If you’ve spent even a minute on any streaming service in the past two years, you’ve seen Lola Tung. She’s become one of those actresses that even if you don’t know her, you know her. Tung is a 23 y/o Chinese-American actress who initially rose to fame as Belly Conklin in Amazon Prime’s The Summer I Turned Pretty, after filming her audition reel at age 18 from her freshman dorm room at Carnegie Mellon. When most college freshmen are just exploring their newfound freedom from mom and dad, she was out there booking lead roles with major studios like it was nbd.
The Summer I Turned Pretty was an instant streaming hit, with a devoted fanbase divided into Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah, resulting in the kind of parasocial chaos that reminds us all that the internet can be fun, actually. Lola Tung credits the show with handing her a thriving career, and now there’s a major motion picture in the works with her set to continue her starring role. Tung says she hasn’t seen a script yet, but allegedly, she and showrunner Jenny Han are already talking ideas. According to Tung, she’s imagining Belly living in Paris with Conrad off doing “his doctor stuff” while their love story continues via long-distance yearning. I mean… I’m here for it.
In addition to buckling up for a The Summer I Turned Pretty movie, Lola is also preparing to dip her toes into a whole new genre. That’s right, Tung is preparing to pivot from beach read romance, to straight up bloodshed with not one, but TWO upcoming horror projects. Up first, we have Forbidden Fruits, a witchy thriller featuring Tung, as well as Lili Reinhart. It’s being produced by Diablo Cody of Juno, and Jennifer’s Body fame. The project is already drawing comparisons to both Jennifer’s Body and The Craft, with the female driven cast exploring themes of female friendship and rage, under the masterful direction of Meredith Alloway. Up next, we have The Young People, directed by Osgood Perkins, who directed Longlegs. In this movie, Tung will be starring alongside Nico Parker, Tatiana Maslany, and Hollywood legend, Nicole Kidman herself. According to Lola, the filming experience for The Young People was “crazy, weird, and awesome,” and she even said that she “got a little scared on set,” which tells me that I’m going to need to not have a full bladder at any point in the theater when I go to see this one.
Because I am who I am… y’all knew that Lola Tung’s also already made her Broadway debut, yes? She took a turn as Eurydice in Hadestown, with a performance that will only make you cry if you have any feelings at all. Reminder: she’s still in her early 20s, and has already locked down her reputation as a blockbuster hit actress who can hop onstage and perform for a live audience with incredible range and vulnerability. Tung has said that she’s open to returning to musical theatre, and can I just say that for someone who didn’t return to drama school after that dorm room audition reel landed her a hit TV show**,** that’s a pretty damn impressive resume she’s built for herself**?** I selfishly want to get to see her live at some point in the next decade.
Lola Tung is a proud Chinese-American actress, and a part of the legacy of Asian excellence we’ve seen on screen for the past few years. The representation was long needed, and watching Lola Tung enjoy her moment in the sun alongside several other phenomenal Asian actors has been a joy. Speaking of which, was anyone else as obsessed with Yerin Ha’s performance as Sophie Baek in Season 4 of Bridgerton as I was? The yearning. The joy. She brought goddess energy as a romantic lead in a mainstream prestige TV show, and Lola fits right into this wave. The roles we’re seeing are nuanced, central to the plot, and not relegated to the role of sidekick or best friend. Can we see more of this please? Even Asian OnlyFans creators are diversifying into more prestige-aligned adult content, so let’s keep this particular snowball rolling, please and thank you.
If you haven’t seen her yet, Lola Tung is one to keep an eye on. Beach, stage, horror set, runway (oh, did I not mention that she was just at Paris Fashion Week?!), her star has clearly only begun to rise. Follow her. Watch everything. Thank me later.
