Pine Bluff native Mary Matilyn Mouser began acting as a hobby in 2001 at five years old, serving as Abigail Breslin’s photo double in “Signs,” the M. Night Shyamalan sci-fi horror film starring Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix, which grossed $72 million in 2002.
Mouser was born on May 9, 1996, in Pine Bluff, to Scott and Tina Mouser. In 2004, she guest starred on the CBS primetime procedural drama “Without A Trace,” starring Anthony LaPaglia and Poppy Montgomery. In 2005, her career took off as she guest starred on several popular television shows, including “Scrubs,” “Monk,” “Inconceivable,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” and “The King of Queens.”
During this time, Mouser also began voice acting, lending her voice to popular movies, including “Son of the Mask,” “Adventures in Odyssey,” “Tarzan 2: The Legend Begins,” and video games like Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. In 2005, she also voiced a character in the English version of the animated Japanese film “Pom Poko.”
In 2006, she received her first lead role as the voice of the titular character Eloise in “Eloise: The Animated Series.” In October 2006, she received the Outstanding Performance Award at the KIDS FIRST! Film and Video Festival at the Los Angeles International Children’s Film Festival for her role in the series.
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In 2007, she was the child lead, Sarah Cricket Cummings, in the Hallmark film “A Stranger’s Heart.” In 2006, Mouser received her first movie role, playing Christine Pastore in “Mr. Fix It,” starring David Boreanaz and Alana De La Garza.
Mouser frequently did voice acting in films and video games like “Holly Hobbie and Friends: Christmas Wishes” (2006), “Dragon Hunters” (2008), “Delgo” (2008), “Bride Wars” (2009), “The Hole” (2009), and The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest (2010).
From 2007 to 2008, she was a series regular, playing Mia Weller in the CW series “Life Is Wild” for 13 episodes. From 2005 to 2010, Mouser had a recurring role on the long-running naval investigative crime series “NCIS” as Kelly, the daughter of main character Leroy Jethro Gibbs. From 2011 to 2013, she starred in 36 episodes of the ABC medical drama “Body of Proof” as Dana Delany’s daughter, Lacey Fleming.
In 2012, Mouser played two separate characters, look-a-likes Savannah O’Neal and Emma Reynolds, in the Disney Channel Original movie “Frenemies,” starring Zendaya and Bella Thorne. In 2014, she appeared alongside Steve Carrell and Jennifer Garner in the comedy “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.”
In 2018, Mouser received her biggest role, playing high school karate student Samantha (Sam) LaRusso, in the “Cobra Kai” series. “Cobra Kai” is a spin-off of “The Karate Kid” film starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. It was initially launched by YouTube Premium but was later picked up by the streaming giant Netflix. As part of the main cast, Mouser had to learn Muay Thai, a martial art form, for her role in the series.
In 2009, Mouser was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. She advocates for Type 1 diabetes and works actively with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the world’s largest nonprofit funder of Type 1 diabetes research. She has also spoken at JDRF events and attended walks for a cure to help fund the charity.
This article is from ExplorePineBluff.com, a program of the Pine Bluff Advertising and Promotion Commission. Sources: Mary Mouser — Wikipedia; Mary Mouser — IMDb; cobra-kai-never-dies.fandom.com — Mary Mouser; video.wixstatic.com — Mary Mouser; and Image Credit: IMDb.com.
Ninfa O. Barnard wrote this article for ExplorePineBluff.com.