He starred in the Karate Kid films when he was in his twenties, but actor Ralph Macchio looks like he hasn’t aged a day.
The now 60-year-old has got fans scratching their heads as to how he stays so youthful.
Explaining a possible reason for his age-defying looks, Ralph joked he “blamed his parents”.
Describing himself as having a “young gene”, the actor said both his mother and father look young for their age – and he believes this has been passed down to him.
Maybe it’s down to his Mediterranean heritage as his father, also called Ralph, is half Italian and half Greek, while his mother Rosalie is full Italian.
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“Listen – I blame my parents, “ the actor said in an interview with PEOPLE magazine.
“They both look very young for their age and I have a youthful energy about me for some reason.”
He added having a healthy lifestyle “doesn’t hurt” but said: “I think I’ve just got lucky in the gene department.”
Ralph has always looked younger than his years, even when he shot to fame aged 22 in the original 1984 Karate Kid film.
He played martial arts student Daniel LaRusso – a high school weakling turned bully buster – who learns karate from his friend and mentor, Mr. Miyagi.
It was such a hit Ralph went on to star in two further films in the franchise, with The Karate Kid II coming out in 1986 and The Karate Kid III being released in 1989.
These days he is back on our screens in TV series Cobra Kai reprising his role as Daniel LaRusso.
The show follows a down and out Johnny Lawrence as he reignites his rivalry with a now successful Daniel.
While it aired on YouTube Premium for the first two series, it has since been picked up by Netflix where series 3 is currently showing.
Although karate has always been in Ralph’s life because of his career – it might surprise fans to know he’s not actually a martial arts expert.
The dad-of-two, who has been married to wife Phyliss for 35 years, confessed he is more of a “martial arts appreciator” and has never entered karate’s formal belts system.
He told Yahoo : “In the second film, in Karate Kid: Part II, I had more time to train, so I got better at it. But in the first one, I only had a couple of weeks.”
Referencing one of the Karate Kid’s most famous scenes, he joked that if there is ever a fly in a restaurant “I have about nine seconds to get out before someone’s handing me a pair of chopsticks”.
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