Ralph Macchio Recalls Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Curveballs’ on ‘Outsiders’ Set

Ralph Macchio is recalling Francis Ford Coppola’s intense direction on the set of The Outsiders. 

Macchio, 62, was part of the star-studded ensemble cast in the 1983 coming-of-age drama, which Coppola, 85, filmed after making The Godfather and Apocalypse Now.

“I was very professional — over professional — very excited with the opportunity, over-prepared, if you will,” Macchio exclusively recalled to Us Weekly while at the DGA Honors 2024 at the Director’s Guild Theater in New York City on October 17. “He would always throw me curveballs to get me out of my preparedness, to create more organic moments.”

Macchio, who portrayed Johnny Cade in the coming of age film, remembered one particularly “beautiful” scene he had “all planned out” exactly the way he wanted — before Coppola began to challenge him in unique ways. 

“[Coppola] kept telling me to do it again and to stop thinking. One time, he gave me a little rock and said, ‘Don’t look at this rock. Put it in your pocket, and during the scene, I want you to think about what color it is,’’’ he said. “And it actually helped because it took me out of over-analyzing.”

Macchio said he also “loved that rehearsal process.” The film was his big break alongside other young up-and-comers including Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe and Emilio Estevez. 

“Listen, he’s given birth to so many careers,” he told Us of Coppola. “The lesson I learned most from him is that films and art are defined over time. And I preach that all the time. You don’t remember what won the Oscar two years ago, but you talk about where you saw The Godfather, E.T., Apocalypse Now, or On the Waterfront. You remember where, when, and what you were doing.”

Coppola released his labor of love, Megalopolis, to mixed reviews in September. The big-budget sci-fi drama, which stars Adam Driver as well as Coppola’s nephew Jason Schwartzman, was made for $120 million and has collected just $12 million at the global box office.

As for Macchio, he recently celebrated season 6 of Cobra Kai, where he plays Daniel LaRusso, a character he reprised from The Karate Kid who now runs a martial arts studio. At the premiere’s red carpet in July, he reflected on his favorite moment filming the original Karate Kid alongside the late Pat Morita (Mr. Miyagi) after his experience on The Outsiders. 

“I always [go] back to the scene where [Morita as Miyagi] gives me the car and I say, ‘You’re the best friend I’ve ever had,’” Macchio told Us at the time. “It’s this pure, simple and genuine [scene]. Dead-on perfect. Realizing that all the chores add up to karate moves is a pretty big payoff scene. There’s so many [memorable scenes]. Getting my ass kicked – those were never my favorite scenes, but I got to win in the end.”

With reporting by Antonio Ferme