The show Cobra Kai featured a large cast, and many of the actors have gone on to achieve success. After six seasons, the series concluded its long-running story of karate rivalry. Cobra Kai began as a continuation of the classic Karate Kid films, bringing back Ralph Macchio and William Zabka as Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence decades later to tell the next chapter of their story on television.
The show gradually became more ambitious, adding characters and storylines from previous Karate Kid films, constantly changing the group of young fighters, introducing international competitions, and ultimately escalating into a full-scale conflict between students, teachers, old rivals, and new friends. As the stakes got higher, the cast expanded, with many supporting actors becoming central figures by the series’ end. It’s impossible to cover every member of the Cobra Kai cast across all six seasons in detail.
While many actors appear in Cobra Kai, the core cast consists of 13 performers. These actors come from the original Karate Kid films, were new to the series, or joined Cobra Kai later and became more prominent. Here’s a look at those 13 main cast members – what they’ve been doing since the show ended and where they are now.
Ralph Macchio
Ralph Macchio, best known as the original Karate Kid, has consistently been part of the franchise even after the initial Cobra Kai series ended. He hasn’t quite shaken his iconic role as Daniel LaRusso, and Cobra Kai remains his most prominent work since the 1980s. Recognizing this, Macchio continued to embrace the character by appearing in Karate Kid: Legends in 2025.
Following the conclusion of Cobra Kai season 6, Karate Kid: Legends picked up Daniel’s story and cleverly connected both the original Karate Kid films with the 2010 remake. Rather than being a separate reboot, the series expanded the franchise by bringing Jackie Chan back as Mr. Han from the 2010 film. Together, Mr. Han and Daniel trained a new student, played by Ben Wang. As for William Zabka (Daniel), he hasn’t taken on any other acting roles since Cobra Kai.
William Zabka
Similar to Ralph Macchio, William Zabka has become closely associated with the Karate Kid series, but that’s actually been a positive thing for his career. He was a central figure in Cobra Kai as Johnny Lawrence, which led him to reprise the role in Karate Kid: Legends in 2015, though it was a brief appearance designed to please fans. More recently, Zabka has joined the cast of Scarpetta, a crime drama on Prime Video starring Nicole Kidman, in a recurring role for its second season.
Courtney Henggeler
Courtney Henggeler was a key part of the hit show Cobra Kai, playing Daniel’s wife, Amanda LaRusso, throughout all six seasons. It’s particularly poignant that her role on the series ended up being her last acting job. In April 2025, shortly after the final episodes of season six aired on Netflix, Henggeler announced she was retiring from acting, and she hasn’t taken on any new projects since.
Xolo Maridueña
Xolo Maridueña became a central figure in the Karate Kid story when Cobra Kai began, and that role has led to many other opportunities for him. While he starred as the Blue Beetle in a 2023 film before Cobra Kai ended, he’s now set to play the character again in the upcoming Man of Tomorrow movie. This suggests that Blue Beetle will be connected to the larger DC Universe, as Maridueña will be working alongside stars like David Corenswet, Milly Alcock, and Nicholas Hoult.
Since finishing Cobra Kai, Xolo Maridueña has continued to build a successful career, including voice work on Amazon Prime Video’s Invincible. He’s landed significant roles in major Hollywood projects, beginning with Practical Magic 2 – the sequel to the popular 90s film – scheduled for release in September 2026. Maridueña will also appear as Portgas D. Ace in season three of Netflix’s hit show, One Piece. Cobra Kai launched Xolo Maridueña into the spotlight, and his recent work demonstrates his rising star power.
Mary Mouser
As a huge fan of Cobra Kai, I was so impressed with Mary Mouser’s performance as Samantha LaRusso throughout all six seasons. It’s interesting to note that since filming wrapped on season six in February 2025, she hasn’t appeared in anything else. I recently found out why – it seems her personal life took center stage around that time! She announced her engagement to her Cobra Kai co-star, Tanner Buchanan, which is just lovely, and likely a big reason for her focus being elsewhere.
Tanner Buchanan
Tanner Buchanan, known for his role as Robby in Cobra Kai, continues to be busy with new projects even after getting engaged. He recently voiced a character in an episode of Star Wars: Visions season 3, which came out in October 2025. Looking ahead, Buchanan is focusing on horror – he’s starring in the film Hide and Don’t Speak, and will also be doing voice work and motion capture for the video game Until Dawn 2. Release dates for both projects are still to come.
Jacob Bertrand
Jacob Bertrand, known for his role as Hawk in Cobra Kai, hasn’t had many on-screen appearances since the show finished. He’s primarily focused on voice work, lending his voice to Pokémon Concierge and the English dub of the anime Sakamoto Days. His only other credit since Cobra Kai ended was a part in the South Korean Disney+ series, Tempest.
Gianni DeCenzo
Like many young actors, Gianni DeCenzo, known for his role as Demetri in Cobra Kai, doesn’t have a lot of recent or announced projects. He appeared as Jace Kirkland in an episode of Criminal Minds in June 2026, and his only other upcoming role is in a TV movie called art-ificial, where he plays Dennis Felton.
Martin Kove
Martin Kove is the final actor from this list to have been in every season of Cobra Kai, playing the original movie’s villain, John Kreese. Since finishing his role as Kreese in 2025, he’s been in one movie, the action film Killing Mary Sue, which was released on demand. He’s currently working on The Dink, a sports comedy for Apple TV, and will appear alongside Jake Johnson, Ed Harris, Ben Stiller, and a number of other well-known actors.
Peyton List
Peyton List became known for her role as Tory on Cobra Kai, appearing from season 2 through the show’s end. Since then, she’s primarily focused on television, most notably starring in and producing School Spirits on Paramount+. The show premiered in 2023 and is currently filming its fourth and final season after releasing its third in 2026, continuing List’s work in TV after her time on Cobra Kai.
2026-07-22 04:30