Ralph Macchio hits back against criticism that The Karate Kid had ‘a very white cast’

Ralph Macchio has hit back at criticism that The Karate Kid was ‘too white’.

The 60-year-old actor, who starred in the 1984 film alongside Noriyuki “Pat” Morita, says the film was progressive for its time.

“People have said it’s a very white cast; that it has not delved into the Asian story,” the American star told this week in the issue of Stellar magazine.

‘But I always say this: [for 1984] the movie was ahead of its time because it was a popcorn movie about Japanese internment camps during WW2.’

Ralph went on to explain that the subject was very close to his opponent, the late Morita, who was born in California to Japanese immigrant parents.

‘Pat always said the scene’ [in which it’s revealed Mr Miyagi lost his wife and child in the camps] earned him his Oscar nomination,” he said.

“Pat himself spent two years in the camps. So it had a double meaning and some depth.’

Ralph talked about his experiences in his new memoir Waxing on: The Karate Kid and Mereleased Tuesday, saying he was never told about two major projects related to the franchise, 1994’s The Next Karate Kid and the 2010 remake The Karate Kid.

Macchio played the role of Daniel LaRusso in 1984’s The Karate Kid and its two sequels, 1986’s The Karate Kid Part II and 1989’s The Karate Kid Part III.

He said he heard about the 1994 film titled The Next Karate Kid through the newspaper.

‘That’s how I learned it’ [the film] was made… I saw it in the paper,’ said Macchio. “They went with a different writer, a different director, and a different actor for the main character.”

In the reports, producer Jerry Weintraub said Macchio had become “too old” to play the part, as Hilary Swank was cast in the lead role of Julie Pierce alongside the late Pat Morita, who reprised his role as Mr. Miyagi in the movie reprized. image.

The Emmy-nominated actor said of the film—which hit theaters in August 1994 and grossed $15.8 million at the worldwide box office—”To this day, for whatever reason, I have that movie.” not seen from curtain to curtain.

“I’ve only seen it in bits when scrolling through movie channels on television. It was strange for me, because I had no contact with anyone from the franchise during those years.’

The Cobra Kai actor said he learned about the 2010 remake — produced by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith and starring Jaden Smith — in 2008 when a reporter asked him about it.

“I remember being taken by surprise when I was trying to process the concept,” he said. “I remember saying I’m not the biggest fan of most remakes… I then said I hoped more original content would come out of Hollywood soon.”