Ralph Macchio was just 21 when he scored the role of Daniel LaRusso in “The Karate Kid.” Now at 63, he’s reprising that role one more time in “Karate Kid: Legends,” which debuted on the big screen on Friday.

“It feels like a lifetime ago, but also yesterday, because of the relevance,” he said during an interview at Sony Pictures’ New York headquarters the day after the film’s premiere.

Despite the success of “The Karate Kid” franchise — three sequels, and a spin-off, “Cobra Kai,” on YouTube and Netflix that ran for six seasons — Macchio still has a hard time wrapping his head around his character’s longevity.

“I would love to say it was always part of my vision to be back on the big screen 41 years later with a new kid and be the number-one Netflix show for a couple of years,” he said. “But I don’t think anyone could have predicted that.”

In his self-deprecating manner, Macchio attributed the series’ success in large part to the screenwriters, directors and his original costar, Pat Morita, who played Mr. Miyagi, LaRusso’s mentor. Morita died in 2005.

“I recognized at the time that the late, great Pat Morita, as Mr. Miyagi, and myself, had a kind of ease of working with each other,” he said. “It just felt kind of magical when I saw it on the screen. The chemistry is just off the charts. He was so easy to work with and we were just in the skins of those characters. It was like the perfect glove fit.”

Growing up in Huntington, N.Y., Macchio probably never envisioned the kind of success he’s achieved. He started dancing at the age of 3, was discovered at 16 and snagged his first key role in the television series “Eight Is Enough” in 1980. That lasted one season. “Nine was too many,” he said with a laugh.

From there, he got the role of Johnny Cade in the 1983 film, “The Outsiders,” before signing on for “The Karate Kid” the next year, playing a high school student who was bullied until he learns karate from Miyagi.

“When I look back, that was the otherworldly blessing of this franchise,” he said. “Even at the premiere of ‘Karate Kid: Legends,’ the audience was up on their feet, and they had a blast. It was like reliving that for a new kid, a new story. But none of that exists without the origin of that relatable story that was larger than life and became an inspiration for generations.”

In “Legends,” a kung fu prodigy, Li Fong, played by Ben Wang, attracts the attention of a local karate champion and embarks on a journey to enter the ultimate karate competition. In the film, he’s aided by his kung fu teacher Mr. Han, played by Jackie Chan, and LaRusso.

For Macchio, he’s hoping the new film will be a smash, of course, but what’s more important is that he “protects the character and the franchise. We always have to remember the fans that got us here and what they’ve been in love with for 40 years even though we’re telling a new, fresh story.”

Macchio admitted that making the film without Morita was bittersweet, but it also opened the door to working with the legendary Chan.

“Jackie Chan is Jackie Chan,” he said. “We just love him. He’s funny — he’s like the youngest kid on the set at 71. His enthusiasm is contagious.”

Although Morita is gone, he and Macchio will always be joined, not only by “The Karate Kid” films but also their adjacent stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Macchio received his star in November of last year.

“That was amazing because I had my family there,” he said of his wife of 38 years, Phyllis, and their two children. “I ended my speech that day remembering my son, who had found a bunch of teen magazines, saying to his older sister: ‘Dad was huge, and we missed the whole thing.’ But there they were. I was getting the Hollywood star, I was in the ‘Cobra Kai’ series, I just finished filming ‘Karate Kid: Legends,’ I had just done a Coldplay video in Australia that came out of nowhere. It was just this massive resurgence, and they didn’t miss it. That was kind of wonderful.”

And having his star next to Morita’s was also wonderful. “It just makes all the sense in the world,” he said. “Regardless of all the other work I’ve done — be it ‘My Cousin Vinny,’ ‘The Outsiders,’ my theater work, other television, ‘The Karate Kid’ is a landmark piece of pop culture. And it’s pretty good, one-stop shopping for ‘The Karate Kid’ fans.”

So is this the last “Karate Kid” film or are there others in his future? “Is it ‘Karate Kid: The Final Reckoning,’” he said with a smile, referencing the last “Mission Impossible” film that was just released. “We’ll have to see how the movie does,” he said. “If it’s successful, I’m sure the studio would relook at it. But whether Daniel LaRusso fits…we’ll see.”

Much like his character, Macchio’s personal style has also evolved over the years since he first started acting. For his WWD interview, as well as a “Good Morning America” appearance, he wore a patterned Paisley & Gray suit with a black button-down shirt, black loafers and an Omega watch that he dressed down with black jeans for other promotional appearances.

“I’ve never been a big fashion guy, but I’m really appreciating it and and venturing out more,” he said. Following his appearance on GMA, he said he was flattered that the show’s cohost Michael Strahan weighed in on his outfit. “Strahan is a fashion guy, and at the end of the interview, he said, ‘Love the suit, by the way.’  I texted my wife: ‘Strahan loved the suit.’”  

It’s a far cry from 1984 when Macchio said he opted for “whatever The Gap had, whatever was comfortable: a hat, sweats. I still wear sweats a lot. I have ‘Cobra Kai’ sweats that some of the cast gave me and those are my go-to every morning. But now, my wife and kids will pick out something because they know I’ll just wear a black T-shirt and hoodie.”

He recalls sporting a jacket with a bold feather-inspired print for the premiere of “Cobra Kai” Season Six. He said he opted for the piece because the pattern reminded him of crane feathers and referenced the crane kick LaRusso has famously perfected over the years. “I play around with stuff like that. And last night, I wore a bright blue, double-breasted suit with checkered threading. I thought it looked smart and kind of rich. So that’s where I’m starting to venture out.”

Although he’s in his early 60s, Macchio is still in shape, thanks to his continuing practice of karate. “I just got my black belt in Okinawan Goju-ryu-style karate so this is the first movie I’ve done where I was an actual black belt.”

So what’s next for the actor now that both “Karate Kid” and “Cobra Kai” have ended? Macchio isn’t sure.

“Depending on how you look at it, it could be scary, terrifying or comforting. So I’ll try to lean into ‘comforting’ and create my own opportunities.” That could involve working on “something smaller that doesn’t require the pressure of being in a franchise,” doing more directing or even writing a children’s book, he said. His memoir, “Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me,” that he penned “without a ghostwriter,” he said proudly, in 2022, was a New York Times bestseller.

“I think it could be fun to explore something with humor,” he said. “I love sarcasm and enjoy that I have that Larry David part of my personality that people don’t know. So maybe there’s a way to explore that, but I don’t know. I haven’t done a deep dive yet.”