Fresh off Paris Fashion Week, Lola Tung, the actress who became a household name playing Isabel “Belly” Conklin in Prime Video’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” sat down for the inaugural episode of Variety’s “Up Next” podcast, where she opened up about the show’s upcoming film continuation, two new horror projects and her path to Hollywood.
Speaking on her first-ever podcast appearance, Tung revealed she has not yet seen a script for the upcoming film continuation of the popular book story turned hit show, but insists conversations with showrunner Jenny Han are already underway. “I’ve talked to Jenny a lot about ideas,” Tung said. “I’m excited to read the script.”
The film has been a subject of considerable fan speculation. When told a treatment was reportedly circulating, a visibly surprised Tung laughed, “No one sent it to me.”
As for where she imagines Belly and love interest Conrad Fisher (Christopher Brine) ending up, Tung painted a picture of two independent young adults navigating a long-distance relationship. “They love each other so much,” she said, adding that she sees Belly “living her life in Paris” and Conrad “doing his doctor stuff.”
The actress, who has played Belly since she was 18, also addressed the series’ most enduring fan debate — Team Conrad vs. Team Jeremiah — saying she does have a team from reading the books but is leaving it to Han to reveal her true feelings when the time is right. “It doesn’t matter what I think,” she says. “It’s all about you and your experience.”
For Tung, the impact of the show runs much deeper than fan debates, though. “It changed my life in every way possible,” she stated. “It gave me a career.”
Beyond “TSITP,” Tung is generating early buzz for two new horror film projects. “Forbidden Fruits,” a witchy thriller co-starring Lili Reinhart and produced by Diablo Cody, is already drawing comparisons to “Jennifer’s Body” and “The Craft” for its female-driven storytelling. Tung praised director Meredith Alloway for her creative vision, recalling a three-hour conversation about the complicated dynamics of female friendships and “the frustration and anger that just comes with being a woman.”
Tung, who has worked predominantly with female directors thus far, said the difference is palpable during filming. “Women are so thoughtful when it comes to the conversations that you have on set,” she said candidly.
Additionally, she is set to appear in “The Young People,” an upcoming horror project directed by “Longlegs” director and writer Osgood Perkins; she’ll star alongside Nicole Kidman, Nico Parker and Tatiana Maslany. Tung described the experience as “crazy, weird, and awesome,” adding that she “got a little scared on set a couple times.”
When not on horror sets and reading film scripts, Tung is also learning to carve out authentic moments amid the noise of sudden fame. She was famously spotted dancing with “Heated Rivalry” star Hudson Williams at Gold House’s Lunar New Year party in February.
“You almost instantly have this connection of like, ‘We get each other,’” she says of their similarities of being young actors navigating the business. “I do appreciate that he was like, ‘Let’s just have a good time.’”
During the interview, Tung also revealed that she sent in her audition tape for “The Summer I Turned Pretty” during her freshman year at Carnegie Mellon University where she was studying drama; it was filmed in her college apartment and she received a callback days later. She never returned to finish school.
“I always want to go back and take classes,” she says, noting she continues to take voice lessons and has been eyeing dance classes with friends. She also made her Broadway debut in “Hadestown” and has not ruled out returning to musical theater: “I’m down to do it again.”