Latest news with #CourtneyHenggeler
The Independent
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Cobra Kai's Courtney Henggeler steps away from acting: ‘I want to be the machine'
Courtney Henggeler has revealed in a candid post on Substack that she has officially called it quits on her acting career. 'After 20-plus years of fighting the good fight in the acting business, I hung up my gloves on Friday,' wrote the Cobra Kai star. She added: 'I called my agents and told them I was tapping out. I no longer wanted to be a cog in the wheel of the machine. I want to be the machine.' While Henggeler didn't specify what comes next, she made it clear that she is ready to forge a new path on her own terms. Reflecting on her time in the industry, she implied that the reality of her career was more about grinding than acting. 'All I've ever known in my professional life was acting,' she continued. 'But not even the art or craft of acting. All I've truly ever known was the hustle. The grind. Occasionally sprinkled with the odd acting job—perhaps a line or two to TV's Dr. House. 'Sorry.' (That was my line. Genius.)' Before gaining prominence as Amanda LaRusso in all six seasons of Netflix's Cobra Kai, Henggeler appeared in a variety of small roles across TV and film, including The Big Bang Theory, Mom, Criminal Minds, Bones, NCIS, Jane the Virgin, and movies like Friends with Benefits, Feed, and Nobody's Fool. Despite her growing list of credits, she said, the industry rarely offered consistent security. 'After each job, it was back to the grind,' she said. 'We survived off the crumbs. We filled our cups with possibility, our mugs with delusion. Our plates were empty, but a golden goose hung over our heads. Today might be the day I reach the golden goose.' Said 'golden goose' eventually arrived in the form of Cobra Kai —a breakout role, a steady paycheck, her face on billboards and even being directed by George Clooney. Even then, however, Henggeler found herself unfulfilled. 'I was on a successful series. I made money. This, by all definitions, is the golden goose,' she wrote. 'But I was still famished.' With the sixth and final season of Cobra Kai premiering on Netflix in February, Henggeler's decision comes at a natural ending point. She closed her post with a series of questions that suggest she's found peace in moving on: 'What if we choose to believe we have the power? What if we had it all along? What if we never needed to run the gauntlet? What if we are the gauntlet?'
Forbes
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Cobra Kai' Star Quits Acting After 20 Years Of Acting
Courtney Henggeler and Ralph Macchio in "Cobra Kai." One of the stars of Netflix's hit series Cobra Kai has 'hung up the gloves' after 20 years of acting. Cobra Kai, which ran for two seasons on the now-defunct YouTube Red channel in 2018 and 2019 before being acquired by Netflix, became a worldwide cultural sensation when Netflix released Season 3 in 2021. Cobra Kai wrapped up after the release of the third increment of Season 6 in February. Set more than three decades after Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) defeated Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) at the All-Valley Karate Tournament, Cobra Kai picks up the stories of Daniel, Johnny and Cobra Kai sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove). The series also chronicled the story of the important people in Daniel's and Johnny's lives, including Daniel's wife and auto-dealership co-manager Amanda LaRusso (Courtney Henggeler). Now, about two months after the final episodes of Cobra Kai were released on Netflix, Henggeler has announced that she's calling it a day with showbiz. 'After 20 plus years of fighting the good fight in the acting business, I hung up my gloves on Friday,' Henggeler wrote in a recent Substack post, which she linked to via her Instagram page. 'I called my agents and told them I was tapping out. I no longer wanted to be a cog in the wheel of the machine.' While Courtney Henggeler was a regular on all six seasons of Cobra Kai, she said all the years in the acting business have taken a toll on her. 'All I've ever known in my professional life was acting. But not even the art or craft of acting. All I've truly ever knew was the hustle,' Henggeler wrote. 'The hustle, the grind, sprinkled (occasionally) with the odd acting job. Perhaps a line or two to TV's Dr. House - 'Sorry' (that's it. That was my line. Genius)." Henggeler's screen debut came in 2003 when she starred in the indie horror thriller Bog Creatures, which was followed by the House appearance she mentioned above. Over the years, Henggeler has also appeared in guest roles in such series as NCIS, Happy Endings, Melissa & Joey, Royal Pains, Mom, Bones, Jane the Virgin and The Big Bang Theory. 'We survived off the crumbs,' Henggeler wrote in her Substack post. 'We filled our cup with the possibility; our mugs with delusion. Our plates were empty, but a golden goose hung over our heads. Today might be the day. Today might be the day I reach the golden goose … 20 plus years of this … I'm hungry.' In 2023, Henggeler played a supporting role in the George Clooney-directed docudrama The Boys in the Boat. 'I'm considered one of the lucky ones,' Henggeler noted. 'I was on a series. A successful series. I made money. My face was on the billboards I longed for 20 plus years. I was directed by George Clooney for godsakes. This by all definitions is the golden goose.' Despite it all, Henggeler wrote that she's 'famished.' Henggeler noted that for years she 'silenced' the voice in her head that begged her 'to walk away.' And by the sound of her Substack post, Henggeler has finally done it.
