- Ralph appeared alongside Marissa Tomei and Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny.
- Ralph plays the saxophone, harmonica, and bass guitar.
- Ralph once saved a beached baby dolphin on the shores of a Malibu beach. Reporters tried to cover the story, but he wished to remain anonymous.
- Ralph earned critical acclaim for his role in the stage production of How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying from 1996-97.
- Ralph starred alongside Robert DeNiro and Burt Young in the Broadway production of Cuba and His Teddy Bear in 1986.
- Ralph headlined in the Off-Broadway play Magic Hands Freddy along with The Sopranos star Michael Rispoli in 2004.
- Ralph married Phyllis Fiero on April 5, 1987. They remain married today and share two children.
- Ralph looked to toughen up his boy-next-door image, when he took on the role of a hit man in 2003's A Good Night to Die.
- Ralph plays a young blues-loving urban man, who offers to take a forgotten blues legend back home to Mississippi in exchange for some songs, in Crossroads.
- Ralph took on the role as a troubled student, alongside Nick Nolte as a teacher, in Teachers.
- Ralph's role as Daniel LaRusso was such a great success, that two sequels followed, in 1986 and 1989.
- Ralph became a true leading man in 1984, in the role of Daniel LaRusso, an East coast kid moved to the coast of Southern California, in The Karate Kid. He played the film's hero, as he took on the school bullys by mastering karate.
- Ralph appeared in the Francis Ford Coppola film, alongside future stars Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, and C.Thomas Howell in The Outsiders. Based on the novel by S.E. Hinton, Ralph played the role of Johnny Cade, best friend to C. Thomas Howell's character, who played the lead.
- Ralph played a young man who asks for help so that he can achieve three things before he dies in ABC's The Three Wishes of Billy Grier in 1984.
- Ralph landed the lead in the CBS Afternoon Playhouse production, Dangerous Company in 1982.
- Ralph's exposure on television and screen led to a teen girl following, and his face was all over the teen-hearthrob magazines Tiger Beat and Teen Beat.
- Ralph made his fim debut in 1980, playing the operator "Chooch" in Mad magazine's Up The Academy.
- Ralph made his television series debut after having appeared in numerous commercials in 1980. He was picked to play a rebellious nephew on Eight is Enough.
- Ralph was interested in being an actor from the age of five, when he would watch them on television, and act out the scenes for himself.
- Macchio began his career in the late 1970's with commercials for Bubble Yum and Dr. Pepper.
- Macchio is a huge fan of rocker Bruce Springsteen.
- Ralph: Seeing my face all over the teen fan magazines was really embarrassing. I wanted to be appreciated as an actor, but I look back, and should have just been happy with any exposure.
- Ralph: My teen years were a blur. I was following my dreams, and falling into unbelievable roles. I forgot for a minute that it was a gift, not a right, and had to take some time to re-humble myself.
