At the young age of 13, Cree stepped into the limelight, landing a role and securing recurring spots on the Nickelodeon series “Game Shakers,” and “Henry Danger.” Fast forward into today, she is 21, calls Los Angeles home, and boasts an impressive resume filled with diverse film roles. In her latest role, she portrays Daisy in the film adaptation of John Greene’s “Turtles all the Way Down.” As Daisy, she brings a perfect blend of warmth, advice, and comedic relief that captures the importance of having a loyal best friend.

When transforming into a particular role is it difficult to “turn off” the character once you’ve finished filming for the day?
I haven’t found that to be the case so far. Of course, certain days on certain jobs can be more challenging. Certain scenes are darker or more upsetting, and shaking off the residual energy from those shoots can be more of a purposeful effort. However, I haven’t played any overall characters that wouldn’t slip off with my wardrobe at the end of the day.

It is amazing to know you have been acting since the age of thirteen. Can you recall an “I made it” moment, where you realized your career is about to reach a new height?
Starting to film “Turtles All the Way Down” absolutely felt like entering a new chapter in my career. The script was beautiful and the cast is amazing, I was a huge fan of John Green and the book, and my character Daisy was a role I had been seriously pining after for years. Everything finally came together as I entered my twenties. It felt like an exciting next step into young adulthood, and it ushered in a new energy to my professional life.

With the rising popularity of cult classic remakes such as the live action Disney film “The Little Mermaid” to Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice,” name a classic movie you would love to star in if there were a remake.
As amazing as some of the remakes have been, I think many of our favorite movies of the past should be left as they are. There aren’t any classics I love that I would want to try to re-do. I will say, I’m a huge fan of the loose YA comedy adaptations of Shakespearian classics that we saw in the era of movies like “Clueless” and “10 Things I Hate about You.” I am waiting for that trend to start up again in the industry, because I’d love to work in a project like that. I think many of our collective favorite comfort films were born in that moment.

As an actress you must have an incredible memory. How do you remember all of your lines? Do you have any tricks/tips?
My time as a child actor honed that skill. Working the memorization muscle week after week all through middle and high school helped tremendously. The only tip or trick I’ve ever used is to remember that scenes are just conversations when wordy jobs start to feel overwhelming. If you understand the general shape and direction of the scene, and you’ve read through it a few times, all you have to do is listen to the other character/s around you and trust that your response is already somewhere in your brain and body.

On your days off how do you like to spend your time relaxing? Do you have any hobbies?
I love going to the movie theater. Although I’m an actor, I really think like an audience member first and foremost, and getting to watch an amazing film in a theater with other people is such a privilege and a gift, especially as it becomes more common for movies to go straight to streaming. It’s my favorite way to decompress and the most consistent reliever of stress I’ve ever found.

In “Turtles all the Way Down” you play Daisy Ramirez. Was it difficult preparing yourself for the role?
Daisy was a deeply joyful assignment. I’d say the most difficult aspect of preparing for the shoot was calming nerves about doing right by the book and the script. Meeting our amazing director, Hannah Marks, and getting to work with John throughout soothed these worries. There was so much warmth, generosity, and confidence in the cast and the work we were doing that my entire focus shifted to being open and as loose as possible. Daisy is a confident, sparkly, pink-haired little ball of energy skipping alongside the protagonist Aza, so I put a lot of work into trying to walk the right energetic line for her.

“Turtles all the Way Down” is originally based on the 2017 book. Do you believe the film does a good job reflecting all the events that have happened according to the original book? The book was the beating heart of our work on the film. Although, of course, there are some differences to detail in the film, we all purposefully stayed loyal to the source material and wanted to honor the love that the readers have for this story.

Do you feel a slight sense of cringe when needing to rewatch your scenes? Do you critique yourself?
I have a complicated relationship with watching any footage of myself. It’s generally not an enjoyable process and usually there’s a strong sense of cringe with seeing my own work, especially if I’m watching something like self-tape auditions. Beyond the urge to critique what I’m doing, it just feels more and more like something that my sensitive human brain isn’t meant to be doing to the extent that actors have to do it. I have had no problem at all watching “Turtles All the Way Down,” which is rare. I’m so proud of what we accomplished and the process of making the film was loving and playful; it was nothing but a joy to see it all on screen.

You have worked with a lot of well-known stars from Sarah Jessica Parker to comedian Gabriel Iglesias, can you recall a specific moment where an actor/actress gave you great advice?
I feel like I’ve learned a lot just from watching the amazing actors I’ve gotten to work with. Speaking of Gabriel Iglesias, a lot of our cast on Mr. Iglesias were amazing comedic actors and stand-up comics. That was my first time working with a live studio audience and seeing the way the cast members would light up with the audience in the room was definitely a lesson in comedic freedom and confidence. I think the energy shifted when we had our audience in for filming, and a lot of my memories of that show are sitting at my little classroom set desk trying to soak in what everyone around me was doing. The importance of being loose in comedy, of trusting instinct to try new things on the spot, and reading the energy of the laughs in the room to guide scenes were the big lessons I took from that show.

Instagram
@itscree

CREW CREDITS:
PhotoBook Editor-In-Chief: Alison Hernon
PhotoBook Creative Director: Mike Ruiz
Photographer: Jonny Marlow
Talent: Cree
Fashion Stylist: Andrew Gelwicks
Hair: Castillo Bataille
Makeup: Andre Sarmiento
Tearsheets by Daniel López, Art Director, PhotoBook Magazine
Interview by Renee Birchwood, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine