Netflix’s Cobra Kai actor abruptly quits acting after giving 6 hit seasons: ‘I’m no longer a cog’

In her post (via Variety), Courtney shared, “After 20-plus years of fighting the good fight in the acting business, I hung up my gloves on Friday.” She no longer wanted to feel like just another small part of the bigger, machine-like entertainment industry. “When prompted to know what I did want to do, I simply replied ‘I want to be the machine.’”

Courtney Henggeler quits acting

According to Courtney, her journey in the entertainment industry wasn’t an easy one. From the very beginning, she felt like she was constantly hustling and grinding, hoping for bigger roles and recognition. The Hollywood star made her acting debut with a lead role in the 2003 horror movie The Bog Creatures. Later, she took guest roles in the 2008 medical drama House and in 2018, as Missy Cooper.

Also read: Cobra Kai season 3 review roundup: ‘One of the cleverest reboots in our nostalgia-drunk era’

Over the years, she picked up roles in shows like Jane the Virgin and NCIS and even briefly appeared in films like Friends with Benefits. But despite getting some work, breaking through always felt just out of reach—the constant cycle of auditions and bit parts never quite seemed to satisfy her. “Perhaps a line or two to TV’s Dr. House – ‘Sorry’ (that’s it. That was my line. Genius) Nailed it. Or a recurring guest-star that never seemed to recur…. Whatever the opposite of nailing it is. And when all was said and done (or mimed. Sometimes, you gotta mime), it was back to the grind. Back to the wheel. Back to the machine,” she wrote.

The big break came when she joined Cobra Kai in 2018, a role that lasted for all six seasons. The show concluded its Netflix run after seven long years, becoming one of the fan favourites. The show gave Courtney the recognition she had always dreamed of. She was now on billboards, working with top directors like George Clooney. However, even with all this success, Courtney said, something was still missing. “I was considered lucky, but something still felt off. The acting was not the problem—it was the constant battle to prove myself, to keep pushing. It became stifling.”

Now, with Cobra Kai ending its run, Courtney feels it’s the perfect moment to walk away from acting. “For years, I silenced the voice in my head, begging me to walk away,” she signed out.

Will there be Cobra Kai season 7?

The Karate Kid prequel was renewed by Netflix in January 2023. However, the showrunners of the franchise at the time declared that they wished to end the show on “their terms.” The creators expressed that bringing the Karate Kid universe back was an honour, one they never took for granted. “Our Day 1 goal with Cobra Kai has always been to end it on our terms, leaving the Valley in the time and place we’ve always imagined… This fandom is the BEST on the planet, and we hope to be telling more Karate Kid stories with you down the line. Because, as we all know: Cobra Kai Never Dies.”