インタビュー | ショーン・カウフマン | Schön! Magazine

It’s not every day that an under-the-radar college student is plucked out of incognito mode and thrust into one of the most devoured series of recent years – but for Sean Kaufman, that’s exactly how it went down. Across two seasons of Amazon’s ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’, we’ve come to know Steven Conklin – played by Kaufman – through his high energy, irritatingly accurate portrayal of the ultimate older brother to the show’s protagonist, Belly.

Sure, the show’s charm starts with the innocence of a teenage love triangle at its core, but it’s the emotional depth, the gut-punch storylines, all soundtracked to ‘This is Taylor Swift’, that’s made it stick. As Kaufman chats to Schön! about the whirlwind so far, one thing’s clear: the life he’s living now looks nothing at all like the one he had pictured growing up in Manhattan.

Now, with the third and final season around the corner, we’ve been teased with what looks like a rocky road ahead for Steven. With love, real responsibility, and possibly even his life on the line, it sounds as though the finale – premiering in September – is gearing up to deliver the heartfelt goodbye fans have been bracing for. “We put so much effort into this season, and we just want people to savour it and enjoy it as much as we did making it,” he says of season three. And as for Sean? Don’t blink – he’s just getting started.

Sean, you’re a New York boy right?

Born and raised.

Have you ever lived anywhere else?

I mean, lived is probably a bit of a stretch. I was in LA for about six or seven months, and I’ve spent a couple of years in North Carolina shooting stuff.

Presume that’s where you filmed The Summer I Turned Pretty?

Yeah, in an absolutely beautiful beach town down there.

Sounds gorgeous! I’m such a fan of the series, by the way. I devoured the first two seasons. I’m curious as to how it all came about. Tell me about landing the role of Steven?

I was in college actually. It was my junior year, and I remember my manager at the time got me this audition for a book I had never read. It wasn’t on my radar, but I knew Jenny Han’s name. I had seen ‘To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before’. I did a couple of call-backs and then met Lola [Tung], and it all came together. After that, I had to drop out of junior year.

Oh wow, you actually had to drop out to do it?

Yeah, thankfully, they let me back in, though! My dad was bragging to everyone we know because he has this notion that everyone who is successful is a dropout. He was like, “My son’s a college dropout, he’s heading for big things.”

I mean, he was right.

[Laughs], the jury is still out.

When did you get back then, or have you yet?

I have. It was pretty much straight after season one. We shot in the summer of 2021 and then wrapped that fall so I was able to get back and get that degree.

In what ways would you say playing Steven has influenced who you are behind the scenes?

That’s a great question. I have to say the one thing that I always think about is Steven’s relationship with Belly in the show. I have an actual sister, who’s three years younger than me and more or less. Our whole childhood, we really didn’t get along. No fault of hers, we were just a son and a daughter living in a one-bedroom in Manhattan, you know, sharing a room and all that stuff. Fair to say, it caused a lot of fights. But then, playing Steven made me realise just how important that relationship really is. Seeing how much he loves Belly, I was able to use that in my own life and how I can love my sister. Looking back on is pretty fucked up to think I needed that motivation.

No, that seems fairly common. I have a younger sister too, and trust me when I say, I relate to everything you just said.

It really opened my eyes. Thankfully, the past few years, my sister’s relationship and mine has been amazing. Both this show and playing Steven have helped me get there.

That’s so interesting because throughout the first two seasons, we see Steven and Belly’s relationship endure its fair share of turbulence, but it’s so clear that there is an undeniable amount of love underneath all of that, which comes across.

That’s the thing, at the end of the day, they’re still brother and sister. He’s going to be snarky and give her shit, but he always leads with love when it comes to her.

We’ve seen a real evolution of Steven’s character. He’s now juggling real-life responsibilities like jobs and relationships. How has that been to play?

I think that’s a really cool part of TV, and especially being able to do multiple seasons. In season one, he’s a kid. He’s carefree and adventurous. Now, he’s stepping out of his comfort zone. In season three, he’s graduated from college and is off in the real world. I think that was fun to be able to delve into, especially when I can compare it to who I am as Sean. I’m 25 now, so I know how things work in my reality, but how does he deal with these scenarios? How does he sustain relationships and handle work and love, and everything in between? You know?

