Cobra Kai Star Says Ralph Macchio Is ‘Too Nice Sometimes’

Getty Ralph Macchio is photographed at 'The IMDb Show' in 2019.

In the Karate Kid film franchise and Cobra Kai, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) sometimes misjudges situations and can be impulsive in his reactions. Despite his hotheadedness, the character is incredibly kind and giving. For instance, he allows Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan) to live with his family and later pays for his mother, Shannon, to receive help for her substance abuse issues at a rehabilitation center. 

‘Cobra Kai’ Star Tanner Buchanan Remarked Upon Macchio’s Kindness

GettyTanner Buchanan poses at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con.

Ralph Macchio seems to share his character’s trait of being kind-hearted. In a January interview with Men’s Health, Macchio’s co-star Tanner Buchanan discussed how it is to work with the original Karate Kid cast, specifically Macchio and William “Billy” Zabka, who plays his on-screen father Johnny Lawrence. 

He described the actors “as two of the nicest guys ever.” Buchanan went on to say that “Ralph is extremely nice.”

“He’s too nice sometimes. I’m like, ‘Can you just say one bad thing?’” revealed the 22-year-old. 

Buchanan then disclosed that Macchio and Zabka are “super respectful and stuff in terms of treating [the younger cast] like peers.” He also noted that Macchio helped him with a scene during the show’s first season. He told the publication:

I had a surreal moment in Season 1. I was supposed to wax on, wax off. I was like ‘wait, how do I do this,’ and Ralph is like, ‘let me show you.’ I stepped aside. The Karate Kid is actually showing me how to wax on and wax off. People would pay to have you show them how to wax on and wax off.

Mary Mouser Has Also Noted That Macchio Is Helpful

GettyMary Mouser wears a red dress at SVA Theater in 2018.

Tanner Buchanan is not the only Cobra Kai star to comment on Macchio’s helpfulness. While speaking to The Sun Online, Mary Mouser shared that he got rid of insects that were in her trailer’s bathroom. 

The actress, who portrays Macchio’s on-screen daughter Samantha LaRusso, explained that she was about to shower when she noticed that she was surrounded by cockroaches. 

“[T]hat night I was going to get into the shower and I’ve taken my glasses off, I have terrible eyesight and I look down.There’s something brown next to my foot. What is that? A leaf? So I go and put my glasses on, I look at it,” recalled the 24-year-old. 

Upon further inspection, she realized “[it was] a cockroach.”

“Then there’s a second cockroach. And so on,” said Mouser. 

After determining the issue, she immediately asked for Macchio’s helping hand.

“So I call him, and he comes running downstairs with a broom, and he smashed up all of the cockroaches for me. So I’ve adopted him as a fake dad,” asserted the actress. 

It appears that Mouser may have a habit of contacting Macchio when she encounters insects. When speaking to the publication Crooked Llama in May 2018, she stated that she “literally had to have him come kill a bug in [her] apartment because [she] was too scared.” 

She proceeded to describe different ways, in which he has shown his “fatherly” side to her. 

“When I had a cold, he was texting me to stay inside, stay warm. Even now, like my birthday, I just had my birthday a week ago and one of the first texts I got that morning was from him telling me happy birthday. Honestly, he kept saying, ‘Call your TV dad,’” relayed the actress. 

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