Where You've Seen Jean DeWolff From Spider-Man: Brand New Day Before

Contains spoilers for "Spider-Man: Brand New Day"

As the beginning of "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" lets the viewer know, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) has been focusing on being Spider-Man and neglecting his personal life for a long time — a whopping four years has gone by since the events of "Spider-Man: No Way Home." During this time, Peter's stress and loneliness have become so crippling that they trigger a physical transformation in his spider DNA. Before Peter connects with MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) again, his main point of human interaction comes from his phone calls with Detective Jean DeWolff, who seems to be his semi-official police liaison.

DeWolff may not know Peter, but she knows Spider-Man well enough that she can tell when something's up with him — and while the two are portrayed as equals in the movie, the pair's age gap and DeWolff's wisdom and observational skills make her the closest thing Spidey has to a mentor figure in "Brand New Day." DeWolff's role in the story requires an actor who can radiate both warmth and toughness in equal measure, and with New York native Liza Colón-Zayas, Marvel nailed this particular casting. But why does DeWolff look so familiar? Here's where you may have seen Colón-Zayas in action before.

Liza Colón-Zayas is a prime example of an actor who works her craft in comparative obscurity for a long time, only to become a familiar face with a bang. Before "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," her most prominent role was Tina Marrero, the change-resistant and sarcastic but ultimately loving and dedicated line cook on FX's kitchen comedy-drama phenomenon "The Bear." While she's hardly the most likable "The Bear" character at first, she embraces the opportunity for growth under Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) and becomes one of the strongest pillars in her kitchen family. For this role, Colón-Zayas won a deserved Primetime Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series in 2024 — the first Latina performer to scoop that award.

Before her "The Bear" fame, Colón-Zayas had already been working for a long time. From the mid-1990s onwards she put in steady stream of guest appearances on shows like "Sex and the City," "House," and "Dexter" before starting to land bigger recurring roles, most prominently as Principal Fallow on the OWN drama "David Makes Man" and Rita in the HBO psychological drama "In Treatment." She's also appeared in several movies, such as Paul Greengrass' 9/11 drama "United 93" and James DeMonaco's dystopian horror "The Purge: Election Year," which came third in Looper's ranking of every "The Purge" movie. Colón-Zayas also has a background in theater: She's a founding member of the non-profit LAByrinth Theater Company and has appeared in a number of plays both on and off Broadway.

Given her role in the latest Spider-Man movie, it wouldn't be surprising if Colón-Zayas became a fixture in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After all, the ending of "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" potentially sets up another Spidey movie.