Trivia: With his short slender build, large brown eyes, and abundant hair, actor Ralph Macchio has often appeared to be the perennial adolescent -- a fact that has sometimes hindered his career. The actor is best known for his work in the phenomenally popular Karate Kid (1984), in which the then twenty-two year old actor played a troubled 14-year-old boy who is helped by a sage karate instructor. Macchio has been in show business most of his life; born in Long Island, he began performing in local musical productions as a young teenager. At 16, he began working in TV commercials, and before he had even graduated from high school had appeared in the adolescent comedy Up the Academy (1980), though he did not appear in another film until working in Francis Ford Coppola's epic of teenage rivalry The Outsiders (1983). Following the Karate Kid, Macchio began working in a series of minor films, such as the successful My Cousin Vinny (1992). He continued to work on television and on stage, even after his teen heart-throb days were over, appearing on Broadway opposite Robert De Niro in 1986 in Cuba and His Teddy Bears. He also appeared in the next two Karate Kid sequels, along with films like Dangerous Company and Too Much Sun. In 2002, Macchio tried his hand at screenwriting and directing, both helming and penning the short film Love Thy Brother. In 2006, the actor took a comedic turn in the sports comedy Beer League. Macchio would remain active for years to come, appearing most notably on the popular series Ugly Betty.

Trivia: Best known to audiences as Mr. Miyagi, Ralph Macchio's mentor in the "wax on, wax off" school of combat in the 1984 hit The Karate Kid, Noriyuki "Pat" Morita is the most prominent Japanese-American actor of his generation. Morita is also well known for having played Arnold, the amiable diner owner on the hit television series Happy Days, for two non-consecutive seasons (1975-1976 and 1982-1983). His status as one of the most familiar actors of Asian descent kept him working in a variety of projects throughout the 1980s and '90s.Having spent part of his youth in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, Morita nonetheless emerged with his sense of humor intact, giving up work as a computer programmer to concentrate on stand-up comedy in the early '60s. After a number of nightclub and TV variety show appearances, Morita found his first film role in 1967's Thoroughly Modern Millie as a stereotypical ethnic henchman. His natural affability soon began shining through, winning Morita his role on Happy Days for the 1975-1976 season. As Arnold, Morita interacted with Richie, Fonzie, and company with a memorable combination of good humor and exasperation. He returned to the gig in 1982-1983 after a failed attempt to front his own series (the critically lambasted Mr. T and Tina in 1976), a number of small film roles, and guest appearances on such shows as The Love Boat and Magnum P.I. His major pop culture breakthrough was the role of janitor and karate master Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid. An eccentric tutor who at first appears to be using his student for an endless variety of household chores, Miyagi soon reveals the method behind his training, turning the scrawny Daniel (Macchio) into a confident fighter, while also instilling an important message that violence should remain a last resort. The exceedingly popular film made Morita a household name, and audiences were left with the indelible image of a jolly and wise old soul trying desperately to catch a fly with a pair of chopsticks. Morita reprised the role for the two sequels starring Macchio in (1986 and 1989), as well as The Next Karate Kid, which starred future Oscar winner Hilary Swank, in 1994.In the late '80s, Morita found the success that had previously eluded him in television solo efforts with the two-season detective series Ohara (1987-1989). In 1987, he also wrote and starred in the World War II romance Captive Hearts, a film about a pilot shot down over Japan who falls in love with a village woman. Morita plays the village elder who saves the young pilot from execution.Morita spent the 1990s continuing to work regularly as a character actor in both television and movies. His film roles included Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993,) and vocal work as the Emperor in Disney's Mulan (1998). He guest starred on such shows as The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Diagnosis Murder, and The Hughleys, and had a recurring role as Mr. Tanaka on Baywatch.

Trivia: American actress Elisabeth Shue was first seen on a national basis as Jackie Sarnac, teenaged daughter of Air Force colonel Raynor Sarnac on the 1984 TV series Call to Glory. She spent the next few years concentrating on "best girl" film roles: girlfriend to Ralph Macchio in The Karate Kid (1984), to Tom Cruise in Cocktail (1988), and to Michael J. Fox in the second and third Back to the Future flicks. She gave a marvelous interpretation of resourceful teenager Chris Parker in 1987's Adventures in Babysitting and was the daughter Sally Field never knew in Soapdish (1991). In 1996, Elisabeth Shue was nominated for an Academy award for her starring role opposite Nicolas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas. Shue shone again playing Woody Allen's much-younger girlfriend in Deconstructing Harry (1997). Shue is the sister of TV actor Andrew Shue, who played Billy on the popular Fox series Melrose Place.

Trivia: Like many New York actors, Martin Kove was willing to go unbilled to pick up extra paychecks in such East Coast-filmed efforts as Little Murders (1971) and Last House on the Left (1972). By 1984, Kove was pulling down third billing in such films as The Karate Kid, wherein he played Kreese, the "bad" karate expert who trained the film's principal heavy William Zabka for his bout against the simon-pure Ralph Macchio (Kove replaced Chuck Norris, who turned down the role of Kreese because he didn't want karate trainers to be shown in an unsympathetic light). Martin Kove's work on series TV has included the roles of detective Victor Isbecki on Cagney and Lacey and an extraterrestrial named Jesse on Hard Time on Planet Earth.

Trivia: Made her acting debut off Broadway in the original production of Godspell in the early 1970s; also appeared on Broadway in Grease before moving to Los Angeles in 1978. Played one of TV's first openly gay women on the ABC soap-opera parody Soap in 1979. Made her film debut in the 1979 comedy Fast Break, but her best-known movie role is Lucille LaRusso (the mother of Ralph Macchio's character) in The Karate Kid (1984) and The Karate Kid Part III (1989). Has had guest roles on more than 50 TV series. Longtime companion Bob Griffard is a TV veteran whose behind-the-camera credits include the ABC sitcoms Two of a Kind, Going Places, Step by Step and Perfect Strangers.

Trivia: Supporting actor, onscreen from the '80s.

Trivia: Actor Chad McQueen typically plays leads in low-budget action films. He made his film debut in Hadley's Rebellion (1983) and played Dutch in the first two Karate Kid films. McQueen is the son of actress Neile Adams and actor Steve McQueen.

Trivia: Black supporting actor, former juvenile, onscreen from the '70s.

Trivia: Character actor Larry Drake worked steadily on television and in feature films since making his feature-film debut in This Stuff'll Kill You (1971). Though the burly actor has played roles ranging from rednecks to murderous doctors (Dr. Giggles) to detectives (Power 98), Drake is best remembered for his convincing portrait of gentle, mentally retarded Benny on the NBC television series L.A. Law (1986-1994). Drake continued working through the '00s; he died in 2016, at age 66.

Trivia: Supporting actor, onscreen from the '70s.