One of the first things viewers noticed about Cobra Kai — besides it being way better than anyone expected for a TV sequel to a 30-year-old movie — was Courtney Henggeler.
Not only was the actress one of the newcomers to the franchise, she was also fighting the uphill battle of having to win over fans who shipped Daniel with one of the girls from the movies. And she killed it. Right away, everyone loved her hilariously no-nonsense Amanda LaRusso.
But being a fan favorite on a popular TV series apparently was just too little, too late for Courtney. The actress is calling it quits.
In a Substack post back on March 30 — now starting to go viral as fans find out — Courtney announced she was walking away from Hollywood. And yes, she explained why! She began:
“After 20 plus years of fighting the good fight in the acting business, I hung up my gloves on Friday. 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.”
Oof. It sounds like she was really ground down in those 20 years! (Side note, not super relevant, but “20 years” kind of took us aback! She looks AMAZING, right?!!!)Anyway, she explained how the issue was that instead of getting to practice “the art or craft of acting” most of her career had been fighting for survival:
“All I’ve truly ever knew 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) Nailed it. Or a recurring guest-star that never seemed to recur…. Whatever the opposite of nailing it is.”
Courtney’s career is full of those single-episode roles on popular shows. She lamented that after these small parts, she’d just have to go “back to the grind. Back to the wheel. Back to the machine.” And she was forced to survive “off the crumbs.”
She acknowledged this was coming from a place of privilege — because in the field of acting, she was considered a success story compared to everyone who never got to do it:
“And I’m considered one of the lucky ones. 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.”
But it’s not enough. She just isn’t going to run around struggling to get to act anymore — she’s had enough:
“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, even celebrated, became stifling.”
Oof. It’s got to be even harder now. Courtney looks fabulous, but she is 47 years old — and Hollywood is, unfortunately, still egregiously unkind to women over a certain age. The parts are few and far between. So now that her hit show is over, she’s decided her fight will be, too.
She did imply she’s got an eye on something in the future, some endeavor with more agency, as she complained about actors “handing our power away” and teased:
“When prompted to know what I did want to do, I simply replied ‘I want to be the machine.’”
But darned if we know what she’s planning. She does have one writing credit under her belt, a 2020 TV movie called The Secret Life of a Celebrity Surrogate. Maybe she’s planning on doing that from now on?
We’re just sad to hear she’s walking away. Like we said, Courtney may have hit late, but she hit hard! She made a huge impact on Cobra Kai fans, and that’s a big fan base. If her agents weren’t able to turn the love for her into a different kind of career in which she was the machine and offers came to her? That really is Hollywood’s loss.