Daniel LaRusso
fictional character from the Karate Kid franchise
Daniel LaRusso is a fictional character and the main protagonist of The Karate Kid media franchise portrayed by Ralph Macchio. He was created by American screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen. Daniel is introduced as the titular protagonist of The Karate Kid (1984) and its sequels, The Karate Kid Part II (1986) and The Karate Kid Part III (1989). Nearly three decades later, Macchio reprised the role in the sequel television series Cobra Kai (2018–2025), which concluded with its sixth season. Additionally, Macchio stars in Karate Kid: Legends (2025), marking his first return as Daniel in a film from the franchise since the third installment.
In the first film, Daniel is depicted as an Italian-American 17-year-old who moves from New Jersey to the San Fernando Valley with his widowed mother Lucille. After becoming attracted to Ali Mills, Daniel becomes the target of bullying at the hands of Ali's arrogant ex-boyfriend and local karate champion Johnny Lawrence. To overcome the harassment, Daniel seeks tutelage in karate at the hands of his apartment's maintenance man Mr. Miyagi and is ultimately able to defeat Johnny at the All-Valley Under-18 Karate Tournament. In the sequels, Daniel continues to train under Miyagi and accompanies him to Okinawa, while also continuing to come into conflict with Johnny's karate dojo, Cobra Kai.
The public source identifies “Daniel LaRusso” as fictional character from the Karate Kid franchise. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Daniel, LaRusso and fictional.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Daniel LaRusso”, the useful work is to connect “fictional character from the Karate Kid franchise” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q55315887. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1984, 1986, 1989 and 2018.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Daniel LaRusso”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Daniel LaRusso primary sources, Daniel LaRusso archive and Daniel research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Daniel LaRusso”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Daniel LaRusso” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.