After auditioning from her college dorm room in Pittsburg with the help of her roommates, Lola Tung landed her first breakthrough role as the protagonist in Amazon Prime’s The Summer I Turned Pretty. As a teenager figuring things out, her character Belly finds herself to be the catalyst of a love triangle with two brothers who she's known her whole life. Whilst we meet Belly in her exploration of the boys in the first chapter, season two was an opportunity for Lola to dig deeper and explore the darker sides of her character. For us, Lola talks about her thoughts on the newest season, as well as her hopes for the future - always to a Taylor Swift soundtrack.

So Lola, tell us about how you got into acting.

I started acting when I was in middle school. I auditioned for my school musical which was The Wizard of Oz, and I got cast as the tin man. I loved every aspect of theatre and acting, the whole rehearsal process and performing. I don’t think anything else made me feel as alive.

Were you a fan of The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy before auditioning for the role? Why would you say the work of Jenny Han speaks to this generation of viewers so much?

I hadn’t read the books but I had seen the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before movies. I was a huge fan of Jenny Han. She’s an incredible storyteller, and she treats these stories with such care and is so involved with how her stories are brought to life. She also allows these characters to feel all of these important things. So many feelings are universal for teens and maybe adults don't always take them seriously, but when you look at it, it’s such a pivotal moment in your life. You don’t have to have it all figured out, you know?

I felt like the Belly we got in season two had a lot more depth than in season one - how did you approach your character’s development this time around?

The second season lives in the same world but it just has such a different tone. Belly is in a different headspace, she’s really dealing with the weight of her grief and it’s affecting every aspect of her life. I think she’s feeling pretty lonely when we first see her and nobody can really understand how she’s feeling. It was a little difficult to live in that headspace. But the thing that was really driving me, and making me hopeful is that the season is about her taking initiative and being determined to bring back the magic that she feels like she's lost, and to repair these relationships that mean so much to her.

What steps do you take to fully immerse yourself in a role?

In the first season, I wrote letters from Belly’s perspective to every character of the show. This season, I would just journal if I was having trouble cracking the code to the scene. Music was a huge part of it, there were certain songs that would immediately get me in the headspace I needed to be. A lot of Mitski and Phoebe Bridgers. It was an emotional girl season for sure.

Music is a very important part of the show - did you have any say in the music choices?

I trust Jenny so much with the music, she’s done an incredible job and she definitely asks us [for opinion]. She’ll show us cuts of scenes with different songs over it and ask us which one we think suits the tone of the scene the most. Or she’ll ask for song recs, which is cool because all of us have different tastes in the cast.

Personally, I’m rooting for Conrad - why do you think as viewers we’re always drawn to the more difficult and gritty relationships?

I think that’s hard and I try to be careful because obviously there are toxic relationships that are almost romanticised in a way that’s a little bit dangerous. But I think with Conrad, even though it is messy, he thinks he’s just doing what’s best. People sympathise with that and can relate to that. Sometimes it's just physically hard to be that vulnerable with someone, it's like weighing on you, it's almost impossible to open your mouth and tell someone how you’re feeling.

Are there any specific types of roles or projects you aspire to work on in the future?

I’d love to do theatre at some point, and film. I’m interested in doing something different from Belly who I love so much, something that’s just the opposite and after that something completely opposite of that.

How do you balance your personal life with the demands and unpredictability of the industry?

Just taking it one day at a time, and knowing that the unpredictability of this business is rough but it's also the beauty of it. As someone who tends to stress about the future, I think it’s a good lesson, there are some things that aren’t in your control and that's ok.