Ralph Macchio has been playing Daniel LaRusso since The Karate Kid began filming in October 1983. He’s now played the character in three feature films and five seasons of Cobra Kai, with the sixth set to kick off on Netflix on July 18th. Yes, Daniel’s gone through a significant and compelling evolution each step of the way, but how do you continue to keep that up? Even Macchio himself admits he’s wondered, “What can we do to unearth something with this guy that he’s not just working at the dealership and being a pain in the ass to Johnny, and loving his family?” Turns out, Cobra Kai Season 6 found a character-changing, and franchise-changing way to do just that.
When Season 6 begins, there’s peace in the valley. Cobra Kai is out of the picture and Daniel, Johnny (William Zabka), and Chozen (Yuji Okumoto) are able to join forces and focus on getting their students ready for the Sekai Taikai — for the most part. Not only are Daniel and Johnny still butting heads about teaching methods, but Johnny also has a baby on the way, and Daniel has his world rocked when shocking information is unearthed by his longtime teacher, mentor and idol, Pat Mortia’s Mr. Miyagi.
With the release of Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 1 right around the corner, I got the chance to sit down with Macchio, Zabka, and Okumoto to discuss what’s coming their way this time around. The trio reminisced about especially memorable moments from filming Season 6, Zabka discussed the pressure Johnny is under heading into the Sekai Taikai, Macchio addressed how this new Mr. Miyagi information will crack open the character of Daniel LaRusso like never before, and more. You can hear it all straight from them in the video at the top of this article, or you can read the interview in transcript form below.
Ralph Macchio Teases the ‘Cobra Kai’ Season 6 Scene That Made Him Tear Up
PERRI NEMIROFF: One of the greatest joys of covering this show is that you are all such wonderful people who very clearly love and support each other. Can you each tell me, no matter what season it’s in, something you saw someone else do on set that made you stop dead in your tracks and go, “I am so proud of them?”
WILLIAM ZABKA: I think we would probably all say, just in this last season, watching how our young cast has evolved at the Sekai Taikai and watching the short amount of time they had to put these elaborate fights and drama together. And [us] as the senseis that brought them there, to watch that, I think all of us were just amazed. That was a real wow moment. That comes to mind immediately.
RALPH MACCHIO: I’ll piggyback on that. In the same realm, in Episode 603, I got to direct, and I got to direct Peyton [List] and Mary [Mouser] in a beautiful scene. We had no time, it was the end of the day, I knew we were gonna be up against it, and I told them the day before, I said, “I think we’re gonna be crushed on this day.” It was a long scene. I said, “Anything you guys have that you wanna bring, you know it’s Cobra Kai on the fly.” It was an emotional scene for them, and literally, they each got it in one take. In that moment, I kind of welled up. I was so proud of these kids and these girls in that moment, so that’s one that comes to mind. But once again, the young cast just really inspires.
YUJI OKUMOTO: Yeah, I think the young cast also, for me, they brought it. They were just so compelling to watch. Also, I wanna say Ralph was incredible as a director to work with. Some of the shots that he brought were very feature-esque, and I think because he’s from that world, he brought that to the small screen, and it was just amazing to watch his process. I learned a lot from just watching how he handled his actors and how he handled the set, and I think that set the tone for a wonderful kind of work environment for all the actors that were involved with that particular episode.
MACCHIO: Thank you, brother.
Who Is Daniel LaRusso Beyond Mr. Miyagi’s Teachings?
Ralph, I don’t know if you’ve thought about this this way, but given what we’re learning about Mr. Miyagi in Part 1, I’m curious, have you ever differentiated who Daniel is in terms of being a product of Mr. Miyagi and his teachings and what qualities of his are purely his own?
MACCHIO: Yeah, that’s a great question. He’s always referencing Miyagi and the greatness of Miyagi, and all this through his students and even his friends. Early on in the series, there were these scenes I really embraced and enjoyed with Tanner [Buchanan], Robby, when I was taking Miyagi’s teaching and doing this sort of LaRusso, Jersey spin on them, whether it was the Bonsai trees or training, and I really enjoyed finding Daniel’s way of channeling the Miyagi-isms and the references. But there are times he dives so deep into that legacy that it’s a struggle to differentiate, as you say, his own beliefs, and I think this season opens up that can of worms where he is second-guessing things about his mentor that he can never really find the truth about and has to come to grips with that all personally. It’s a big arc this season, and heading into Part 2 and certainly resolving in Part 3. I’m excited for the fans to see that.
I never thought that that was gonna be something the show would tap into, but what an interesting way to crack open your character in a fresh way.
MACCHIO: Yeah, I’m always banging that every season, like, “What can we do to unearth something with this guy that he’s just not working at the dealership and being a pain in the ass to Johnny, and loving his family?” They’re all good things, but let’s go further. And they did.
I’m here for it.
What Scares Johnny Lawrence Going Into the Sekai Taikai?
Billy, one thing I’ve always loved about Johnny is his bravado and his confidence even when they’re going into dire situations. But it always makes me curious about the opposite. Going into the Sekai Taikai, what do you think he fears most for himself as a sensei and for his students going up against such top-tier talent?
ZABKA: He certainly doesn’t fear what we see happen at the end of the first drop. That’s from left field. Mostly what he’s fighting for, at this point, is his family. He’s fighting for a legacy and that he can provide for his new child and be a good dad, and he’s trying his best. He’s aligning himself with Miyagi-do and he’s conceded there. So, if he’s afraid of anything, it’s of not winning and afraid of failing his life, and this is just one chance, again, that he has to make something of himself. He’s working at LaRusso Auto, things are going well, he’s partnered up with his guys, and he’s ready to go. But we’ll see what happens.
I need Part 2 ASAP.
What If Chozen Had His Own Dojo?
Yuji, with Chozen, I’ve always wondered, if he were a sensei at his own dojo, what do you think his style of teaching would be like compared to Johnny and Daniel? How much would he lean into Miyagi-do versus something else?
OKUMOTO: I think it’s a mix of both. He’s got that other side to him, that wild side. He has a little more of the rough-and-tumble kind of attitude toward students, but at the same time, I think he’s got that other side, which is the Daniel-san side, and the Miyagi side, which is a little more of the nurturing style of martial arts. So I think finding that balance. Like Miyagi always says, you need to find balance. I think over the course of time, he’s learned that through all the adversities and all the shortcomings he had growing up that led him to where we are today.
This puts you on the spot creatively. If he had his own dojo, what would his logo be?
ZABKA: Stitches on his back.
OKUMOTO: Yeah! [Laughs]
ZABKA: 60 stitches across his back.
OKUMOTO: Maybe because I had sais, I think it would be sais.
That crossed my mind, but the stitches are kind of cool, too. [Laughs]
How Will ‘Cobra Kai’ and the New ‘Karate Kid’ Movie Connect?
Ralph, you know I’m greedy with this franchise, so I have to ask about the new Karate Kid movie. Are there any new layers of Daniel you unearthed working on that that maybe we could either see in Cobra Kai Season 6 or see the seeds that eventually lead to those qualities?
MACCHIO: That’s a good question. I can’t go into too much detail at this early point. That movie’s not hitting until May 30, 2025. But yeah, it was important to me — mainly, to me, it was about always being true to LaRusso. I tried to play truth in 1983 when I originated this character, and I still, always, throughout Cobra Kai and then the new film, it’s about being honest and truthful to the character and what would motivate any of his actions. But what I was able to do is find things from Season 6 that sort of reference in a way that makes sense if you’ve watched everything but is not just drawing specifically. It helps motivate all the actions, and hopefully that thread will be seen by the fans in a good way.