Which version of Steven did you find the most fun to play? Season one’s goofy side or how we’ll see him in season three?

That’s almost impossible to answer. I loved shooting season three. I think what you guys will see is a tremendous amount of work. I know my scene partners, specifically Rain Spencer, put so much work in. Doing scenes with her was so much fun. It’s a tricky one, though, because there’s no season three Steven without season one Steven, you know? During the filming of this season, there were so many times when I could relate to a point in his arc and understand why he does things. It’s really beautiful, actually.

As a viewer, it’s so cool to see it all connect. What is a feeling you hope people are left with after finishing the finale?

I want people to leave that final viewing feeling everything. I want them to feel good. This was probably our favourite season to shoot, and when we wrapped on that final day, we all took a deep breath and let everything out. It was emotional. I hope viewers can experience that same feeling and take that journey with us throughout the season.

How long did it take to film season three?

About four or five months. It was a long enough time that by the end of it, we were like, “Do we live in North Carolina? “We’re going back home?!”

I can imagine – “What is home?” What were the first few days afterwards like?

Very weird. I think wrapping any season is extremely weird, and this season even more so. Many of the cast are based here in New York, so I’m able to see them and hang out all the time. But it’s so sad to know I won’t see Gavin [Casalegno] or Rain for about six months. You spend 24 hours, seven days a week with these people, and now to suddenly not know when I’ll see them is strange. The first couple of days, I was literally texting people like “You wanna grab lunch?” and they were like “We’re not even in the same state.”

Besides acting, I know playwriting is also a huge passion of yours – had you always been interested in it?

Actually I don’t think I always had an interest in it. I love plays and I’m a big theatre geek, but I never really got into writing until COVID, when there was no acting to be done. I’m drawn to the idea of building characters and that arc that I was talking about. I love actin,g but playwriting is a way for me to channel that when I’m not working.

When you’re writing, is it a case of knuckling down and knocking out a few pages, or is it more of a spur-of-the-moment situation?

In all honesty, there’s no system. Most of my writing gets done between 2 am and about 6 am. I tend to get stuck with a line or a scene and base the rest around that. Steve Hadley, a fantastic playwright, told me once, “You’re never gonna be able to write. The only way to get it done is to tell your friends that you’re having a reading 30 days from now. Set the date, and then you have to get it done.”

Have you done that yet?

I have actually. I was finishing up a play and was getting a little stuck, so I told a couple of friends I was having a reading and forced myself to just sit and write for two weeks out of fear of disappointing them.

Now that ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ is coming to an end, is the idea of being recognised for future roles daunting, or is it just incredibly exciting?

Incredibly exciting. Getting recognised for [playing] Steven is a blessing. I still can’t fathom a world in which I get stopped on the street and people know who I am, but there are so many stories and characters out there that I want to try to help tell. I want to try to do everything in my career at least once. Who doesn’t want to be like an action star once? And who doesn’t want to do the sad Indie?

The show deals with some pretty heavy stuff – grief, heartbreak, all the messy parts of growing up but it still feels really light and easy to watch. Was that all down to the writers and producers, or did you guys have to figure out how to strike that balance on set, too?

I think it’s always a little bit of both. That’s what makes this show really beautiful. There are really raw topics for a show like this that I think you don’t often see. Grief is a big one in this show, and it comes around and takes you off guard. But then, still understanding that it is a show aimed at teens and young adults and it’s focused on this love triangle, you know. I have to say anything to do with the actual writing is a credit to Jenny Han. She is incredible.

It can be the most devastating scene, and then you’ll just hear Taylor Swift in the background, and you’re reminded of the show you’re watching.

Right? I think about that so much. I remember one of my favourite moments was in season two – that scene of Conrad and Belly on the beach. It’s such a distraught, heartbreaking scene, you want to tear your own heart out and then immediately it cuts to Steven and Taylor making out or something. It’s this beautiful line that I think she plays so well, where it’s not cheesy or corny or even out of place. It just works in this world.

Honestly, I think that balance is a huge part of why the show’s so successful.

