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Tanner Buchanan is an approachable guy. Cobra Kai fans don’t need to be nervous if they see him in real life. Still, Buchanan understands it can be a big deal if a fan encounters a Cobra Kai cast member after watching them on TV, or your phone, wherever you watch Netflix. He told one story about meeting a nervous fan on a Starbucks run. 

'Cobra Kai' cast members Tanner Buchanan and Jacob Bertrand fight at the All-Valley Karate Tournaments
L-R: Tanner Buchanan and Jacob Betrand | Curtis Bonds Baker/Netflix

Buchanan spoke at an online Q&A after the premiere of episode 1 of Cobra Kai Season 4 on Dec. 28. Here are the details of his heartwarming fan encounter. Cobra Kai Season 4 is now streaming on Netflix.

A ‘Cobra Kai’ fan still recognized a masked Tanner Buchanan

The Cobra Kai cast is just like us. They need coffee too. Buchanan goes to Starbucks just like everyone. He’s also being responsible, wearing a mask when he goes out in public. One Cobra Kai fan still noticed him behind the mask, though. 

“I was in Starbucks a couple weeks ago and this girl that was probably about 12 or 13,” Buchanan said at the Q&A. “She clocked me when I walked in. I had my mask on and everything but as they finally called my order, and they said, ‘Tanner?’ And then she just her head whipped around to me and I grabbed my coffee.”

Tanner Buchanan has fans from more than just the ‘Cobra Kai’ cast

2021 was a big year for Buchanan. Cobra Kai Season 3 premiered after the show moved from YouTube to Netflix. Longtime fans were waiting to see what would happen to Robby (Buchanan) after his fight with Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) in high school. Then, of course, all the new Netflix fans got to meet Robby, the estranged son of Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). Fans like the Starbucks girl were eagerly awaiting season 4, which premiered Dec. 31.

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In 20201, Buchanan also starred in the Netflix original movie, He’s All That. Prior to joining the Cobra Kai cast in 2018, he’d also appeared on Designated Survivor and The Fosters. The Starbucks girl asked for a selfie and Buchanan was touched by how nervous the young girl was. He happily obliged her. Buchanan did not, however, reveal his Starbucks order.

“She was like, ‘Can we, can we, um, can we take a picture please?’” Buchanan recalled. “I was like, ‘Yeah, of course, absolutely.’ That was probably the most recent one. 

Tanner Buchanan does not usually see fans 

The Starbucks fan encounter was a special occasion for Buchanan. He said he does not usually run into Cobra Kai fans. When Buchanan is not busy filming the series in Atlanta, Georgia, he said he does not socialize much. The Starbucks girl was in the right place at the right time. 

“I don’t leave the house very much,” Buchanan said. “I’m very much a homebody. Every once in a blue moon there will be some people.”

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