DELRAY BEACH – Cousin Louie is back, and he’s developing a fan base.
Enjoying a meal in West Palm Beach last month, Bret Ernst learned how much audiences missed his Cousin Louie character in the second season of Netflix’s Cobra Kai.
A mother, dining with a group children – some wearing Cobra Kai shirts – recognized Ernst.
“The mom was like, ‘Can you please come over to the kids?’ because [the kids] didn’t know I was there,” Ernst said. “So I snuck around, and I yelled, ‘Team LaRusso all day! Cobra Kai!’”
The youngsters immediately erupted and swarmed him.
The mother told Ernst that Cobra Kai is one show her family watches together.
“I really enjoyed making those kids smile and laugh,” Ernst said. “What is cool, too, is that my friends Facetime me with their kids a lot, now. It’s not a kids show, but I’m really happy the kids are liking it. That’s pretty cool.”
One of America’s top stand-up comics whose resume also boasts acting and screen writing credits, Ernst appeared as lovable dolt Louie LaRusso in seven episodes during the premier season of Cobra Kai – Nextflix’s modern day sequel to the Karate Kid movies.
Though the season two storyline didn’t call for any Cousin Louie appearances, Ernst’s character returned for four episodes in season three, which dropped on Jan. 1 and immediately became the nations top show.
“I knew I was coming back for season three and I’m definitely coming back for four,” Ernst said.
When casting Cousin Louie, the producers were looking for someone who could play a streetwise Italian who loves cars and can create laughs. It’s role tailor made for Ernst.
“He’s a little bit of a gavone, but he’s a good guy,” Ernst said, describing his character. “He says inappropriate things. He’s not dumb. He’s just always the thinking-out-loud type.”
Before auditioning for the role, Ernst caught a bit of a break. He spent the 10 days prior to the audition with his family and friends in northern New Jersey, where he grew up, effectively imitating art with reality.
“When you’re up there you start to pick up the mannerisms again,” Ernst said.
Ernst flew from New Jersey directly to the audition, sporting a shirt touting Maruca’s Tomato Pie – a pizza joint in Seaside Heights, N.J.
“Louie is not a far stretch for me,” Ernst said with a chuckle. “It’s not like I’m Johnny Depp here or Kevin Spacey or [Leonardo] DiCaprio. This guy is just what I was – a jerkoff in north Jersey, know what I mean? Louie’s not a far throw from me. Personality he is, but he’s still that guy.”
Ernst is quick to point out a couple fundamental differences between him and his character. He’d never take a baseball bat to a Pontiac Firebird as Louie did in the first season, and he’d never tell antagonist Johnny Lawrence where lead character Danny LaRusso – Louie’s cousin – lived.
“I love playing the character to death. I love it,” Ernst said. He then added, “If Louie was in a room with me – if Louie was a real person – I don’t know if I’d like him only because he ratted on his cousin.”
With his reappearance in Season 3, Cousin Louie continues to build a fan base. A 10-minute YouTube video compilation of the best Cousin Louie scenes, titled “My Cousin Louie”, is approaching 20,000 views. One internet writer’s thesis claims Louie is the true antagonist of the show, while another internet visionary suggested on Twitter that Cousin Louie deserves his own spin-off.
“It was good to read on the blogs and get the emails that [read], ‘We’re so glad he’s back,’” Ernst said.
Currently operating out of Las Vegas, Ernst spent the better part of two months visiting his mother in South Florida as 2020 closed. He was in South Florida when Season Three dropped.
With nearly all major entertainment hubs still on lockdown, Ernst made the most of Florida’s relaxed COVID-19 protocols.
He became a fixture at comedy shows in Delray Beach and Boca Raton, dropping in to see local comics and often taking the stage to keep his act sharp.
An accomplished stand-up comic who rose to national fame as part of Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show, Ernst appreciates that his acting career is a vehicle transporting his humor to a new audience – like those kids in the Cobra Kai shirts.
“I could never touch them like that with stand-up because there is no reason they would be listening to my comedy,” Ernst said.
