Why Bear From Sweet Tooth Looks So Familiar
The first season of dystopian fantasy series "Sweet Tooth" is set to premiere in full on Netflix on June 4. "Sweet Tooth" is based on a comic by author and artist Jeff Lemire published by DC's Vertigo imprint, which is generally a home for DC series that don't feature the types of superheroes for which the DC brand has become well-known. So, while the Netflix "Sweet Tooth" adaptation is based on a fantasy comic book series, it bears little similarity to DC adaptations like "Zack Snyder's Justice League" or the upcoming "Suicide Squad."
"Sweet Tooth" takes place in the wake of an apocalyptic event called The Great Crumble, that kills off much of Earth's human population. Babies born in its wake then begin to develop certain animal characteristics. The protagonist of "Sweet Tooth" is a boy named Gus (Christian Convery), who resembles and can even make use of the heightened senses of a deer.
Among those that Gus meets over the course of the series is Bear, the leader of a cult that holds human-animal hybrids in high esteem. Bear is portrayed by actor Stefania LaVie Owen, who may look familiar from an acting career that started when she was only 12 years old.
Owen was an environmentalist's daughter in Running Wilde
While Mitchell Hurwitz is arguably best known as the creator of "Arrested Development," he's served in a similar capacity on a number of other comedy series, including "Running Wilde." Will Arnett, himself a part of "Arrested Development" as Gob Bluth, stars in "Running Wilde" as a billionaire named Steven Wilde. The series chronicles Steve's attempts at reconnecting with his childhood crush, an environmentalist named Emmy Kadubic (Keri Russell). Upon the series' opening, Emmy is living in a rainforest as part of an environmental activism endeavor.
Steven ultimately finds an ally in Emmy's daughter, Puddle Kadubic, who is portrayed by Stefania LaVie Owen. At the series' onset, Puddle has taken a vow of silence, ceasing all communication with her mother in order to influence her to move out of their rainforest home. Puddle thus appreciates Steven's attempts at winning over the affection of Emmy, given that his success would mean that she would get to move into his mansion. "Running Wilde" ultimately ran for a single, 13-episode season before it was canceled (via Collider).
Stefania LaVie Owen was Carrie Bradshaw's sister in The Carrie Diaries
"The Carrie Diaries" first premiered on The CW in 2013 as a prequel series to "Sex and the City." Whereas "Sex and the City" is a show intended for an adult audience featuring an adult cast, "The Carrie Diaries" is firmly a teen series featuring a largely teenaged cast. Like "Sex and the City" before it, which is based on the writing of New York Observer columnist Candace Bushnell, "The Carrie Diaries" is based on a book written by Bushnell that acts as a prequel to her New York Observer column.
Bushnell introduced readers to Carrie Bradshaw, an alter ego under which she could write anonymously about incidents from her real life (via Washington Post). "The Carrie Diaries" chronicles Bradshaw's teenage years. In the CW TV series, Stefania LaVie Owen portrays Carrie's younger sister Dorrit Bradshaw, a rebellious 14-year-old, presumably based on Bushnell's real-life younger sister Alyssa (via The Guardian). "The Carrie Diaries" ultimately aired for 26 episodes comprising two seasons.
Owen co-starred in Christmas horror film Krampus
The titular monster in 2015's campy Christmas horror movie "Krampus" was not invented for the film, but rather taken from a centuries-old pagan myth. The Krampus of pagan lore is a sort of counterpart to Christmas' jolly St. Nicholas. Whereas St. Nick would give presents to good children, Krampus would punish the bad ones.
In "Krampus," a modern reimagining of the traditional Krampus monster terrorizes a suburban family a few nights before Christmas. Stefania LaVie Owen appears in the film as Beth, the sister of the film's protagonist Max Engel (Emjay Anthony). Beth has the distinction of being Krampus' first target in the film, and her disappearance even leads some of the other Engel family members to be killed by the seasonal monster. Though it's a relatively recent addition to the canon, "Krampus" is revered by some as a modern Christmas horror classic, and arguably the best film ever made about the pagan beast.
Owen was the daughter of Matthew McConaughey's Moondog in The Beach Bum
Matthew McConaughey stars in "The Beach Bum" as Moondog, a bona fide poet living a hedonistic, self-destructive life in the Florida Keys as he halfheartedly attempts to revitalize his poetry career. Unlike what might happen in a typical film about an artist's drug-addicted downward spiral, however, Moondog never quite changes or even reaches a traditional low point. Rather, he drifts from day to day, giving "The Beach Bum" something of a documentary feel without a strong story arc.
Stefania LaVie Owen plays Moondog's daughter Heather in "The Beach Bum." She functions as a sort of tether to reality for Moondog, living a semi-normal life in opposition to Moondog's self-indulgent lifestyle. Heather's importance to the film increases when her mother, Minnie (Isla Fisher), dies, leaving a significant inheritance to Moondog to be distributed at Heather's discretion. She vows to unfreeze Moondog's inheritance only when he can prove to her that his life is on track. That conflict comes to a head in the film's bombastic (by "Beach Bum" standards) climax.
With such incredible range already demonstrated, Stefania LaVie Owen is definitely an actress to watch.