[1] He is the son of Rosalie (née DeSantis) and Ralph George Macchio Sr., who owned a few laundromats and a wastewater disposal company.

[1] Macchio's work on The Outsiders helped him win the role of Daniel LaRusso in the 1984 blockbuster film The Karate Kid.

[1][12] In 1992, Macchio starred opposite Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei in the hit comedy film My Cousin Vinny, playing Billy Gambini, who was wrongfully accused of murder while passing through a small Alabama town.

[1] In 1996, Macchio performed the lead role of J. Pierrepont Finch in the U.S. tour revival of the 1962 Tony Award-winning musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and received positive reviews.

[1] Beginning in October 2008, Macchio appeared in several episodes of the ABC Network television series Ugly Betty as Archie Rodriguez, a local politician who is Hilda's love interest.

[20] Macchio appeared in the 2007 music video for the song "Sweep the Leg" by No More Kings as a caricature of himself and Daniel LaRusso from The Karate Kid.

[21][22] In June 2010, Macchio appeared in Funny or Die's online short, "Wax On, F*ck Off", in which his loved ones stage an intervention to turn the former child star from a well-adjusted family man into an addict besieged with tabloid scandal in order to help his career, with frequent references to The Karate Kid.

[25] During a celebration of the 30th anniversary of The Karate Kid at the Japanese American National Museum in 2014, Macchio said that the yellow 1947 Ford convertible that his character Daniel receives from Mr. Miyagi in the first film was sitting in his garage.

[26] On August 4, 2017, it was announced that Macchio would reprise his role as Daniel LaRusso in a 10-episode Karate Kid revival series for YouTube Red titled Cobra Kai that debuted in 2018.

[1][27] The series begins 33 years after the events of the first film, and re-examines the "Miyagi-Verse" narrative from Johnny's point of view, beginning with his decision to reopen the Cobra Kai karate dojo, and the rekindling of his old rivalry with Daniel, who has been struggling to maintain balance in his life without the guidance of his now deceased mentor, Mr.

[32][33][26] Julia appeared in seasons 4 and 5 of Cobra Kai, portraying her father's character's cousin named Vanessa LaRusso.