The studio and producers originally did not want Pat Morita to play Mr. Miyagi inThe Karate Kid. Ralph Macchio revealed the news in a recent interview, even admitting he was a bit skeptical at first. Morita sadly passed away in 2005 at the age of 73, but he was known on and off the screen as Mr. Miyagi for the rest of his life, no matter how many roles he had before or after, and Morita had a ton of TV and Movie roles over the years.
In 1984,Pat Moritawas probably best-known for playing Arnold fromHappy Days. When it came time to castThe Karate Kid, Morita’s name wasn’t anywhere near lists of actors that the studio was compiling at the time. However, director John G. Avildsen had other ideas. Ralph Macchio explains.
“Who was going to playMr. Miyagi? They were talking about Toshiro Mifune, the great Japanese actor who didn’t speak any English, so that would have been a challenge. But all the sudden Arnold fromHappy Daysshows up on video tape from Pat Morita and the studio did not want him. The producer did not want him. I was like, ‘Arnold, fromHappy Days?’ But John Avildsen was like, ‘I’ve read him and I’ve read you and I’m putting you guys in a room together.”
The Karate Kiddirector John Avildsen knew that Pat Morita was theright actorto take on the role of Mr. Miyagi. Ralph Macchio says, “Pat Morita and I got in a room together, just grabbed the pages, started reading. It was effortless. That magic that happened on the screen happened the first day we picked up the pages.” Macchio continued by noting that “[Morita] had Miyagi in his skin, in his mind, in his consciousness. I for whatever the reason, had the yin to the yang, literally the balance, that was the beginning of the cinema magic thatresonates to this day.”
The Karate Kidfranchise is back in popular culture, though it never really went away. In 2018, it was announced that a spin-off series,Cobra Kaiwas in the works. Instead of putting the focus on Daniel LaRusso again, the show takes a look at what happened to William Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence and balances out how the two men interact currently. Ralph Macchio recently revealed that he likes the way the show can cause viewers to change their allegiance, often times within the span of one episode. Sometimes Lawrence is the good guy, while Daniel LaRusso can come off as the villain.
Even though the Daniel LaRusso character can be seen in a gray area now, he is still trying to keep Mr. Miyagi’s legacy alive. Pat Morita may be gone, but his influence is all overCobra Kai, thanks to the work he put in back in 1984. The first two seasons of the viral sensation originally aired on YouTube Red, but they are now streaming on Netflix, where they have been given an even wider audience. you may watch the interview with Ralph Macchio above, thanks to theVanity Fair YouTubechannel.