I also think that’s a big part of why our fans are so diverse. I’m often surprised by how we have so many fans of all kinds of races, genders and everything. It’s lovely because there’s a part for everyone. As many people are watching to see Steven make out with Taylor, there are also people watching for the likes of Susannah and Laurel’s storyline, you know?

Tell me about ‘For All Mankind’ season five. How did it feel to come into a project with such a history behind it, compared to a project like ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’, where you were able to start the story with your character?

That was definitely daunting at first. It’s filled with such a stacked cast of veteran actors, and it’s been going on forever, so there’s so much to learn to get in that world. I think in the moment I was terrified, and it scared me so much, but looking back on it, it was a godsend. I had booked the show while we were shooting season three of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’, and as soon as we wrapped,d I flew straight to LA and started shooting the next day.

Oh wow, did that not completely mess with your head?

It was weird, I was literally playing Steven 24 hours beforehand. I was like, “How do I distinguish these two people?” The fact that it was such a fast turnaround helped, actually, I think. There was no waiting around or time to get in my head about it. That was a blessing when I look back on it. I just had to jump in. That whole experience was amazing and so starkly different from ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’. That was exactly what I was looking for. What a lucky position to be in as well, to be able to go straight into another project. Such a blessing. I’m the luckiest guy on earth.

So, what do you have in store for us for the rest of the year?

Both ‘For All Mankind’ and ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ are coming out, which is exciting.

Yes, and the episode rollout has just been shared with the final episode of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ out in the fall.

Yeah, I’ve seen a big debate online as to what people want now. I’m a big fan of that old school TV vibe, an episode a week. I don’t know about you, but I remember watching an episode, and then you’d go to school and talk about it all week long. Everyone just binges series now, and you end up missing bits and having to rewind. We put so much effort into this season, and we want to help make everyone savour it and enjoy it as much as we did making it.

Exactly, who wouldn’t want a taste of summer in the midst of fall? Well, I for one can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to. Thanks for chatting Sean!

Appreciate it. Chat again soon.

The third and final season of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ is streaming now on Amazon Prime.

photography. Ben Abarnabel
fashion. Jordan Dorso @ A-frame Agency
talent. Sean Kaufman
casting. Alabama Blonde
grooming. Rheanne White @ Tracey Mattingly Agency
production. Clara La Rosa
video. Kevin Farley
location. The Peninsula New York
special thanks. Mason Rose PR
interview. Patrick Grady

 

It’s not every day that an under-the-radar college student is plucked out of incognito mode and thrust into one of the most devoured series of recent years – but for Sean Kaufman, that’s exactly how it went down. Across two seasons of Amazon’s ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’, we’ve come to know Steven Conklin – played by Kaufman – through his high energy, irritatingly accurate portrayal of the ultimate older brother to the show’s protagonist, Belly.

Sure, the show’s charm starts with the innocence of a teenage love triangle at its core, but it’s the emotional depth, the gut-punch storylines, all soundtracked to ‘This is Taylor Swift’, that’s made it stick. As Kaufman chats to Schön! about the whirlwind so far, one thing’s clear: the life he’s living now looks nothing at all like the one he had pictured growing up in Manhattan.

Now, with the third and final season around the corner, we’ve been teased with what looks like a rocky road ahead for Steven. With love, real responsibility, and possibly even his life on the line, it sounds as though the finale – premiering in September – is gearing up to deliver the heartfelt goodbye fans have been bracing for. “We put so much effort into this season, and we just want people to savour it and enjoy it as much as we did making it,” he says of season three. And as for Sean? Don’t blink – he’s just getting started.

Sean, you’re a New York boy right?

Born and raised.

Have you ever lived anywhere else?

I mean, lived is probably a bit of a stretch. I was in LA for about six or seven months, and I’ve spent a couple of years in North Carolina shooting stuff.

Presume that’s where you filmed The Summer I Turned Pretty?

Yeah, in an absolutely beautiful beach town down there.

Sounds gorgeous! I’m such a fan of the series, by the way. I devoured the first two seasons. I’m curious as to how it all came about. Tell me about landing the role of Steven?

