If you see Lola Tung crying, don’t panic because she’s actually probably really happy.
“I think my defining trait is that I cry when I laugh really hard. I think that says all that you need to know about me,” she quips to The Hollywood Reporter. And that honestly best describes her feelings as she prepares to bring the beloved Prime Video series, The Summer I Turned Pretty, to a close with the third and final season premiering Wednesday.
Tung made her acting debut as Belly in 2022 in the YA series, based on author Jenny Han‘s bestselling trilogy of the same name. It was not only a special role for fans of the book series, but also for Tung as she got to grow with her character over the years as Belly navigated the love triangle between her and two brothers, Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno).
“I think playing Belly and sort of watching her journey and seeing that she makes a lot of mistakes along the way and still has people who love her and support her, and even when things get difficult, she can work through that, I guess that’s sort of maybe helped me be a little less hard on myself,” the actress says.
Below, Tung opens up about bringing the beloved series to a close, what she’s learned from playing Belly and she teases the highly anticipated final season (which will reveal which brother her character chooses in the end). She also talks about her upcoming film Forbidden Fruits, where she stars alongside Lili Reinhart, Victoria Pedretti, Alexandra Shipp and Emma Chamberlain.
How excited are you for The Summer I Turned Pretty season three to release and what are you feeling about finally bringing this story to a close?
It’s really wild. I’m very, very excited! I’m very proud of the work that we did, and Jenny [Han] is so thoughtful when it comes to the story and making sure that the original book fans are happy, but also bringing some new and exciting things to the story, ‘cause you just have to when you’re bringing a book to screen. Actually, I was talking to Sean [Kaufman], who plays my brother on the show, who has become like a brother to me, which is so awesome, and we were talking the other day just about how fast it feels like time has gone by. And we remember four years ago just getting to North Carolina, to Wilmington, where we filmed and being so excited and meeting each other for the first time and feeling like we were having this dreamy, magical summer camp experience. And you can’t even fathom the idea that there could be a possibility of a second or third season, so it’s very emotional.
‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ season 3. Prime Video
Was the last day on set notably emotional?
Yeah, I mean I always get emotional all the time, just lots of tears, lots of water signs in my zodiac chart (Laughs). But we all wrapped on different days, because of just scheduling and weather issues and it ended up being kind of like staggered wrapping, which kind of sucks, but also is usually the reality. We got very lucky, I think first season most of us wrapped the day of the Deb Ball, which was so lovely ‘cause we all got to be together and we were all in beautiful costumes and listening to a string quartet play in the background (Laughs). But I think it’s still emotional every time someone wraps, especially this season, but I cry every year on the last day ‘cause you’re like, wow, I can’t believe we just did this thing again, and we keep getting to do this thing and it’s so special to us.
The tone of season one and season two were very different, so how is season three different compared to the first two? And did you prepare for this final season differently?
I think it is different. The time jump really makes things different because they’re all just at a totally different place in their lives. So in terms of that, I prepared differently ‘cause I was like, OK, Belly’s not in high school anymore. I’m sort of getting to play my own age and I know what that’s like to be 21 or whatever. I mean, I didn’t finish college (Laughs), but I’d gone for a year. So yeah, it’s a different kind of prep, especially ‘cause Belly and Jeremiah had been in a relationship for so long, so we really had to make sure that their relationship really felt like these people who have been together for four years, which is a long time. And of course they knew each other for so long before that, but there are all the little things of like, who’s driving when you guys are in the car, who’s playing the music, and who finish the crusts on the pizza, which is probably not Jeremiah because of his whole story from childhood. But it’s all the little things that you kind of just know without talking about it, once you’ve been in a relationship for so long, so that was really fun to figure out.
How did you approach telling Belly and Jeremiah’s love story this season while facing the pressure from book fans so passionate about how trilogy ends since Belly ends up with Conrad in the books?
I think it’s a lose-lose situation. When we’re filming and reading the scripts and working on the scripts and working with Jenny and stuff, we’re fully in that world and telling the story in the best way that we can. I always say this when people ask me what team I’m on and stuff like that, I’m like, “I’m always Team Belly because when you’re playing that character, you have to be fully invested in that story and believe that she’s making these choices because this is what is best for her in whatever moment or point in her life.” So I’m always gonna support her and her following her heart and her figuring it out. And I think a lot of people maybe jump to conclusions, but Jenny has always been very clear that she’s gonna do what’s best for the story. And I think the beauty of these books and this show is that she has love for both of them, and I hope that people can see that. Also it is fun to watch people sort of flip-flop sometimes and be like, wait a second, I was Team Conrad and now I’m Team Jeremiah. I was Team Jeremiah and now I’m Team Conrad. It’s fun because it’s OK to sort of waver a little bit because Belly has so much love for both of them, and if we’re able to show these beautiful moments with both of them throughout the series, we’re doing our jobs I guess (Laughs).
Gavin Casalegno and Lola Tung in ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ season 3. Prime Video
When you think back to filming season one compared to now, what have you learned about yourself along the way?
Oh man, I’ve learned so much about myself. I’m very hard on myself. I’m kind of a perfectionist when it comes to stuff that I’m passionate about and I really want to do well and I really want to make people proud and not let anybody down. But I think playing Belly and sort of watching her journey and seeing that she makes a lot of mistakes along the way and still has people who love her and support her, and even when things get difficult, she can work through that, I guess that’s sort of maybe helped me be a little less hard on myself. The past four years have been such an incredible learning experience and so formative. I mean, 18 to 22 is a very big chunk of life and a lot has happened, so there’s so many lessons.
