If you’re filming a video for a song called “The Karate Kid,” it makes sense to cast the OG Daniel LaRusso in it. On Tuesday morning (November 19), Coldplay unveiled the visual for their song named in honor of actor Ralph Macchio’s most beloved character, which appears on the expanded Full moon edition of the band’s recent Billboard 200 No. 1 album, Moon Music.

The Chris Candy-directed clip was filmed in Melbourne, Australia during Coldplay’s recent run of stadium shows. According to a release announcing the video, the band reached out Cobra Kai star Macchio after saying he thought “The Karate Kid” was a “beautiful song” when it was released last month.

“When Chris Martin showed up on your FaceTime and asked you to help make a video for what I thought was a beautifully emotional and moving song – a song inspired by a film I made over 40 years ago – there was only one answer, ” said Macchio, 63, about filming the clip in which he plays a real-life busker. “Having the opportunity to join Coldplay in Australia for one of their legendary live shows and collaborate on this music video was nothing short of a career highlight. The synergy with Chris, the band and our director Chris Candy was as pure as I have ever experienced. I’m excited to share this with the world.”

The video opens with Macchio lugging his busking gear to a park, where he puts on a jaunty “Shine On” sign and some dancing stuffed animals as he sits down at his keyboard to sing the earnest ballad. “As much as I could, as much as I tried/I just couldn’t find the light/The trees in front of the forest, the wars left and right/Umbrellas with the rain in them,” the actor syncs as everyone around ignores his performance or smiles as they walk by.

Dejected, Macchio decides to try a different approach, switching to tap dancing for his dinner as Coldplay singer Chris Martin sings, “Maybe we can share the rain / Maybe we can dance again / Maybe we can make the sky turn blue / Oh Daniel know how to make a dream/ How to make a dream come true/ Oh Daniel/ Could I be the one for you?”

When he has a chance to win a ticket to a Coldplay show, Macchio hoists a sign reading ‘Let Me Help’ when Martin suddenly starts having voice problems. The actor triumphantly takes center stage in front of the huge audience for his moment in the sun to end the uplifting clip.

Fans went crazy during the October 31 show at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium, where Martin did some excellent acting and pretended to lose his voice as he welcomed surprise guest Macchio to the stage. Macchio first played karate newcomer LaRusso in the original Karate kid film in 1986, as well as in the 1986 and 1989 sequels, and returned to his signature role in 2018 for the Cobra Kai series, now in its sixth season; he will also star in the upcoming film Karate Kid: Legends movie coming out next year.

Coldplay are on a break from their nearly three-year Music of the Spheres stadium tour, with the group hitting the road again on January 9 with the first of four shows at Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi. After stops in India, Hong Kong and Seoul, the tour returns to the US for the final run of its 2025 North American summer dates, beginning May 31 at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, CA. The billion-dollar outing will end in August/September next year. with a 10-show run at Wembley Stadium in London.

Watch ‘The Karate Kid’ video below.