Ralph Macchio on "Dancing With The Stars": "I root for anyone over 40"

(CBS News) Ralph Macchio knows how Gavin DeGraw feels after leaving the "Dancing With the Stars" stage.

The 50-year-old actor appeared on NBC's celebrity dance series last year and said he's been watching the show this season, particularly because he's still good friends with his dance partner, Karina Smirnoff. She teamed with singer-songwriter DeGraw this year, but they were eliminated on Tuesday night.

"I check in," Macchio said about the show. "Karina and I are great friends, so we're in touch all of the time. I check in when I can. I hear my family yelling at the television in the distance."

So, who's his favorite?

"I always root for anyone over 40 -- and now anyone close to 50," Macchio joked, taking a dig at his own age. "I joke, 'You're cheating if you're any younger than that.' I would have loved to have done the show when I was 25."

When asked whether he would consider another reality show, Macchio told CBSNews.com, "Instinctively I would say no. That one ["DWTS"] creates the best platform -- if you present yourself well it does not aim to be train-wreck TV. It does aim to support even if it manipulates sometimes."

The "Karate Kid" star has a few other projects keeping him busy. He recently taped an episode of Fran Drescher's new series, "Happily Divorced."

"It went great," he said. "It leaves with a cliffhanger. They're going to have to solve it. She's torn between two lovers, and I'm one of them."

That means Macchio will likely make another appearance on the TV Land series.

Macchio is also expected to appear in the upcoming film, "Alfred Hitchcock and the Making Of Psycho," starring  Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Biel.