Why Mary Mouser Has Gotten Into Arguments With Her Cobra Kai Co-Stars

Getty Mary Mouser poses with her "Cobra Kai" co-stars.

The series “Cobra Kai” focuses on the long-standing rivalry between Johnny Lawrence (William “Billy” Zabka) and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio). The two martial artists have their own dojos, Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do Karate, until they decide to co-teach to defeat John Kreese (Martin Kove) and his ruthless Cobra Kai students. While alliances change throughout the show, the martial arts students tend to be fiercely devoted to their respective karate instructors. 

In a March Interview, Mary Mouser Revealed Her Co-Stars Argue With Each Other

During a March interview with EUPHORIA. Magazine, Mary Mouser, who portrays Daniel’s daughter Samantha, revealed that the show’s cast also has strong feelings about where their characters practice martial arts. She explained that she typically spends time with her co-stars, who also play Miyagi-Do Karate students. 

“We all become members of our own little dojos within this realm, like while we’re on set. We’ll clump together at lunch, and sometimes it just works out that way because when I’m working the Cobra Kais aren’t working, or when they’re working I’m not working, so we kind of end up that way,” explained the actress. 

She then revealed that the cast sometimes argues over certain storylines from “The Karate Kid” film franchise and “Cobra Kai.”

“But it’s been funny to see, we become really protective and loyal to dojos and to our Senseis and we’d get into arguments; we’d be like ‘look haha this is funny and everything but the kick wasn’t illegal, he was egged on,’” said Mouser, referring to Daniel winning the 1984 All Valley Tournament by kicking Johnny in the face.

The actress went on to say that she and her co-stars have had “legitimate arguments over this stuff.” She also noted that her loyalty lies with Miyagi-Do, as Daniel’s late mentor Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) was a significant figure in “Samantha’s young life.” Mouser then revealed that she disagrees with the assessment that Daniel and his Miyagi-Do students are the villains of “Cobra Kai.” She told the publication:

[S]eeing people say, “Miyagi-Do are the bad guys, that’s the team that is causing all the problems,” and I was like, “Whoa, hold on a minute, that’s not the way I read the script. I read a very different script from the one you’re reading.” But it’s funny looking at it from a different perspective, it really is a thing you can do with this show, which is really cool but was a little funny like, “Hey there, hold on a minute.”

Mary Mouser Also Spoke About Sam Being Viewed as a Villain in 2019

While speaking on a panel at the Paley Center in 2019, Mouser also discussed that some fans view her character as a villain. She explained that she believes Sam has never intentionally been antagonistic. Rather, she grew up privileged and did not have a full appreciation for Mr. Miyagi’s teachings. She also stated that Sam’s decision to ignore her childhood friend Aisha (Nichole Brown) and her father in season 1 was not out of malice.

“I think she was a teenage girl — she was me a few years ago. Like struggling to figure out who she wanted to be and really just wanting to feel like she could fit in and doing everything she could do that and then realizing that she was amongst people she didn’t identify with,” said the actress.

To see more of Mouser, check out “Cobra Kai,” available on Netflix.

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