Ralph Macchio Explains His 'Young Gene': 'Blame My Parents'

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"Cobra Kai" star Ralph Macchioknows that his often self-described "young gene" can be taken as a confusing term by some parties, but thankfully he's here to clear the air on the issue as a whole.

For this week's issue of People, the "Karate Kid" star broke down why he still maintains such a youthful appearance despite being 59 years old, explaining how good genes, lifestyle choices, and overall happiness in life have contributed to the star looking the way he does.

Macchio attributes his considerably youthful glow to a lot of good family genes, and jokingly refers to his parents as the blame for looking so young despite his age.

"Listen — I blame my parents," the star jokingly told the publication during their candid chat about his age. "They both look very young for their age. I have a youthful energy about me for some reason. A healthy lifestyle doesn't hurt. But I think I've just gotten lucky in the gene department."

Back in 1984, a 22-year-old Macchio starred in "Karate Kid," where he played as Daniel LaRusso, a young karate student that stole the hearts and minds of a generation with his role as a budding martial arts enthusiast coming into his own.

Although he later appeared as a college student in 1992 for his role in "My Cousin Vinny," Macchio was comfortable slipping right back into the same character as a karate student when "Cobra Kai" was released, thanks to how much cultural significance his initial role had.

"I always joke that if there's a fly in a restaurant," he says of the famous "Karate Kid" scene that defined his role in the film, "I have about nine seconds to get out before someone's handing me a pair of chopsticks."

Now Macchio, a father of two who is married to his high school sweetheart, Phyllis Macchio, said that now "Cobra Kai" is influencing a new generation just as it did roughly 30 years ago to the past generation that saw "Karate Kid" upon release.

"Kids see the show and then tell their parents, 'Hey, you should check this out. It's really cool,'" Macchio said of how younger generations seemingly react to his new role.

"And the parents say, 'What are you talking about? That was our first date movie!'" he went on to joke of the situation. "To go through the ebbs and flows of popularity for 36-plus years and now be in a place where parents, kids and even grandparents are sharing the same excitement is really special."