Eight-year-old TikToker Brice Gonzalez can now see himself on the big screen.
Gonzalez was cast for Eva Longoria‘s Cheetos origin film Flamin’ Hot in 2021, after rising to fame alongside his late father, Randy Gonzalez, on their shared TikTok account Enkyboys.
Randy, who passed away from colon cancer in January, was the account’s original star, but when he began including Brice, their audience grew exponentially–from 190,000 followers in November 2020 to 500,000 in December. Within nine days of hitting 500,000, they were already at a million, TIME reports.
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Their videos showed off Brice’s ability to memorize and lip sync lines, and that caught the attention of Flamin’ Hot producer DeVon Franklin. He DM’d Randy on Instagram, and soon, Brice had his very first Hollywood role.
Flamin’ Hot, now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu, tells the story of Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia), who claims to have invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Brice plays Montañez’s son Steven, and told TIME his favorite scene to film was the one where Steven inspires Montañez with his love of spicy food. As the Montañez family is eating elote, Steven tells his father that the seasoning on his “burns.”
“Well,” Montañez says, “stop eating it, dummy.”
“No, I like it!” Steven says. “It burns good.”
Brice recreated the moment for a TikTok video–the first he’s made since Randy passed.
@enkyboys It burrrns GOOD 🔥 @FlaminHotMovie bringing the HEAT June 9th on @hulu and @Disney+! #FlaminHotMovie ♬ Flamin Hot Movie Ad – Flamin’ Hot
Brice told TIME that working on the film “was fun, exciting, and amazing.”
“And I just know what to do,” he added. “I mean, it’s easy.”
He’s already snagged more roles: He plays Chance Lopez-Van Bryan in Mayan and George Lopez‘s sitcom Lopez vs. Lopez, and will appear as a Pomeranian named Tot in the upcoming PAW Patrol movie.
“We’re excited, and just hope that things just keep going up, and future roles for him,” Brice’s mom, Kimberly Gonzalez, told TIME. “He loves this. He’s a natural, ’cause he’s a true character.”
