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Ralph Macchio has blasted the criticism that The Karate Kid (1984) had ‘a very white cast’.
The 60-year-old actor, who played Daniel LaRusso in three Karate Kid films and a role in the sequel Netflix series Cobra Kai alongside Noriyuki ‘Pat’ Morita as Mr Miyagi, has defended the franchise following criticism.
Speaking to Australian magazine Stellar while promoting his memoir, ‘Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me’, Macchio said that the movie was ‘ahead of its time’.
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The Outsiders star explained: “People have said it’s a very white cast, that it didn’t dive into the Asian story.
“But I always say this: The film was ahead of its time because it was a popcorn movie that talked about Japanese internment camps during World War II.
“Pat always said the scene [in which it’s revealed Mr Miyagi lost his wife and child in the camps] earned him his Oscar nomination.
“Pat himself spent two years in the camps. So it had double meaning and some depth.”
Macchio then revealed that this scene almost got cut from the film.
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He claimed: “The studio’s main concern was that with the movie running over two hours, they would lose a daily screening time, and essentially, money in the process.
“They all shut up once we screened it for them with an audience.”
Macchio also opened up about two other Karate Kid projects that were released after the third film that he had no involvement with.
The Next Karate Kid came out in 1994 starring Hilary Swank and he said he only found out about this project from the newspaper.
He added: “That is how I learned [the film] was being made… I saw it in the newspaper.
“They went with a different writer, a different director and a different actor for the protagonist.”
According to The Next Karate Kid producer Jerry Weintraub, Macchio was too old to play the role.
“For whatever reason, I have not viewed that movie curtain-to-curtain,” admitted the original LaRusso actor.
“I have only seen it in pieces when scrolling through movie channels on television. It was strange for me, as I wasn’t in contact with anyone from the franchise during those years.”
There was also a reboot of The Karate Kid in 2010 was released that starred Jaden Smith, which was produced by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith.
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Macchio recalled the time he found out about the film, which was in 2008 when a reporter told him about it.
He commented: “I recall being caught off guard trying to process the concept. I remember saying that I am not the biggest fan of most remakes.”
He went on to say that he hoped Hollywood would produce ‘more original content’ soon.
Macchio is currently experiencing a renaissance as LaRusso, as he is starring in the hit Netflix series Cobra Kai, which sees him starring alongside the first film’s antagonist Johnny Lawrence, played by William Zabka.
The show has a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with Seasons 1 and 5 having a perfect 100% rating.
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