Ralph Macchio calls 'Cobra Kai' co-star William Zabka one of his best friends

NEW YORK, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Co-starring in six seasons of a TV series based on a beloved, 40-year-old movie is an extraordinary experience, one Ralph Macchio says he is lucky to have shared with his Karate Kid and Cobra Kai collaborator William Zabka.

"If you asked me 15 years ago if William Zabka and I would be doing 65 episodes, playing these characters, and, slowly but surely, becoming best friends off-camera, I'd be like, 'Yeah? Seriously? Not happening!' Not for any specific reason except, how could that happen? And that's precisely what has happened," Macchio, 63, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.

Part 3 of the sixth and final season of Cobra Kai premieres Thursday on Netflix.

The action-dramedy picks up decades after Macchio's teen underdog character Daniel LaRusso beat the arrogant rich kid Johnny Lawrence played by Zabka at a California karate tournament.

After initially forming competing dojos where they become senseis to a new crop of karate kids, Daniel and Johnny ultimately combine their different methods of teaching to instill balance in their students and prepare them for international competitions.

"He's one of my closest friends," Macchio added, sharing how his relationship with Zabka mirrors Daniel's feelings for Johnny.

"He and I share a unique window into this world we've been connected to from two totally different prisms and now we walk in lockstep emotionally, mentally and physically, as we take care of our aging tendons, ligaments and muscles," Macchio quipped. "It's super-special and unique. These characters evolve and are kind of 'different, but same,' to quote a Miyagi line from the original film."

By Season 6 of the show, Macchio said, Daniel and Johnny have good intentions and a solid understanding of each other.

They are no longer rivals.

"There's a shorthand between Daniel and Johnny now, and there is between Billy and I," Macchio said.

"There's almost silent conversation, conversations that we can have, whether it's us talking about life, ourselves or our families, our marriages, our kids or through Daniel and Johnny's eyes," Macchio said.

"We really share this victory together and, in a way, that's how Cobra Kai lands -- like a big fat 1980s movie with all the feels, tears and cheers of 1984 back up again, so I'm excited for everyone to see that."

Macchio said he is happy when young fans approach him because it means the franchise's legacy is being embraced by a new generation.

"In the industry, they call this a 'four quadrant show,'" Macchio said about the series' appeal to different age groups.

"I'll have an 8-year-old kid coming up to me and saying, 'Hey, don't you play the dad in my favorite TV show?' And I'm like: 'That's me. I'm the dad.' And then their parents are like, 'This [movie The Karate Kid] was Mom and Dad's first date,' or 'Grandma and Grandpa took me to see this when I was in junior high school.'"

Macchio said that, like The Karate Kid, Cobra Kai focuses on characters whom viewers of all ages are invested in and care about.

"There's maybe a handful of examples of that. Outside of Star Wars, I don't know the others that have that kind of human connection to these characters that represent a piece of your childhood, and yet they're propelling a relevant story 41 years later," he added.

"I'm just honored, grateful, privileged and I'm protective of it and just want to stick the landing."