‘Cobra Kai’ actor Courtney Henggeler quits industry after 20 years
Courtney Henggeler, star of recent Netflix hit Cobra Kai has revealed she is quitting acting after over 20 years in the industry.
Henggeler, who starred in Cobra Kai as well as many other huge TV shows including The Big Bang Theory, Fuller House, and Jane the Virgin explained in a Substack post that she had “had hung up [her] gloves” and “no longer wanted to be a cog in the wheel of the machine.”
The actor said in her post: “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 [known] was the hustle. 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).”
However, the actor explained the issue of “recurring guest-star [roles] that never seemed to recur,” adding that: “We survived off the crumbs. 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.”
Noting her recent star turn in Cobra Kai, Henggeler noted that she was considered “one of the lucky ones” as “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,” she wrote. “This by all definitions is the golden goose.”
Despite this, it didn’t stop her disillusionment with the industry creeping in, as she concluded her statement: “For years I silenced the voice in my head, begging me to walk away. The voice, the constant gnawing. Not because of the acting itself. But because of the gauntlet I had to run to reach the acting. What once felt necessary, something I willingly participated [in], even celebrated, became stifling.”
Cobra Kai successfully ran for six series, starting in 2018 before it concluded back in February.