Can you tease what you’re most excited for fans to see in season three?
Oh yeah! I have so many exciting moments this season. I haven’t done really any interviews since the trailer’s been out, which is cool. I mean, Jeremiah and Belly announced their engagement, which was a big moment. And then let me see what else happens in that 2.5-minute trailer that I’ve already forgotten (Laughs). I think a lot of the Jeremiah-Belly stuff early is really fun ‘cause you get to see them in sort of this happy relationship that has lasted for a really long time and through a lot.
I remember watching [the trailer] it for the first time and I was like, “Jenny, this feels like we’re sharing a lot,” and she’s like, “No, no, it’s not even scratching the surface.” (Laughs) So it’s a lot of very, very exciting stuff, and you get to see some book characters like Agnes is there with Conrad, who’s always incredible. I’m excited for the new characters a lot too. They’re really, really fun and it was cool to sort of see these characters expand their worlds and make new friends and Belly has her new friends at college, which is really exciting.
Do you think book fans are still in for some surprises this season?
Of course, you know Jenny. She’s always gonna surprise you a little bit, which is the best thing about her.
Now have you seen the finale?
Possibly? (Laughs)
Are you happy with how Belly’s story ends?
I am. I’m very happy, for many reasons I think, and I’m very happy with I think the journey that she takes this year. It was really fun to feel like it was a little bit more of a mature journey or she feels more grown up, and you can sort of tell in the decisions that she makes. But it was really fun to film and really fun to see sort of play out.
Lola Tung in ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ season 1. Prime Video
I also want to talk about your upcoming film, Forbidden Fruits. What are you looking forward to the most with that project?
Everything. I mean, the cast is awesome. I got to work with some really incredible women who I learned so much from ‘cause they’ve been doing this a lot longer than I have, and it was just so cool to be around them and to be doing scenes with them. They’re all so funny and so talented and the story is so fun. It’s like witchy and also funny, but just badass. It’s very different from The Summer I Turned Pretty, which was super fun for me ‘cause I think that’s your biggest hope as an actor is to be able to do things that are just completely opposite from each other. The director’s incredible, Meredith, and it was my first experience on an indie film and that was really fun to learn about that process. It’s very costume, makeup, hair, look heavy, which was super fun too. It’s just gonna be one of those things that you go to the theater with your friends and it’s just a really, really fun time.
I know it was Emma Chamberlain’s first onscreen role. Did you give her any advice?
I hate giving advice ‘cause I feel like I’m shit at it, and I also still feel like I don’t know anything at all. But she showed up so prepared and so ready, and she was so excited. She was great, and so easy to work with and kind. I mean, honestly, she was killing it. I had no advice to give really. I’m like, you tell me how to do this, how to get over nerves. So it was really fun working with her and working with that whole cast and crew.
I rememeber the first TikTok on the Forbidden Fruits account, with you and the rest of the iconic cast standing around a table, went absolutely viral. What was your reaction to people’s excitement seeing you all together for the first time?
I remember Savannah who does social media on Forbidden Fruits had all of these amazing concepts and ideas for us, but I remember her showing me the TikTok and you never know what’s gonna blow up on TikTok. I was like, this stupid video of us sitting around the table just laughing and whatever went so viral and I’m just so happy that people are so excited for it, but I was like, this is the one that went crazy? (Laughs).
It was very fun doing social media stuff for that movie too, because it is so many looks and I had one look that was a little bit of Y2K moment, so we did like — I mean the TikToks are not out yet — but there will maybe like a Lizzie McGuire sound or something, so that was really fun to do.
Lola Tung Martin Berggren
You also starred in the Broadway musical Hadestown last year. What was the experience like and do you have a preference between stage and screen acting?
That was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I started in theater — I have a lot of friends who are film buffs and total cinephiles, and I’m starting to build up my film knowledge — and so much of my knowledge was just musical theater and it’s what I studied in school and I love theater so, so much. And being able to make my Broadway debut and especially in that show that I’ve loved for so long was so surreal and so magical. I’ve grown to love both theater and screen acting, and they’re both so special in their own ways, but I really feel like there’s nothing like the feeling of live theater and just being in that space for that one night, and knowing that the next night will be completely different. You know, sometimes mistakes happen or silly things happen that you kind of just have to go with. And screen can be a little intimidating sometimes ‘cause you’re like, OK, this thing is gonna live forever on the internet or wherever, and because of that you get to do more takes and it’s more about fine-tuning stuff, but, you know, theater exists in that moment with that specific audience, and that’s so special.
Would you like to return to Broadway in the future?
Absolutely, if they let me! Who knows?
Do you have a dream genre or role or project that you would love to do in the future?
There’s so much stuff that I haven’t done that I would love to do. It’s hard to pinpoint something. I think it’s when you read a script and you’re like, that’s the thing, and I want to work with this person and I want to play this character. I would love to do a play. That’s again like my roots, so that would be really fun. Forbidden Fruits is a little comedic, which was fun. There’s so much stuff and there’s a lot of great stuff being written right now and so many cool people who are doing cool stuff, like Emma Seligman and Molly Gordon, Iowa Devry, like all these cool young women especially that I’m so excited to see what they’ll do next.
If you had to describe what makes Lola Tung, Lola Tung, what would you say?
I laugh a lot, I cry a lot, I feel emotions very strongly, which in this industry is I guess a good thing (Laughs). And I have a lot of love to give, I think? I’m trying to stop doubting myself at the end of every sentence, but as of right now that is a thing that I do unfortunately. But I think my defining trait is that I cry when I laugh really hard. I think that says all that you need to know about me (Laughs).
