KARATE Kid actor Ralph Macchio can still pull off the high kicks that made him a global star at 23 — though he finds the moves harder to do roughly 40 years later.

Now 62, he reprised his role as martial arts fighter Daniel LaRusso for Cobra Kai, Netflix’s continuation of the movie franchise’s storyline, which is returning for its sixth and final series.

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Ralph Macchio reprised his role in Cobra Kai with the same headband he wore as a 21-year-old starCredit: Alamy

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Young Ralph as Daniel LaRusso in Karate Kid, the movie that made him famousCredit: Alamy
Ralph said with a laugh: “Back in the Eighties almost every scene involved Daniel getting his a** kicked, so I’m used to it by now.

“I’m always willing to take the hit. But it hurts, especially at my age, and it’s a little harder to do now than it used to be. I try to get through it with a lot of stretching.”

The original 1984 Karate Kid movie and its two sequels told the story of US teens who learn martial arts to stand up to bullies.

Fans warmed to the relationship between Ralph’s character Daniel and his mentor Mr Miyagi, played by the late Pat Morita, whose eccentric teaching methods include killing a fly with chopsticks and getting his young student to polish his car.

Ralph added: “The movie is so often thought of as pop culture — crane kicks, waxing on — but it also has all these other deeper elements to it.”

In Cobra Kai, Daniel and his old foe Johnny Lawrence are now the mentors teaching karate to a new generation of young students.

The show has been a huge hit, with 107million hours of the fifth series streamed in its first week.

During that season, Ralph pulled off his trademark crane kick — a near-impossible move that involves standing on one leg and launching into a flying jump.

Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso in original trailer for The Karate Kid
Ralph recalled: “The moment I knew we had something special was after the movie was previewed and people came out of theatres trying to do the crane kick.

“Now I say, thank God I have health insurance!”

Remembering the movies’ fights, he said: “For the most part it was like a dance routine, and we had it down. You were in the hands of the best.

“You could run into trouble with the amount of adrenalin, because you’re just so jacked up, but we were so well-trained. It was a tango, and it was awesome.”

William Zabka, who plays Daniel LaRusso’s rival Johnny Lawrence, has also struggled with the return to action scenes.

The 58-year-old actor said with a laugh: “We come away with a lot of bruises.

“I carried the torch for being the villain for 37 years, so the fact I got to play this character again and give it some humanity and depth and colour has just been a thrill. It feels good to have some people on your side.”

In Cobra Kai, Johnny and Daniel are now middle-aged business owners with families.

They become friends as they unite to face mutual enemies as leaders of their own karate tribes.

Familiar foes from the past have returned to haunt them both, including nemesis Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith).

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Karate Kid’s 1984 posterCredit: Rex Features

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Cobra Kai’s Netflix posterCredit: Netflix
Love interests have also cropped up, with Elisabeth Shue returning as local beauty queen Ali Mills.

But series six will see them face the final boss, John Kreese (Martin Kove), who is back with a vengeance after faking his death and escaping from prison.

And they will finally leave the Valley in Los Angeles to compete on a global scale in the Sekai Taikai — the world championships of karate in Japan.

Ralph said: “It’s international, it’s global. Everything gets bigger, the competition gets better.

“In Korea, we meet kids it looks like we’ll never beat.

“But at the start of each season I bang the drum loudly at the writers room and say, ‘What can we give LaRusso that’s not him versus Johnny Lawrence going at each other’s throats? How can we mine some new information that sets him off his axis?’.”

This series, the writers have done just that, as Daniel digs up some troubling details about his long-dead teacher Mr Miyagi.

Ralph added: “These clues to a past that don’t line up with the perfect mentor now add double meaning for Daniel. The deeper he digs, the more he goes on a downward spiral.

“Now he’s got to carry the burden of upholding that legacy.

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Cobra Kai recreated the iconic Karate Kid crane kick sceneCredit: Columbia Pictures
“It’s a great story and it takes Daniel down this path that he has to come back from.”

While this is the final series of Cobra Kai it is not the end for Daniel LaRusso, as a brand new Karate Kid film is set for release in 2025.

‘I don’t feel it’s the end’

Now the men have teased they expect the franchise to live on even past that.

William said of Cobra Kai’s send-off: “We’ve put a lot of work in. We’ve put our heart on the mat and I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised.

“It’s a great season, calling back to season one and it’s a great ending. If this is the end, it’s a great goodbye.

“But I don’t feel like this is the end of these characters.”

Ralph added: “Fans won’t allow it! Not for too long.

“It never ceases to amaze me the embrace and the longevity and the ability that the story can continue.

“It’s wonderful to play characters all these years apart and yet discover new things about them.

“People come up to me with tears in their eyes, telling me how they watched the movie with their dad or their mom, or they tell me that they wish they had a Mr Miyagi in their life.

“Moving forward, I just don’t want to take any of these moments for granted.

“I may not have done that 15 or 20 years ago. So my legacy is to stop and embrace all of that.”

Cobra Kai returns to Netflix on July 18.

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Johnny Lawrence, far left, and John Kreese – actors William Zabka and Martin Kove – stare down Daniel and mentor Mr Miyagi (Pat Morita) in The Karate KidCredit: Alamy

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Kreese training new teen recruits in Cobra KaiCredit: © 2024 Netflix, Inc.

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Johnny as a martial arts teacher in Cobra KaiCredit: © 2024 Netflix, Inc.

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Elisabeth Shue as Ali Mills with William Zabka in 1984Credit: Alamy

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Macchio and Shue in a clinchCredit: Alamy

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Elisabeth with Zabka in the third series of the Netflix spin-offCredit: Alamy