How Old Was Ralph Macchio In The Outsiders?

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Francis Ford Coppola's "The Outsiders" is a good, yet not-quite-great adaptation of S.E. Hinton's coming-of-age classic. It yearns to be a throwback soundstage masterpiece, an evocation of the types of films its characters would go to see in the 1950s, but Hinton's novel resists such overt stylization. Rather than Vincente Minnelli, Coppola should've been aiming for the Italian neorealism of Vittorio De Sica. You need to feel Hinton's "Oklahoma," not Golden Age Hollywood's fabrication of Hinton's "Oklahoma."

While "The Outsiders" falls short because of this aesthetic choice, it does boast an embarrassment of excellent performances by an ensemble cast of rising young stars. Casting director Janet Hirshenson hit the bullseye on every role, giving an early boost to such blossoming talents as Matt Dillon, C. Thomas Howell, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, and Diane Lane. It's amazing to see them all as, save for Swayze (who was 31 at the time), looking so fresh-faced and, well, not quite innocent.

"The Outsiders" is, after all, about a group of poor kids who belong to a gang called the Greasers. They drink, smoke, and get into fights. Some are more prone to trouble than others, but, in the eyes of the community, they're all delinquents. The three main characters of "The Outsiders" are Ponyboy Curtis (Howell), Dallas "Dally" Winston (Dillon), and Johnny Cade (Macchio). If you were to guess the ages of the three actors based on appearance, you'd likely say Macchio was the youngest of the trio. If so, you'd absolutely be wrong.

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Born on November 4, 1961, in Huntington, New York, Ralph Macchio was discovered by a talent agent at the age of 16, and was 19 when he was cast in Robert Downey, Sr.'s raunchy comedy "Up the Academy." "The Outsiders" wound up being his first major role, and he was sensational as the good-hearted Johnny, who's described as a "puppy that has been kicked too many times." He dies a hero by rescuing children from a burning church, but it's heartbreaking because his short life was filled with so much sadness.

Macchio was spot-on casting for puppy-dog Johnny, but he was actually three years older than Dillon and five years older than Howell. Though he was in his early 20s, he went on to play bullied high-schooler Daniel LaRusso in "The Karate Kid" and a troublemaking teenager in Arthur Hiller's "Teachers" before moving on to more grown-up parts. But truth be told, he still looks awfully boyish as the adult LaRusso in "Cobra Kai." Macchio is the definition of a "baby face."