How Old Daniel Is In Each Karate Kid Movie (& Cobra Kai)

Here's how old Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) was in The Karate Kid movies and in the sequel TV series, Cobra Kai. Introduced in 1984's The Karate Kid, Daniel was the hero of the first three films of the saga, alongside his beloved sensei Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita). In two of the three original films, Daniel and Miyagi's chief rivals were the Cobra Kai dojo, but the events of the original Karate Kid trilogy only spanned a little more of a year of Daniel's life in the mid-1980s.

Daniel was a transplant from Newark, New Jersey who moved to Los Angeles with his mother in the summer of 1984. The LaRussos were befriended by the quiet Okinawan handyman of their apartment complex after Daniel entered into a feud with his fellow high school students who were members of the Cobra Kai karate dojo. Mainly, Daniel drew the ire of Cobra Kai's karate champion Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), after he became romantically interested in Johnny's ex-girlfriend, Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue). Mr. Miyagi, who was secretly a karate master, became Daniel's sensei and trained him to fight in the All-Valley Karate tournament, with the object being to face the Cobra Kai and earn their respect so they would stop bullying LaRusso.

Related: Cobra Kai: Every Karate Kid Character Who Could Still Appear

After Daniel defeated Johnny and became 1984's All-Valley Karate Champion he traveled to Okinawa with Miyagi in the summer of 1985, as seen in The Karate Kid Part II. After they returned to LA in The Karate Kid Part III, Daniel had a falling out with Miyagi and was briefly coerced by Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) into becoming a Cobra Kai student, but he and John Kreese (Martin Kove) were merely tricking Daniel. LaRusso ultimately reunited with Mr. Miyagi and defended the All-Valley Karate Championship against Cobra Kai's Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan). Daniel and Johnny's story doesn't pick up again until Cobra Kai season 1, which was set in 2018.

Daniel LaRusso was born on December 18, 1966, so he was 17 when he moved to Los Angeles with his mother Lucille (Randee Heller) in The Karate Kid. Daniel actually turned 18 just before the 1984 All-Valley tournament, a milestone Miyagi celebrated by giving him a yellow 1947 Ford Super Deluxe convertible for his birthday. Daniel was also 18 the following summer when Ali dumped him and he accompanied Mr. Miyagi to Okinawa so his sensei could say goodbye to his dying father in The Karate Kid Part II. Daniel was still 18 in The Karate Kid Part III; the 1985 All-Valley Karate tournament presumably took place in December once again but Daniel wasn't shown celebrating another birthday so it's not clear if he was still 18 or if he was already 19 when he defeated Mike Barnes.

According to Cobra Kai season 1, Daniel and Miyagi opened a bonsai tree store together in 1989 when Daniel was 23, but the store failed, leading Daniel to enter the car dealership business. Daniel married Amanda (Courtney Henggeler) and opened the LaRusso car dealership with her in 2002 when Daniel was 36; their daughter Samantha (Mary Mouser) was born later that year. Sadly, Mr. Miyagi passed away on November 15, 2011, when Daniel was 45. When Cobra Kai picks up Johnny and Daniel's story in 2018, Daniel is 52 years old.

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In real life, Ralph Macchio was born in 1961, which makes him 5 years older than Daniel. Macchio was 57 during Cobra Kai season 1, which makes him older than Pat Morita was in the original Karate Kid film; the legendary actor was only 48 when he first played Mr. Miyagi. Cobra Kai season 2 takes place the following year after season 1 so Daniel LaRusso is currently 53 before Cobra Kai season 3 begins.

Next: What To Expect From Cobra Kai Season 3