Two ‘Cobra Kai’ Stars Have the Same Chronic Health Condition

Getty The cast of "Cobra Kai" attends the premiere screening of 'Cobra Kai' Season 2

Mary Mouser, 25, plays Samantha LaRusso on the acclaimed series “Cobra Kai.” During the show’s second season, Sam gets into a brutal fight with Cobra Kai student Tory (Peyton List), which leaves her with noticeable scars on her upper arm. In the third season, the Miyagi-Do student covers up her scars but eventually feels confident enough to show off the markings.

Mary Mouser Discussed Having Type 1 Diabetes in a January Interview

During a January 2021 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Mouser revealed that she identified with Sam’s struggle to accept her scars.

“Sam’s got scars now, which I was also really proud to bare in the sense that, you know, I think that a lot of people live with, you know, with physical markers that at first, you don’t know how to deal with them,” said the actress.

Mouser then explained that she “wear[s] an insulin pump” as she is “type 1 diabetic.”

“When I first got my pump, I remember trying to get really creative about how to hide it,” said the actress. “I was like where can I put this thing, like, you know, what pocket can I invent to hide it in so no one will see.”

The 25-year-old went on to say that, like her character, she became more accepting of her physical differences.

“Now I’m just like, ‘yeah that’s my insulin pump, you want to hear all about it, I’ll tell you,’” said the actress.

Mouser then noted that her co-star, Gianni DeCenzo, who plays Sam’s Miyagi-Do teammate Demetri, also has type 1 diabetes. Earlier in the interview, she had noted that they co-starred on “a show called ‘Saint Francis’” when she was “16 or 17.”

The actress explained that when she first met DeCenzo, she had been diagnosed with “diabetes for three or four years.” However, he did not receive his diagnosis until after the “Saint Francis” pilot was filmed.

“I only found out that he was diabetic at crafty during season 1 of ‘Cobra Kai’ and I looked over and I was like, ‘oh you drink Diet Cokes, I do that because I’m type 1 diabetic.’ And he was like, ‘yeah me too.’ And I was like, ‘what!’ So like out of all the people in the universe, he got diagnosed in that little window of time where we didn’t know each other really that well, which I thought was really kind of cool,” said the actress.

Gianni DeCenzo Has Spoken About Working With Mary Mouser

In a separate January Entertainment Weekly interview, DeCenzo discussed his experience working alongside Mouser. He brought up the fact that he “actually worked with her previously on a show,” which “didn’t get picked up.” He went on to say that “she actually played [his] older sister in that.”

The actor then revealed that “when [he] first went on [the] set” of “Cobra Kai,” he and Mouser initially “didn’t recognize each other.” He explained that his mother had to point the actress out to him. He proceeded to speak highly of his “Cobra Kai” co-star.

“I’ve had, you know, the pleasure of working with her in the past. She’s great, but yeah, it’s just really fun to be able to work with her,” said the 19-year-old.

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