- Hello friends, this week on Heat Vision Breakdown
we are joined by very special guest Ralph Macchio,
who is the star of Cobra Kai,
season two available right now on YouTube.
We're also celebrating
the 35th anniversary of The Karate Kid.
Thanks so much for being here.
- Thanks, thanks for having me man.
- Absolutely.
(bright rock music)
- Let's start off a little bit with Cobra Kai season two.
This season, you take on more of
a Miyagi-esque nature to your character.
You're a mentor now.
- That's right, he's trying to carry on the legacy
and focused on showing the San Fernando Valley students
the better way, and it's pretty big stakes for LaRusso
'cause he has to live up to that legacy
and carry on the teachings of his mentor
without the ability to have his mentor to tap into.
- Right.
- And some of the hurdles that happen, I always describe as,
just because you have knowledge of a subject
doesn't necessarily mean you know how to teach it,
and that every student is different.
And Miyagi had one kid.
LaRusso's trying to recruit a ton of students
and when doing backyard chores is the base of the theory,
it's kinda tough to get the kids to come on over.
- But it works, you won he championship.
- Yes, it does for sure.
Listen, there's not a car that hasn't been waxed
that it hasn't paid off for this guy.
- Speaking of Karate Kid,
this is the 35th anniversary of the film.
- It's insane.
- [Patrick] Crazy.
- It's insane.
- What scene from that film do you think really
kinda captures the essence of that story?
What's the scene that you kinda look back on with fondness?
- Well, there are more than a few.
I guess one of the scenes that touches me the most
is the drunk scene.
- [Patrick] Mhm.
- Where you learn of Miyagi's backstory,
and you watch this kid view his mentor from
a different perspective and then take that knowledge
that he's learned and carry it on himself
and into that transition of the montage.
Also, the scene where we all learn
what all these chores were and that they pay off
to be martial arts defensive moves.
There's a lot of magic in that movie.
I know people who would like for me to say
getting my ass kicked by the Cobra Kai
is my most fond memory, but great as they were,
there's a lot of them.
- One of the scenes that I personally love
is obviously the wax on, wax off scene.
That car, the 1948 Ford Super Deluxe Club Convertible,
I have heard that you still own that car, is that true?
- It's partly true.
I definitely own the car.
It was a '47 Ford.
- Oh my god.
- That's not you, it's somewhere out there
in the ether that it's a '48.
I think they made replicas that they've sold,
like little toys, and it says '48 Super Deluxe
but it's a 1947 Ford, it is featured
in the Cobra Kai series in season two and going forward
as we are now prepping up to shoot season three.
Yeah, it's just fantastic to have the actual car
in the show now.
It's a character, it's the one girl
that stuck by LaRusso all these years.
- I've also heard that Chuck Norris was originally offered
the role of the Cobra Kai sensei.
Is that true, do you know anything about that?
- This is a truth or consequences kinda interview.
- It's hard-hitting, I'm sorry.
- I feel like there should be lie detector stuff.
Chuck Norris, I know this much,
that was certainly in the conversation
for Sensei Kreese, you're saying?
- Yes.
Casting of Marty Kove took place very late.
We were already shooting the movie
when he came in, and he was on a show
called Cagney and Lacey at the time,
so once they found him and once that was a match,
it was about figuring out how he could do it
and fortunately for us,
Marty Kove is the Darth Vader of '80s
and now back in Cobra Kai
and throwing a wrench in everyone's lives.
- Right, still iconic.
I hate to change text to something a little bit more serious
but in 2005 when Pat Morita passed away,
you gave a eulogy at his funeral.
What did you say, how was that experience for you?
- Well, certainly it was a tough day.
It was my privilege to do it.
I was nervous, and what to say, so I didn't do a lot
of prep outside of speaking from my heart
and knowing how rare it is to have that sort of
piece of magic that I always call my relationship with him
and those performances, a bit of soulful magic,
and I think that still resonates in the Karate Kid film
and even in Cobra Kai, it's real important to have that,
'cause the essence of what he brought to that role
is something that has become a piece of pop-culture.
