YouTube Daniel LaRusso and Sam LaRusso have a conversation in "Cobra Kai" season 3.
For the past three years, Mary Mouser has played Samantha LaRusso, a West Valley High School student who happens to be Daniel LaRusso’s (Ralph Macchio) daughter on the martial arts series “Cobra Kai.” While Sam went through a phase where she rejected karate, and to a degree, Daniel, the teenager and her father are rather close. This may have led some fans to wonder how Mouser and Macchio feel about each other in real life.
Mary Mouser Spoke About Her Relationship With Macchio in an August 2021 Interview
During an August 2021 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Mouser discussed having Macchio as a co-star. She asserted that she has “had the best time working with Ralph Macchio.”
“He’s the kindest, coolest guy he makes me feel, you know, like I’m a part of the LaRusso family,” said Mouser.
The 25-year-old shared that her relationship with Macchio is similar to Samantha and Daniel’s bond.
“It’s funny because we feel like we’ve gotten to establish a little bit of that realistic like father-daughter relationship and I feel like it’s helped us in those types of scenes. There are moments where we genuinely get choked up for or genuinely get fired up when we see one another’s character get messed with it’s like, ‘hey wait a minute that’s my family don’t you dare,’” explained the actress.
Mouser went onto say that she and Macchio often spend time with each other during the show’s production. She explained that while shooting “Cobra Kai” season 4, which will be released in December 2021, the co-stars “kind of had a weekly standing daddy daughter date.”
“We would hang out and usually end up watching hockey because that’s his sport or we would watch a movie together and get dinner so it was really fun and it felt like a little family bonding time,” said Mouser.
Mary Mouser Shared Similar Sentiments About Macchio in May 2019
Mouser shared similar sentiments about Macchio during a May 2019 interview on the Zach Sang Show. She noted that she had an appreciation for all her “Cobra Kai” co-stars who appeared in “The Karate Kid,” like Macchio, William “Billy” Zabka, who plays Daniel’s rival Johnny Lawrence, and Martin Kove, who portrays ruthless sensei John Kreese.
“They’re so welcoming and just like big open arms and I just think that’s the craziest thing,” said Mouser.
She also shared that Macchio has been particularly kind toward her.
“I have to pinch myself like Ralph texts me on my birthday, he texts me on holidays like, ‘how are you doing.’ I’m like who else gets to say Ralph Macchio is like, ‘make sure you wear a coat when you go outside,’” said Mouser.
The actress also noted that she was able to spend time with Macchio in her home state of Arkansas. She explained that the actor was the grand marshall for the 2019 World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Before the event, he reached out to Mouser, who was visiting her hometown, Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
“He was like, ‘oh you have to come visit me I’m going to be in your neck of the woods.’ I was like, ‘oh yeah sure like I’m going to.’ Like he didn’t believe me because then I texted him I was like, ‘I’m here, where do I meet you?’ And he was like, ‘what!’ So yeah I got to hang out with him all day got to drink some green beer. He grand marshalled the parade, he did all of his waving and handing out necklaces and it was super fun,” said Mouser.
READ NEXT: Why Courtney Henggeler Is ‘Grateful’ To Play Ralph Macchio’s Wife