passing through a small Alabama town.