There was one line I had in my head
that I wanted to end, when I spoke of him
and what he meant to me, is forever my sensei.
It came up to me on the plane out to Vegas
which is where the services were, and I said that
and it kinda stuck in the press and I'm proud of it.
- You've had a lot of great cameos over the years
on shows like How I Met Your Mother, you were on Entourage
which is one that always sticks out to me.
The thing about Entourage is that it dealt with
an experience that happened at the Playboy Mansion.
I'm wondering if there was any truth behind that.
- Oh god.
You want me to unleash all my late nights
into early mornings at the Playboy Mansion
before the wife and kids.
- So we do know that there were late nights.
- No, you know what, sadly the first and last time
I spent 13, 14 hours at the Playboy Mansion
was shooting that scene from Entourage.
So sadly I have no true stories that I'm gonna disclose now.
- You were also in The Outsiders
which is another really iconic movie,
launched so many careers, it's a fantastic movie.
It had a really grueling audition process
from what I've heard.
How was that audition process for you personally?
- It was a tough audition process.
Francis Coppola, who directed The Outsiders
did something that often is never done,
which is getting hundreds, it felt like,
it was probably maybe 50 actors in one sound stage
to sit around the perimeter
and then he would call different actors
to play different roles like it was theater camp.
So you're essentially in front of a video camera
and this table with Francis Ford Coppola
and his casting people and twelve different teen magazines
as he's trying to plug and play who would be right
for these roles that were iconic as far as,
maybe not iconic but famous through the book.
So you're watching other actors perform,
trying not to be informed by their reactions of the director
and then you're be viewed by a theater community.
- God.
- As you're being judged for the role,
it was very difficult.
For him, he just felt he was creating this,
how to get the chemistry all working together.
So whether it was Mickey Rourke or Dennis Quaid
or Matt Dillon or myself or Tom Cruise or Scott Baio.
It was just like all these people auditioning
and fortunately for me, I got the part I wanted.
I read a few scenes and then I read as Ponyboy
and Two Bit but I just wanted to play this Johnny character
and I actually raised my hand to do a monologue
from the book 'cause I felt I wasn't getting the attention.
I think the reason I wasn't getting the attention
is because he had made up his mind.
So lucky for me I got to play
one of the best roles in that movie.
- Yeah, well it worked out for you
and for us in the audience, too.
- Thank you.
- Like you said, it's an iconic movie.
It also has a really iconic poster
of all you guys kinda laughing and smiling together.
I had heard that the reason that you were all laughing
and smiling is 'cause you cracked a joke about Leif Garrett
off-set trying to eat at a craft service table.
- I did, I did.
I don't like totally regret it,
but it's like I wish there was another story.
It is, I almost forgot that till someone brought it up.
I don't know if it was Emilio or Rob Lowe,
re-reminded me of when we were taking all these shots,
all these different kind of photos
like brooding greasers, tough guys, street guys,
and then they put us all in this sort of circle
and said we're just gonna take a group shot here,
and then one of the production guys behind the camera
saying listen everything over here, all the food over here
is just for the talent, he was telling the crew guys.
Leif Garrett was walking by, I said, remember Leif,
he just said that's just for the talent.
(Patrick laughs)
And it got this big laugh, and 'cause it the greasers
and the socs, and he played a soc, and we were the greasers,
so there was a bit of that rivalry stuff going on
and then I instantly, the left side of my brain
or the right side of my brain had a little sympathy,
like boy that was a little harsh,
and then the other side of my brain was like,
yeah I just nailed 'em, and we laugh about it to this day
and obviously everybody just cracked up
and there's the picture.
- Right.
To drop out of the '80s, into the '90s a little bit,
you were also in My Cousin Vinny.
- [Ralph] Yeah.
- Jonathan Lynn had never seen The Karate Kid
before casting you, is that true?
- [Ralph] That's true.
- [Patrick] That's craziness.
