Ralph Macchio Talks Antagonist Daniel LaRusso in 'Paley Front Row: Cobra Kai' Exclusive Clip

Daniel LaRusso was looked at as the hero in The Karate Kid films in the 1980s. But in the Netflix series Cobra Kai, LaRusso is considered by some as the antagonist since the series tells the story from the point of view of Johnny Lawrence. The cast of Cobra Kai discussed the series in an upcoming episode of Paley Front Row presented by Citi, and Ralph Macchio, who plays LaRusso, is asked about being the antagonist in an exclusive clip.

"I would have thought it was preposterous and just ridiculous, like impossible," Macchio said when talking about his reaction to a younger LaRusso would think about being the bad guy in the story. "Once it came around, once the internet was invented and once people started talking about the illegal kick and everything else, at first, it was like, 'What?' And then all of a sudden it's like, 'Wow, it's 15 years. It's 18 years. It's 24 years. And people are talking.' That's great because that means it's relevant. And it's in the consciousness of the fabric of Americana or the world for that matter. And that movies are defined based on time and where they sit in history. And the fact that they're still talking about ours before the Cobra Kai series ignited was proof that it struck a chord and it meant something to people. So it's fun to keep that ball up in the air all these decades."

Macchio is joined by William Zabka (Lawrence), Xolo Maridueña (Miguel Diaz), Mary Mouser, (Samantha LaRusso), Courtney Henggeler, (Amanda LaRusso), and Executive Producers and Writers Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg. The behind-the-scenes look at Cobra Kai is presented by The Paley Center for Media and will be released on Paley Center's dedicated channel on Verizon Media's Yahoo Entertainment on Thursday, May 13 at 10 a.m. ET.

"The Paley Center is thrilled to continue our Paley Front Row presented by Citi series with the phenomenal cast of Netflix's Cobra Kai," Maureen J. Reidy, the Paley Center's President & CEO said in a press release. "The riveting season finale left viewers eager to learn what comes next, and we know the show's passionate fans are excited to hear from the cast during this highly anticipated discussion."

This conversation with the Cobra Kai cast comes on the heels of them wrapping up the production of the fourth season. It's likely the new season will start streaming on Netflix at the end of the year, and the cast could tease what to expect from Season 4 in their panel discussion.