It was the first significant adult role of his career. In 1992, he starred opposite Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei in the hit comedy My Cousin Vinny, playing William Gambini, who was wrongly accused of murder while passing through a small Alabama town. Macchio appeared in the 1986 film, Crossroads, portraying music student Eugene Martone. In the mid-1980s, Macchio's face began appearing on the covers of many teen "bubblegum" magazines such as Tiger Beat, 16, and Teen Beat. He continued this success with the film's sequels, The Karate Kid Part II and The Karate Kid Part III. Playing high school senior Daniel LaRusso, Macchio was actually in his early twenties when the film was made. In 1984, Macchio became known internationally following the release of the first Karate Kid film. Thomas Howell, Tom Cruise, Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, and Matt Dillon.
![dancing at the crossroads song dancing at the crossroads song](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6YnROtQrLFc/maxresdefault.jpg)
In 1983, he appeared as Johnny Cade in The Outsiders alongside many young actors who had yet to become major stars, such as C.
Dancing at the crossroads song series#
His on-screen debut was in the 1980 film Up the Academy, and his first major role was playing Jeremy Andretti in the television series Eight Is Enough. Macchio first appeared on American television commercials for products such as Bubble Yum and Dr Pepper. In a 1980 screen test, Macchio stated his family is from Naples.
![dancing at the crossroads song dancing at the crossroads song](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-nfOVWYOI88/maxresdefault.jpg)
His father is of half Greek and half Italian descent, and his mother is of Italian ancestry. He is the son of Rosalie (née DeSantis) and Ralph Macchio, Sr.
![dancing at the crossroads song dancing at the crossroads song](https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/street-performer-dancing-crossroads-bustling-city-hong-kong-china-feb-crowd-people-february-more-than-68616784.jpg)
Macchio was born in Huntington, New York.