Looking forward to FACTS: Cobra Kai

Mary Matilyn Mouser was born on May 9th, 1996 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas (U.S.). She was born the third child of Scott and Tina Mouser and has two older siblings: an older brother named Aaron and an older sister named Laura. Little Mary was very creative and she talks about how she and her siblings were always playing pretend and performing. This creativity was nurtured by their parents Scott and Tina.  Mary was just 5 years old, when she was chosen to be a photo double for Mel Gibson's daughter in the movie "Signs" (2002). While it was a small role that was mostly behind the scenes, it did introduce her to the world of filmmaking. This sparked a flame in Mary and she knew she wanted to become an actress. From this point on Mary began auditioning on a regular basis and started landing roles in commercials, voice work and minor roles in TV. 

In 2006/2007 she voiced the adventurous 6 year old Eloise in the series "Me, Eloise" (2006-2007)  and "Eloise in Hollywood" (2007). In these early years of her career, Mary built up quite a résumé. She had minor guest roles in series and movies like: "Without a Trace" (2004, as Amy Rose), "Scrubs" (2005, as Girl), "Monk" (2005, as Princess girl), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2005, as Cassie McBride), "The King of Queens" (2005, Marissa), "L.A. Blues" (2007, as Sara) and "State of Mind" (2007, as Ashley Petrovsky). In 2007-2008, Mary played her first starring role as Mia Weller in "Life is Wild". Behind the scenes, Mary's parents kept her grounded, by doing things normal kids would also do (like playdates, homework and family time). In her early teens Mary was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and she spoke openly about dealing with her illness. Mary talks about how the diabetes is a part of who she is, but it doesn't define her. According to Mary she just has to plan things a bit differently. After completing her school (mostly homeschooling), Mary can still count on a steady stream of jobs. In 2012, she plays the role of Savannah in the TV movie "Frenemies", also starring Zendaya. From 2011 until 2013, Mary plays the role of Lacey Fleming in 36 episodes of the medical drama "Body of Proof". 

In 2014, she played Audrey Gibson in the slapstick comedy "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day", also starring Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner. In 2016, she plays the role of Mary Jones in 5 episodes of Hulu's teen horror show "Freakish". In 2017, casting began for a new show called "Cobra Kai", which was going to serve as a sequel in the "Karate Kid" franchise. Show creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg were looking for young actors, who could carry the incredible legacy of "Karate Kid" and could also appeal to a new generation of viewers. One of the characters they were casting for was Daniel LaRusso's daughter Samantha. When Mary auditioned for Sam, she had no idea how big the show was going to be. At first she didn't even know it was part of the "Karate Kid" franchise. Her first audition for Sam was self taped (which is pretty common in Los Angeles nowadays). She read some scenes , which were mostly between Sam and her father. The casting directors were very much impressed, by Mary's on screen chemistry and called her in for meetings with the producers and doing in person chemistry reads. The most important chemistry read for the role of Sam was the one with Ralph Macchio, who was gonna play her father Daniel. Ralph later said that during these chemistry reads,  he instantly felt connected to Mary.

At this point it also became clear that the show would have real karate in it. Mary didn't have a background in martial arts and did not know any karate at all, but she was eager to learn. Later she said that one of the things that drew her to the role of Sam was the fact that she was a fighter, but also a thinker. The show's creators saw in Mary the perfect Sam and thought she would fit the character naturally. Co-creator John Hurwitz said that Mary was Sam from the moment she walked into the room. There was no doubt and Mary landed the role that would change her life forever. When her manager called her to tell her she booked the show, Mary said she just screamed and immediately called her parents, who were also over the moon. Mary used to watch "Karate Kid" with her dad, so getting to play Daniel LaRusso's daughter was surreal. It was also the moment that the hard work began and what followed were several weeks of martial arts training as well as stunt training. Mary said that working with the stunt team was one of the hardest parts of the preparation, but also the most rewarding. Besides the physical part, there was also the research part. Mary dove into the world of "Karate Kid". She rewatched the original movies multiple times and she also studied Ralph Macchio's performance to find parallels in order to play a convincing daughter.

During the preparations, Mary also spent time with her castmates, especially the youngsters. After all of these preparations, the filming of season 1 took place in Atlanta. Mary said she felt the weight of the "Karate Kid" legacy on her shoulders, from the moment she stepped onto set. She also said that the first time she met Ralph Macchio was a true 'pinch me' moment. They clicked immediately and that was crucial for the father-daughter chemistry they needed. Mary later compared the filming of season 1 with summer camp, consisting of long days with lots of energy. The cast felt like family; most of the youngsters were of the same age and the older guys ( William Zabka and Ralph Macchio), were the two cool uncles. "Cobra Kai" premiered in 2018 and quickly grew out to be a huge global hit. The character of Sam, was one of the fan favorites and gained a huge fan following. In 2020, "Cobra Kai" moved from YouTube Premium to Netflix and reached an even bigger audience. Mary later mentioned she was completely unprepared for that level of visibility. Over night their loyal fanbase skyrocketed to millions and millions of viewers worldwide. Suddenly people started the to recognize her on the street and it took her career to a whole other level. Between season 1 and the filming of season 2, Mary continued to train hard and work with the stunt team to fine tune her techniques. There were scenes in season 2 (like the school fight) that contained choreographic fight sequences that took weeks to rehearse. She claims that the school scene in particular was exhausting, but it turned out great. Over the seasons, Sam grew out to be one of the anchors of the show. 

