Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Part II, we sat down with the Karate Kid himself to reflect on behind-the-scenes stories of the wild stunts, his friendship with the cast, and his thoughts on Daniel and Kumiko’s romance.

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Growing up, The Karate Kid Part II was always my favorite of the trilogy. I loved watching Daniel explore Tomi Village, learning more about Mr. Miyagi's backstory, and, of course, Daniel's many run-ins with Chozen Taguchi.

From the hilarious story behind one of the movie's most memorable stunts to why he believes Daniel should have ended up with Kumiko, I had the honor of sitting down with Ralph Macchio for a stroll down memory lane.

Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Ralph: Wow, 40 years since Part II. It was an interesting time for me because everything was coming so fast. The Outsiders was a big launching pad. That was a big movie for me because I read that book in school, and then got to play Johnny and work with Francis Ford Coppola. The Karate Kid piggybacked right after that in the summer of '84. 

I did a few other projects, and as I rolled into The Karate Kid Part II, half my brain wanted to stop for a little bit, and the other half was thinking, "This is a roller coaster." 

I had a three-picture deal, so I was in. They had me. I thought, "How could this ever be as magical as the first film?" but I did enjoy exploring a different culture.

Going into it I was more overwhelmed, as opposed to how I would look at it now. Now I would just take a deep breath, embrace it, and treasure each moment. Back then, my head was a little bit different. (Laughs) Youth is always wasted on the young, I say.

I recognized that it was a smart idea to take the story to a different land. I credit Robert Mark Kamen, who wrote the script for the first three films, John Avildsen, the director, and also the studio for signing on to take it to a different place.

Ralph: One of my treasured relationships, besides with Pat Morita, is with Tamlyn Tomita, who played Kumiko. 

As the years went on, I felt there was more story for Daniel and Kumiko. It's special to me personally because Tamlyn is such a good friend, and creatively because those characters have this innocent, honest, beautiful love story. 

People to this day ask me, "Who do you think Daniel LaRusso should have wound up with?" Taking nothing away from the Cobra Kai journey and my great friendship and creative work with Courtney Henggeler, who portrayed Daniel's wife so perfectly in the series, I always felt it made the most sense that Daniel and Kumiko would wind up together. 

When they made Part III, the concept was "let's get back to the valley." I always questioned how they could leave Okinawa, Yukie, and Kumiko behind. Fortunately, in Cobra Kai, we got to weave those characters back in.

Ralph: When I look back, there are so many great moments in that film. You have Kumiko and Daniel's love story and their first kiss, and that truly wonderful scene where Daniel and Mr. Miyagi talk about his dad's passing. That's a beautiful scene, and Bill Conti's music is spectacular. 

If memory serves — which is tough, it's a long time ago — I think we shot that scene isolated from the rest of the production in Hawaii. Most of the film was shot in Hawaii, with parts also shot in Los Angeles.

They found the location, found the right sunset, and we just kept doing the scene until it got dark. Pat was incredible, and that's one of my favorite moments in the entire franchise.

Ralph: That's a good one. I have stories with that — you're jogging my memory.

When it came to the stunts, I'd typically go for anything as long as it was all vetted. I always wanted to prepare properly so I had the confidence to do these things.

I find out when we get there that we're going to do the hook sequence. When they let the hook go, it's on rope, and that could be very dangerous because the wind could blow. So they had the stunt and prop guys working that out, and the hook was attached to a bar that would keep it straight. But it was still pretty scary coming down from 15 to 20 feet.

I always knew I could just dive off if I chickened out — but here's the thing I learned when we went to rehearse it. The person who owned the property with that big fishing pond mentioned how it was filled with barracuda. That's all they had to tell me, and I was like, "I'm not diving into there!" There would just be Daniel LaRusso chum, you know?

I'm sure it would have been fine; it's not like there are all these barracuda waiting to bite the guy who falls in — but they built a strong cage, almost like a makeshift shark cage in the water. Nothing could get through it except me falling into the water. So when I fell, I needed to fall straight down into that little area that was caged off.

Ralph: Breaking the ice hurt, and it was cold! You're supposed to hit on the meat of the palm of your hand but, no matter what I did, it was the bone that hit first. 

The prop guys did a great job with that scene. They were scoring the ice and shaving little slices into it so, when you do hit it, it breaks easier. A few times, they would put the ice blocks in, and the ice would just break because that's how frail they got it. They also had a sheet of plexiglass in there.

We must have done it seven or eight times. When we did the wide shot with the camera behind me, I'd have my hand in sort of a flat position, then turn it ever so slightly so the meat of my palm would hit it and push the ice through. When it was shot from a different angle, it had to look better, so I couldn't do that.

Ralph: When it came to the final fight, I thought it would be cool to have Mr. Miyagi do it. That is a suggestion I made, but the studio told me, "No, you've got to put Rocky Balboa back in the ring." Same director, by the way; John Avildsen directed Rocky and The Karate Kid.

With that sequence, they had to go bigger. I always felt that I didn't want it to get cartoony, but Karate Kid and even Cobra Kai had elements of that. However it was always grounded in the heart and soul, and that's what made it work. 

You go to these heightened places where they're fighting to the death (laughs), and nobody could make it across the moat to jump in and save Daniel's life after Chozen knocks Kumiko out cold. But for the audience, it was the popcorn of it all. It's the wish fulfillment. That fight's a good fight. It really is, and the drum technique pays off.

Ralph: At one point in the film The Karate Kid: Legends with Jackie Chan, they had the drum. They wanted to use the drum in that movie and gift it to Ben Wang's character. I pushed back on that because I thought it should remain within the lineage of the original storyline.

I enjoyed crossing over to spread wisdom to another kid in trouble because that's what Miyagi's teachings are, and to me, that's the throughline. But I'm protective because this legacy has been gifted to me, and I want to pay it forward with respect. I think audiences recognize that, and I'm proud of that.

Ralph: Yuji Okumoto and I have become such good friends. Having his character back for Cobra Kai was wonderful. What a great character Chozen became. Daniel and Chozen became like Miyagi-Do brothers. They tried to kill each other, and now they're best of friends. 

The Cobra Kai writers did a beautiful job of weaving those OG characters from the films into the show. They deserve a lot of credit for that, and Yuji, Tamlyn, and the others do, too, for having such creative passion and being so genuine to their characters. 

Ralph: People ask what my favorite is of the entire franchise, and it will always be the original film. That's where the magic happens, and, for me, Mr. Miyagi really is the secret sauce of the whole franchise.

But with Part II, the love stories that were involved hark back to the kind of movies and stories that we want to believe in. There's this genuine openness of finding true love and balance in your life. 

Sato and Chozen were great villains. Throughout the Karate Kid movie franchise, it was pretty clear-cut: the villains were evil but laced with redemption. Cobra Kai was different, with everyone having a little good and a little bad and having to work through it.

What's most rewarding about Karate Kid Part II for me is the culture. Daniel's eyes opened the world's eyes. Some people who went to see that movie had never heard of Okinawa in their lives. They got to experience a bit of Okinawan culture, like when Miyagi's father passes, and they place the lanterns on the water. 

There are so many wonderful performances, like Pat, Tamlyn, Yuji, and Nobu McCarthy, who played Yukie. She was wonderful.

My journey with Daniel has been very unique. I love that you love this movie, and it's making me think warmly about the experience and the friendships that have grown from it.

Keep up with Ralph on Instagram, @ralphmacchio. 

To learn more about Ralph's career, check out his autobiography.