Getty Ralph Macchio is photographed at 'The IMDb Show' in 2019.
Since its premiere in 2018, “Cobra Kai” has been known for its spectacular fight sequences. In a recent interview with The Wrap, “The Karate Kid” himself Ralph Macchio discussed said action scenes.
Ralph Macchio Talked About Fight Scenes on “Cobra Kai”
During the interview with The Wrap, Macchio revealed that he recently shared his opinion about a martial arts scene he filmed for the show’s upcoming fourth season.
“My main note [to the show’s other producers] — the edit was not finished, and everyone agreed, it was not like I was the only one who came up with this — was about letting the action play out before cutting, as long as we can,” said the actor.
The co-executive producer of “Cobra Kai” went on to say that the show “has done a decent amount of oners in some of the big sequences where the camera does not cut.”
“It’s more of a Steadicam movement, but there’s something musical about it,” said Macchio.
He then compared how the fight sequences are edited in “Cobra Kai” to MGM musicals filmed during the 1940s and 1950s. He told the publication:
When a move is happening, any kind of move, stay with it. When you look at the MGM musicals, watch Fred Astaire. It’s like one shot. You’re not cutting to a tight shot of his toe and a tight shot of his knee and his shoulder, his arm, and he spins and hits the floor.
Ralph Macchio Has a Background in Musical Theater
Like Fred Astaire, Macchio has a background in both dance and theater. During a joint 2020 interview with his 29-year-old daughter Julia, the actor noted that he did musical theater throughout his adolescence. The “My Cousin Vinny” star also played J. Pierpont Finch in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” when he was 34-years-old. In a 1996 interview with The Seattle Times, Macchio discussed being part of the musical’s national tour. He described “How to Succeed,” which premiered on Broadway in 1961, as “one of the funniest, smartest American musicals ever written.” While speaking to the publication, he also revealed that despite being known for portraying karate student, Daniel LaRusso, in the “Karate Kid” film franchise, he was not actually a martial artist. Rather, he spent his childhood dancing.
“I was really only good enough at karate to make it look good. But I grew up doing dance recitals and musicals, and Gene Kelly was who I wanted to be my whole childhood,” said the actor.
During a January 2021 interview on “The Talk,” one of the show’s hosts, Amanda Kloots, asked Macchio if he would be appearing in the upcoming “Karate Kid” musical, presumably because of his history with theater. While he did not comment on whether he would be making a cameo in the production, he revealed that he “hear[d] it’s fantastic.”
“I haven’t seen it yet I know it’s been put on pause now with everything else with theater. But all intentions are to get it back up and on Broadway and that would just be more icing on this amazing cake that the ‘Karate Kid’ universe has brought to the world,” said the actor.
To see more of Macchio, check out the first three seasons of “Cobra Kai,” available on Netflix.
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