Tanner Emanuel Buchanan was born on 8 December 1998 in Lima, Ohio (U.S.). He is the only child of Steve and Marlona Buchanan (both industrial engineer). Tanner went to Glandorf Elementary in Glandorf, Ohio. As a child he was very active; he played soccer, baseball and basketball. His mother, who has a black belt in taekwondo introduced young Tanner to the martial arts and he took taekwondo lessons as a child (not knowing that this would come in handy in his later career). He was quite a busy child, but his true passion was dancing. Tanner started tapdancing at 5 years old and soon he became very good at it. When he was 8/9 years old he went to New York to compete at a national level. At the event, he was noticed by some agents and managers, who asked him if he ever tried acting. He told them he didn't, but all of this did make him curious and he certainly wanted to have a go at it. His parents talked about it and decided it was worth trying. Tanner's mom quit her job and the two of them moved to Burbank, California to pursue an acting career. His father, who travelled a lot for work earned enough to support the family. The deal was to try it for 6 months and see how far they would come (and if Tanner still wanted to do it).

In Burbank (California) they rented a one bedroom apartment. They were uncertain about how long their adventure would last, so they bought the bare minimum of furniture (so they could get rid of it fast in case they would have to move  back). Within a few weeks, Tanner landed a few national commercials and that marked the beginning of a longer adventure. Tanner's mom enrolled him in online schooling, while Tanner started landing minor roles in movies and TV shows like: "Modern Family" (2018, as kid), "The Real St. Nick" (2012, as cynical kid), "Grey's Anatomy" (2013, as Lucas), "Major Crimes" (2013, as Michelle), "The Goldbergs" (2013-2014, as Evan Turner), "Growing up Fisher" (2014, as Slade), "Mixology" (2014, as Young Dorn), "The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards" (2015, as Bobby Bell) and "Girl Meets World" (2015, as Charlie Gardner). In the meantime, he made his homework on set between takes and he started to make a name for himself as a reliable, disciplined young actor.

Somewhere in 2015, ABC began casting for a new show called "Designated Survivor". The part of Leo Kirkman, required a high school kid going through a lot of stuff, when his father (played by Kiefer Sutherland) suddenly becomes the President of the United States. Tanner first did a self taped audition and this was sent to the casting agents of the show in Toronto (where it would be filmed). Tanner got a callback and met with the producers (via video), before he had to do a chemistry read with Kiefer Sutherland.. Tanner later said that Sutherland's calmness helped him to get the role. Once he booked the show, he flew to Toronto and joined the rest of the cast. Eventually he played the role of Leo Kirkman for 2 season (2016-2018) in 19 episodes. In later interviews Tanner said that his time on the show was  a masterclass in subtle acting and professionalism. He said that watching Kiefer Sutherland prepare for scenes, changed the way he looked at scripts entirely.  While he was still wrapping up his last episodes for "Designated Survivor", Tanner was already auditioning for new roles.

When he got the audition for a new show called "Cobra Kai" he knew it was going to be a continuation of the "Karate Kid" movies. Tanner's mom was a big fan of the original movies, so he was very excited to go in for the audition. After that first audition, he got a callback and had to read a scene with Billy Zabka (who was going to play his father Johnny Lawrence). Ralph Macchio (who played Daniel LaRusso) and the show's writers were also at this second audition. Afterwards, Tanner had to fly back to Toronto, because he had to shoot an episode of "Designated Survivor". It wasn't long before the people of "Cobra Kai" called him to tell him he landed the role of Robby Keene. From that point on, things went very fast and little over a week later Tanner flew to Atlanta for three months, to train and subsequently shoot the first season. The show became a success and soon a second season was ordered. Tanner could not wait to get back on set for season 2, because he had so much fun shooting the first season. Season 2 meant more training, more stunts and also more fun. Tanner later said that the cast and crew of the show really felt like one big family. During the filming of season 2, Tanner grew especially close to cast mate Mary Mouser (who as we already described played the role of Sam LaRusso) and soon they became inseparable. Over the years that followed Mary and Tanner gradually grew out to be more than just friends and the pair announced their engagement earlier this year. Eventually Tanner played the role of Robby Keene in 65 episodes over 6 seasons from 2018 until 2025.