The Karate Kid in 2015: Ralph Macchio at FanX
Events
Ralph Macchio’s panel was kind of a small, intimate affair. There weren’t too many people, which is a shame because he’s a great guy. Down to earth, humble and a great interviewee, Macchio’s panel was a good, solid, interesting one.
Macchio hasn’t been in anything big recently, but he did talk about his cameos on the shows Psych and How I Met Your Mother. He loved working with James Roday and Dulé Hill in the Psych series, saying they were a great group of guys to work with. He said they would riff off each other all the time and you knew that it was their show. Working with Neil Patrick Harris was another fun experience for Macchio, even though he initially turned it down. His kids were so disappointed, he eventually came around. He realized that there was a new generation of viewers that were starting to watch HIMYM and that his appearance on the show could get another set of kids to watch The Karate Kid.
The Karate Kid is one of those movies that almost everyone has seen and passed down to their kids. You can actually see his audition on YouTube, which is pretty nifty given how old the movie is. While The Karate Kid is always going to be a big part of who he is, it’s his role in The Outsiders is the one he loves the most. He had read the book in his English class, the first one he finished all on his own, and just fell in love with the characters. He wanted the part so badly, he actually took acting lessons to step up his game so he would have a better chance at the part. His stories were great, but not lengthy. He knew how to keep it short and sweet so many a fan got to ask their questions.