The first two films in the Netflix trilogy “For all the boys I loved before” practically checked all the boxes of the drama bingo card for teenagers rom-com: a boy next door, a boy doomed to lose from a love triangle and, most importantly, the boy who helps to invent a fake dating plot that inevitably becomes … not so fake.
So when it came time to shoot the final installment, Lana Condor, who plays Lara Jean, the girl at the center of it all, was almost ready for a change of pace: “It’s called ‘For all boys'”, actress, 23, said in an interview with Zoom on Monday. “Your went about the boys. Since the first day. We understand. “
“To All the Boys: Always and Forever”, which starts broadcasting on Friday, leaves Team Josh and Team John Ambrose and Team Peter aside in favor of Team Lara Jean, when she finds herself on the verge of some important life decisions with high school graduation Approaching. She has come a long way since the desperate romantic who wrote her feelings in sweeping love letters instead of acting on them, a habit that triggered the antics of the first film when the letters inadvertently reached the recipients.
A lot has changed for Condor too. She became an overnight star with the first installment in 2018, and after “To All the Boys”, she is expected to star and executive produce a new comedy series for Netflix.
But first, after several years of a turbulent work schedule, she is focused on settling in her new home in Seattle with her boyfriend, actor Anthony De La Torre, and her dog, Emmy. As he prepared to say goodbye to the character who has defined his career so far, Condor discussed what it means to be one of the few Asian American actresses to head a romantic comedy and why Lara Jean from “Always and Forever” is her favorite. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
This time last year, you surprised fans at the Paris Theater in New York for the screening of the second film in the trilogy – an experience that now looks very strange. How is it looking back?
This was very exciting and made me feel very happy. I put a lot of myself in these films because I love them. They also changed my life. But, looking back, I was dying of anger at that point, because I was shooting the movies consecutively and then going on the big press tour. I would like to have absorbed everything and really be there.
How was it to make this last film for you?
I remember thinking, “How did I get here?” I wanted nothing more than to end up the way I would be super proud of Lara Jean. So, I was decided; I was constantly talking to the director and the producers and writers and everyone was like, “Guys, we need to show you as a young girl choosing herself for the first time.”
It was an exciting and crazy experience, because the last few years have been the biggest ups and downs of my life. [She has said she felt burned out after the first film.] I love the films, the friends I made in the cinema, the history – I love the color scheme of our films, the roses and the teal. So, knowing that it is the last time I will be in the room, the last time I will be in school, all those things that I have spent so much time in the past three years, is exciting. I’m going to miss it so much.
How was it to shoot in Korea?
We went during the typhoon season. So I thought, who thought of that? But it was incredible. We were just filming tourist stuff, so we filmed everywhere we would have gone as normal tourists. We met people on the street and people would come to the scene while we were filming and be like, “Oh, hi! I love your movie! “And we would say,” You are in this “.
How did you feel about the end of Lara Jean’s story?
Something I am most proud of is that she never really loses her little isms and strange peculiarities, and she never loses or changes her personality. This is very difficult not to do when you are in high school. Yes, the Lara Jean that we see in the third film is a grown-up Lara Jean, and she is different because she has life experience now, but in the end the things that make her your, she never let go.
Did you manage to keep any of the clothes?
Did I get to keep any of the clothes? No. Did I steal the clothes? yea. We spent hours and hours for each outfit making it perfect, because we saw from the first movie that the girls really went out to buy the clothes.
In the third film, they have this bowling shirt that we imitated in “The Great Lebowski”, so I have that. I have the hat rack, which is not a piece of clothing, but I wouldn’t leave the set without it. I have a blue silk jacket that she wears during a scene with Peter [in Part 1] when she is talking about people leaving – “The more people you let into your life, the more it can go away”. I love that. I took a pair of jeans, which is not exciting, but it is very difficult to find good jeans.
The films are based on Jenny Han’s books, and it’s fun to see her guest appearances in each film – how has your relationship with her been in recent years?
She is like my sister. We are always on the phone for hours and hours. When we first talked to her years ago, she said, “I just want you as Lana and as a young Asian American girl to have the same opportunities that Jennifer Lawrence and Katniss would have or Kristen Stewart as ‘Twilight’ Bella.” that was before we even knew we were going to have three films. No one has ever told me that, especially as an Asian American actress – almost to the point that I think, is that possible?
Was that aspect of the representation the one that you remembered most when making the films? Did you add any extra pressure?
I read the book just before the audition, and that’s when I thought, OK, that I have to have. Because this is an Asian American girl falling in love and this is something we need to see.
But when we were making movies, it was almost like I was just Lana. Because after all, it’s about a young woman falling in love and showing that anyone can fall in love. I think it was in my head, but neither was it. Because I don’t walk in life like Asian Lana going to the store, Asian Lana going to buy food, Asian Lana taking my dog for a walk.
We have reached the end of what Jenny Han wrote to Lara Jean. But do you see a scenario in which we can see more of this story unfold, or where you can play that character again?
I don’t think I ever say never. [But] the third is all I know. For me, this is the end. But I would really like to see Lara Jean and Peter in their 20s. Like they went to college and I want to see what they’re like in the workplace. I have this dream that Lara Jean is working in some realm of literature, I don’t know, in New York, writing, living her life. Because I personally have a feeling that they are going to try to make it work in college, but they are going to have to grow separately to be fully ready to come together.
But I know for sure that they are getting married; they will live happily ever after. I just think they need to grow as individuals first. And I would love to see them meet again – she is like in a cafe writing an article for a newspaper she is working for, and he is there, and they meet again in a new way, where they are older and developed . That would be so cool. If it happens, you heard it here first.