Meet the stars of ‘Florida Project’
Instagram star and unknown 7-year-old will break your heart
Brooklynn Prince wants you to know she eats all her own ice cream.
In vibrant coming-of-age drama The Florida Project (in theaters Friday in New York and Los Angeles; expands to Orlando, Austin, San Francisco, Washington and other cities Oct. 13; goes nationwide Oct. 27), her spunky character, Moonee, rarely cavorts across the screen without a dripping softserve cone in hand.
Prince, 7, estimates she ate about 45 cones while filming in Orlando last year. “I hope you enjoy that, because I worked so hard eating that ice cream,” she says with a grin.
A sweet tooth isn’t all Prince has in common with Moonee, who lives on the outskirts of Walt Disney World with her rebellious single mom, Halley (Bria Vinaite), at a low-budget motel run by a compassionate manager (Willem Dafoe).
For starters, both are talkative Orlando residents who enjoy playing with friends and Barbie dolls. “We like to have adventures, and we both love our moms,” Prince says.
Her real-life mom is an acting coach, and her dad is an environmental scientist. She was discovered during a local casting call by director/co-writer Sean Baker ( Tangerine) and had appeared in only a handful of commercials and a straight-tovideo movie.
“We were very adamant that if we didn’t find the perfect Moonee, we weren’t going to make the film,” Baker says. “Brooklynn just brought her childlike ways and 6-year-old view of the world.”
Baker found Vinaite, 24, while scrolling through Instagram looking for inspiration for the character of Halley after considering any number of Alist actresses for the role. But none had the confidence or
carefree attitude of Vinaite, a Lithuanian native who moved to New York with her family when she was 6 and once ran an independent clothing company.
“I had never acted before, but the story was so beautiful ... I knew it was going to be really special,” Vinaite says.
The two have been getting rave reviews since the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Film School Rejects called Vinaite a “powerhouse”; Mashable said Prince was a “revelation” and praised her “raw charm.”
Vinaite wants to continue acting, as does Prince. The pintsized aspiring paleontologist, superhero and director says her dream project would be a movie with her favorite actresses, Elle Fanning, Dakota Fanning, Emma Watson and Daisy Ridley (whose names are emblazoned on a Tshirt she wears to the interview).
It’d be “an animated movie, so I could just hang out with all my celebrities,” Prince explains. “I’m going to star in it, too.”
“Will I be in it?” Vinaite asks, to which Prince agrees. “OK, girl, thank you. Just making sure.”