Tanner Buchanan

Tanner Emmanuel Buchanan (born December 8, 1998) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Leo Kirkman in the political conspiracy drama series Designated Survivor (2016–2018) and Robby Keene in the martial arts action series Cobra Kai (2018–2025).

Tanner Buchanan
Buchanan in 2018
Born	Tanner Emmanuel Buchanan (1998-12-08) December 8, 1998 (age 26) Lima, Ohio, U.S.
Occupations	Actor dancer musician
Years active	2010–present
Partner	Mary Mouser (engaged)

Early life

Buchanan was born in Lima, Ohio, on December 8, 1998.^[1] He is the only biological son of Steve and Marlona Buchanan. His maternal grandfather was Filipino.^[2] He was raised in a Christian household and he attended Glandorf Elementary School in Ohio.

At the age of 8, he moved with his family to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, beginning his acting training at the "Edge Performing Arts Centre (PAC)" and at "Huckleberry Friend Productions, Inc." owned by acting coach David Kaufman.^[3][4]

Career

Buchanan began his acting career in 2010, making his television debut with a child role on the series Modern Family. He has since participated in television in the TV shows Grey's Anatomy, Major Crimes, The Goldbergs, and Deputy.^[5] In 2011, he was cast in the film Untitled Jeff and Jackie Filgo Project in which he had the lead role but the pilot was not bought so the project did not go forward.^[6][7][8] In 2013, he made his film debut with the comedy Jake Squared directed by Howard Goldberg.^[9][10]

In 2015, he played Charlie Gardner in the Disney Channel series Girl Meets World and Mason Kendall in the Nickelodeon series Game Shakers.^[11] He played Leo Kirkman, son of the President of the United States Thomas Kirkman, in the political conspiracy series Designated Survivor^[12][13] and Jack Downey in the family drama series The Fosters, both aired by ABC in 2016.^[14][15]

He made a special participation as the young dancer Chad Brad Bradley in the 2017 series Fuller House produced by Warner Bros. In 2018, he began portraying Johnny Lawrence's estranged son, Robby Keene in the Netflix martial arts series Cobra Kai,^[16][17] sequel to The Karate Kid films created by Robert Mark Kamen.^[18]

Buchanan co-starred with Chad Michael Murray in the science-fiction film Max Winslow and the House of Secrets in 2019, he was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor at the "Canadian International Faith & Family Film Festival".^[19][20] On the same year, he starred as Dylan Warren in Damián Romay's thriller and suspense film Sinister Seduction opposite Kristina Klebe.^[21][22] He co-starred with Blake Cooper in the biographical film Chance directed by John B. Crye, which was released on May 22, 2020 at the Starlite Drive In in Amelia, Ohio.^[23][24]

In 2021, Buchanan starred in the remake of She's All That called He's All That with Addison Rae,^[25][26] he played the lead role of Cameron Kweller.^[27] That same year he also narrated the audio version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby for Blackstone Publishing.^[28] In 2022, he starred in the superhero action-comedy film The Hyperions as Apollo, directed by Jon McDonald.^[29][30] He starred alongside Sebastian Croft and Charithra Chandran in the British teen romantic comedy film How to Date Billy Walsh directed by Alex Sanjiv Pillai, which was released on Amazon Prime Video on April 5, 2024.^[31][32]

Personal life

Buchanan practiced taekwondo throughout his childhood. He was introduced to the world of karate at a very early age by his mother, Marlona Buchanan, who is a black belt in martial arts.^[33] While filming Designated Survivor in Toronto, Canada, Buchanan trained muay thai for about eight months before being cast in Cobra Kai. He shared a workout routine on Men's Health that included barbell jumping jacks to get in fighting shape.^[34] Buchanan inherited kali sticks from his grandfather, who was originally from Southeast Asian, which he considers essential elements for his life when practicing eskrima, being the ancestral filipino martial art.^[35]

He is also an expert dancer since he was 5 years old, winning national tap dance tournaments throughout his childhood and adolescence. He trained at the dance academy "Center Stage Dance Academy" in Ottawa, Ohio.^[36]

Buchanan also has a musical training, and is a skilled pianist and guitarist. He used to play electric guitar in a progressive death metal band called "Acidosis".^[37] He debuted as a singer with the song "Fall into my Arms" which was featured on the soundtrack to his film Max Winslow and the House of Secrets.^[38]

Relationship with Mary Mouser

Buchanan and Mary Mouser met in October 2017 during the filming of the first season of the series Cobra Kai which they starred together, becoming best friends from the beginning and starting a secret romantic relationship shortly after.^[39][40]

In February 2025, during the red carpet of the world premiere of the series finale, Buchanan and Mouser finally confirmed their relationship after years of rumors and announced their engagement.^[41][42]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	Jake Squared	Sammy
2014	Guests	Bobby Bell	Short film
	Ellie	Bowie	Short film
2015	The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards	Bobby Bell
	Alone in the Dust	Izzi	Short film
2017	Anything	Jack Sachman
2019	Max Winslow and the House of Secrets	Connor Lawson	Also musician
	Sinister Seduction	Dylan Warren
2020	Chance	Colton
2021	He's All That	Cameron Kweller
	Painted Beauty	Young Peter
2022	The Hyperions	Apollo
2024	How to Date Billy Walsh	Billy Walsh

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Modern Family	Kid #2	Episode: "Halloween"
2011	Untitled Jeff and Jackie Filgo Project	Jimmy	Unsold pilot
2012	The Real St. Nick	Cynical Kid	Television film
2013	Grey's Anatomy	Lucas	Episode: "Idle Hands"
	Major Crimes	Michelle Brand	Episode: "Boys Will Be Boys"
	Ghost Ghirls	Hero	Episode: "Field of Screams"
2013–2014	The Goldbergs	Evan Turner	Special participation; 2 episodes
2014	Growing Up Fisher	Slade	Episode: "Work with Me"
	Mixology	Young Dom	Episode: "Fab & Jessica & Dominic"
2015	Girl Meets World	Charlie Gardner	Recurring role; 3 episodes
2015–2019	Game Shakers	Mason Kendall	Recurring role; 6 episodes
2016	The Fosters	Jack Downey	Recurring role; 6 episodes
2016–2018	Designated Survivor	Leo Kirkman	Main role; 28 episodes
2017	Fuller House	Chad Brad Bradley	Special participation; 2 episodes
2018	The Goldbergs: 1990-Something	Mike Stamm	Schooled backdoor pilot
2018–2025	Cobra Kai	Robby Keene	Main role; 61 episodes
2020	Deputy	Brendan	Episode: "10-8 Entitlements"