Why Dee Dee From Cocaine Bear Looks So Familiar

Let's be honest — when it comes to "Cocaine Bear," there's no bigger star than the titular drug-fueled beast wreaking havoc in the forests of Georgia. That being said, middle schooler Dee Dee comes pretty close. Watching as this rambunctious kid faces off against a horrifically strong force of nature and fares better than most of the adults is a major source of entertainment. Dee Dee is also a major anchor for the film's comedic elements, and she winds up being responsible for some of the movie's funniest moments.

"Cocaine Bear" features quite a few recognizable faces, like the actor who plays EMT Tom. However, some viewers may find that Dee Dee's actress, Brooklynn Prince, looks particularly familiar to them. Indeed, the young cast member is still at the relative early stages of her career, but she's already landed a handful of major credits that some avid film and TV watchers will no doubt recognize.

Brooklynn Prince was only seven years old when she landed her first major acting role in 2017's "The Florida Project." Yet another emotionally-rich entry in A24's lineup of films, the movie stars Prince as one-half of a mother-daughter duo teetering on the brink of homelessness in the outskirts of Disney World in Florida.

Prince portrays Moonee, the young daughter of single, unemployed mother Halley (Bria Vinaite). The film delves into her life while living with her mother at a low-end motel near Disney World. Times are tough for Halley and Moonee, with the former's work as an adult entertainer and some help from a friend barely being enough for the pair to scrape by. Precarious situations aside, however, Moonee nevertheless spends time happily playing with her friends and just generally enjoying life as a little kid. As one might expect, the story goes to some truly heartbreaking places, and despite being so young at the time of filming, Prince gives the material all the emotional impact it needs.

Moving in a very different direction from the drama of "The Florida Project," Brooklynn Prince's next credit of note came as part of the 2020 horror film "The Turning." This by-the-book supernatural production may not have done particularly well — both in terms of critical reception and box office numbers — but it's nonetheless a major project for Prince that had her acting opposite several other big-name actors like Finn Wolfhard and Mackenzie Davis.

Prince stars in "The Turning" as Flora Fairchild, one of two orphaned children that Davis' character Kate becomes the nanny of after their previous guardian disappears. Of course, this is a horror movie, and Flora wastes little time before she starts saying all sorts of dark and ominous stuff to freak Kate out. All in all, it's pretty standard stuff for the genre, though it's hard to deny that Prince jumps into the creepy-little-girl archetype quite well. Viewers may also find themselves rather surprised by how her character factors into the ending of "The Turning."

Brooklynn Prince has appeared in a couple major movies, but subscribers to Apple TV+ may have also caught the young actress as the lead for the service's exclusive series "Home Before Dark." The mystery-drama centers upon an elementary-school-aged girl who unearths an intriguing mystery embedded in the past of her father's hometown.

"Home Before Dark" features Prince as the fledgling journalist Hilde Lisko, based on the real-life professional Hilde Lysiak. Hilde may be young, but by the ending of "Home Before Dark" Season 2, she proven beyond a doubt to her friends, parents, and the local authorities that she's not a force to be underestimated. In many ways, this role is the one most similar to Prince's part in "Cocaine Bear," as she also portrays a kid who punches well above her weight when it comes to dealing with dangerous and mature situations. It seems that Prince just has a knack for that kind of material.