'Karate Kid' Star Ralph Macchio Is Happy to Be Making 'Comfort Food' Out of '80s Nostalgia
When asked if people "lose their minds" when they hear how old he is, Ralph Macchio graciously concedes that no, they don't... but that they might be "a little surprised."
In a recent interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Macchio—returning to the world of The Karate Kid once again in the latest season of Netflix's Cobra Kai—joked about maintaining his youthful appearance at the age of 60, calling himself a "man child freak," and spoke about what it means to him for his iconic '80s movie role to still be in the public consciousness.
"I knew it was beloved, and that the character was beloved," he said. "But to see it explode like this, it's multigenerational... I mean we have 10, 12-year old kids and people in their 60s and 70s and they're all watching the same show. It's equal parts nostalgia and now contemporary relevance. It's crazy."
Kimmel pointed out that '80s nostalgia is at its peak right now: in addition to Cobra Kai now entering its fifth season, Madonna is back at the top of the charts and Tom Cruise has the number one movie with his long-awaited sequel to Top Gun.
"It's comfort food, it's what we love," said Macchio. "And when the stories are well-executed, or the album is well-executed, or the movie, the series, it becomes smart when you can reach all those audiences."
He added that he still feels incredibly grateful to be able to play Daniel in Cobra Kai at this stage of his career, saying: "You create your own luck, maybe, do you believe that, I don't know, I could say I live by that now. But I got lucky more than a few times, and here we are again, and I'm really humbled by it."
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