- [Ralph] He goes, what is this Karate Kid?
What is it about?
- It's about a kid, he does Karate.
- Is it good?
And it was funny because I think the studio at the time
were just like, yeah you don't want him,
he's the Karate Kid guy, we're looking at,
I know some of the names that were on the list,
I don't wanna say that either
'cause I don't wanna dog anybody, they're big stars now.
The two names that the studio wanted
are super huge stars right now,
and then Jonathan was just like,
yeah but he's like perfect for the role,
let me see this Karate Kid thing.
And it's great 'cause I auditioned,
I got the part for the right reasons I like to believe.
- Yeah.
Did he ever watch if afterwards?
- Yes.
- Okay, so he has seen The Karate Kid.
- He said whoa, I should've cast you before you came in.
- He's the one person.
- It was great, he was a great guy, and that movie,
My Cousin Vinny, I call it the late for dinner movie.
If it's on, you're gonna be late for dinner.
- I love it.
I'd also heard that Will Smith was originally up
for the role as your character's sidekick in that film.
Did you ever do a screen test with him?
- Yes, that's one of the big movie stars.
- Really?
- Yeah, well I might as well go out right now.
It was Ben Still and Will Smith,
that's who the studio wanted.
And even though he's written as Vinny's cousin,
they said, well we'll figure that out later.
Will actually did come in to read,
and we read together for My Cousin Vinny at one point
and I think he called me once they decided
to make a remake of The Karate Kid in 2010.
My opening line was, the last time I saw you
was when we auditioned for My Cousin Vinny.
That's the first and last time
that I got the part and you didn't.
(Patrick laughs)
- We had fun.
- I don't know if you remember this.
In 1992 you were on Letterman, and you were 30 years old
is what you said in the interview.
You said, to me it's dramatic when I look 30,
I figure in 20 years I'll be there.
That was almost 30 years ago and you still look like
you're hovering right around 30.
How are you staying so youthful?
- Yeah, it's my parents' fault.
(Patrick laughs)
Maybe it's martial arts, but I do very little
of martial arts unless the camera's rolling.
I would blame it on my parents, good genes
and a decently healthy lifestyle.
Yeah I got that youthful thing,
there's a tie-in from My Cousin Vinny, see look at that.
Segueing everything together.
- Did you say yout?
- Yeah, two youts.
- Can you still crane kick?
- You're not gonna see it.
- That's not a no.
- Yes, that's not a no.
It probably doesn't look quite as good
as it did 35 years ago, but I get asked all the time.
The only time I will assume the position
outside of for the Cobra Kai series
which we did for season two in one episode,
is when I get asked by the troops on the military bases.
If they ask me, then we're all in,
and that usually shuts everybody else up.
- Nice, crane kicking for the troops.
I'll ask you one last question and it's the hardest one.
People have said that possibly, your character
in the Karate Kid, in the original one,
cheated in that tournament
because they made blows to the head illegal.
Do you view yourself as a cheater?
- I don't view him as a cheater.
The great thing about all this stuff and the fan theories
and the pop-culture relevance of justice for Johnny
and it was an illegal crane kick, he should've never won.
That stuff, people say how do you feel,
we feel bad, no you don't feel bad,
they're talking about your movie 35 years later.
We have a hit show, somehow, that's relevant in 2019
because of great writing first and foremost
and great performances,
but because of this relevance in pop-culture.
If they could keep talking about the movie, it's awesome.
I think it doesn't hold water.
I think everyone who was in the movie theater
back in the day or saw that movie was not rooting against
the kid that was being beat up constantly.
- [Patrick] Right.
- But it's awfully fun to go on technicalities now
and if it was an illegal kick,
it makes for better storytelling.
- Well the Karate Kid endures, the second season
is available right on YouTube of Cobra Kai,
and it's the 35th anniversary
of one of the best movies ever in Karate Kid.
Ralph Macchio, thank you so much for coming by.
- Thanks for having me, I had fun.
(bright rock music)