Ralph Macchio is the Karate Kid. Macchio, in our minds, will never be anything other than the Karate Kid. The 'Karate Kid' movies were a big part of our youth, but Macchio was permanently typecast from the moment he decided to take the part. That's something of a shame in terms of the rest of his career, but it's not as if he didn't have the chance to do something about it. He was offered a role that was far removed from his martial arts youth - he just didn't take it.
Macchio could have been the skateboarding kid screaming 'Doc!' and playing the guitar on stage in the 'Back to The Future' movie trilogy - worlds away from 'The Karate Kid.' If the stories are to be believed, he said no because he thought the film wasn't 'serious' enough. It was serious enough for Michael J. Fox, who took it and ran with it. Sadly for Macchio, those 'serious' roles never came looking for him.
Chefs made their way into celebrity land a while ago. But how many celebrities that weren’t trained as professional cooks are actually whizzes in the kitchen? Here are several that come to mind.
Actress Julia Roberts is confident about her cooking skills. “I’m quite a good cook,” she told E! News. “I’m like a closet home ec teacher…I can really cook anything.” Roberts has said she often cooks fish for herself and her kids. And speaking of her three children, “They think that I’m a good cook,” Roberts told People. “They actually told me that I should open a restaurant.” She also relishes cooking for the holidays, particularly shredded Brussel sprouts. Roberts hasn’t published a cookbook, but we did find recipes attributed to her for peach crisp and banana hemp muffins. Or you can make the same summer salad the actress supposedly eats.
Chrissy Teigen started off as a supermodel. Then her love of cooking filtered into her professional life too. At this point, she’s created recipes for a limited Blue Apron release and also just launched her own home and cooking line at Target named “Cravings,” after the two cookbooks she’s released. Teigen describes cooking as “a time of peace” for herself. So maybe peace out to her tuna melt sandwich or the fried chicken wings that are a favorite of her husband, John Legend.
Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, comes from a cooking Italian family. Her father started his own restaurant in New York and also published a cookbook. And apparently, Lady Gaga has inherited the family’s cooking genes. Her Instagram account occasionally features photos of her culinary activities. Sure, sometimes it’s topless cooking. But other times it’s more poignant like in the post she shared about her bringing food to the family of her dear friend who passed away. Want to try a Gaga/Germanotta family favorite? Check out her recipe for whole wheat pasta with a sweet fennel sauce.