Why Samantha's Book Assignment In Cobra Kai Means More Than You Think

The Outsiders is a tale of rival gangs in the 1960s: The working-class "greasers" and the upper-class socials known as "socs." The novel was made into a movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola in 1983, starring a plethora of young actors who went on to bigger things — Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, and ... Ralph Macchio.

As tough but sensitive Johnny Cade, Macchio made a big impression on the big screen just one year prior to his career-defining role in the Karate Kid, and it no doubt opened a lot of doors for him.

"When I look at a film like The Outsiders, which was my first big cinema role, I felt I was right in the center of that character," Macchio told the Independent. "I feel very proud of what I did there."

It was a role that taught Macchio to immerse himself in his characters. "For the two weeks before we shot the movie, [Coppola] would give the guys playing the socs nicer script binders and higher floors at the hotel," he said. "They had car service pickup. The greasers got their scripts with metal holding it together, lower floors at the hotel, and a van with no air conditioning. He was trying to set up the social class differences and create an environment where we did improvisations. At one point he gave me two or four dollars to get through the day and find a place to sleep. I wound up sleeping outside covered in newspapers, which is in the movie."