I was in college actually. It was my junior year, and I remember my manager at the time got me this audition for a book I had never read. It wasn’t on my radar, but I knew Jenny Han’s name. I had seen ‘To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before’. I did a couple of call-backs and then met Lola [Tung], and it all came together. After that, I had to drop out of junior year.

Oh wow, you actually had to drop out to do it?

Yeah, thankfully, they let me back in, though! My dad was bragging to everyone we know because he has this notion that everyone who is successful is a dropout. He was like, “My son’s a college dropout, he’s heading for big things.”

I mean, he was right.

[Laughs], the jury is still out.

When did you get back then, or have you yet?

I have. It was pretty much straight after season one. We shot in the summer of 2021 and then wrapped that fall so I was able to get back and get that degree.

In what ways would you say playing Steven has influenced who you are behind the scenes?

That’s a great question. I have to say the one thing that I always think about is Steven’s relationship with Belly in the show. I have an actual sister, who’s three years younger than me and more or less. Our whole childhood, we really didn’t get along. No fault of hers, we were just a son and a daughter living in a one-bedroom in Manhattan, you know, sharing a room and all that stuff. Fair to say, it caused a lot of fights. But then, playing Steven made me realise just how important that relationship really is. Seeing how much he loves Belly, I was able to use that in my own life and how I can love my sister. Looking back on is pretty fucked up to think I needed that motivation.

No, that seems fairly common. I have a younger sister too, and trust me when I say, I relate to everything you just said.

It really opened my eyes. Thankfully, the past few years, my sister’s relationship and mine has been amazing. Both this show and playing Steven have helped me get there.

That’s so interesting because throughout the first two seasons, we see Steven and Belly’s relationship endure its fair share of turbulence, but it’s so clear that there is an undeniable amount of love underneath all of that, which comes across.

That’s the thing, at the end of the day, they’re still brother and sister. He’s going to be snarky and give her shit, but he always leads with love when it comes to her.

We’ve seen a real evolution of Steven’s character. He’s now juggling real-life responsibilities like jobs and relationships. How has that been to play?

I think that’s a really cool part of TV, and especially being able to do multiple seasons. In season one, he’s a kid. He’s carefree and adventurous. Now, he’s stepping out of his comfort zone. In season three, he’s graduated from college and is off in the real world. I think that was fun to be able to delve into, especially when I can compare it to who I am as Sean. I’m 25 now, so I know how things work in my reality, but how does he deal with these scenarios? How does he sustain relationships and handle work and love, and everything in between? You know?

Which version of Steven did you find the most fun to play? Season one’s goofy side or how we’ll see him in season three?

That’s almost impossible to answer. I loved shooting season three. I think what you guys will see is a tremendous amount of work. I know my scene partners, specifically Rain Spencer, put so much work in. Doing scenes with her was so much fun. It’s a tricky one, though, because there’s no season three Steven without season one Steven, you know? During the filming of this season, there were so many times when I could relate to a point in his arc and understand why he does things. It’s really beautiful, actually.

As a viewer, it’s so cool to see it all connect. What is a feeling you hope people are left with after finishing the finale?

I want people to leave that final viewing feeling everything. I want them to feel good. This was probably our favourite season to shoot, and when we wrapped on that final day, we all took a deep breath and let everything out. It was emotional. I hope viewers can experience that same feeling and take that journey with us throughout the season.

How long did it take to film season three?

About four or five months. It was a long enough time that by the end of it, we were like, “Do we live in North Carolina? “We’re going back home?!”

I can imagine – “What is home?” What were the first few days afterwards like?

Very weird. I think wrapping any season is extremely weird, and this season even more so. Many of the cast are based here in New York, so I’m able to see them and hang out all the time. But it’s so sad to know I won’t see Gavin [Casalegno] or Rain for about six months. You spend 24 hours, seven days a week with these people, and now to suddenly not know when I’ll see them is strange. The first couple of days, I was literally texting people like “You wanna grab lunch?” and they were like “We’re not even in the same state.”

Besides acting, I know playwriting is also a huge passion of yours – had you always been interested in it?

Actually I don’t think I always had an interest in it. I love plays and I’m a big theatre geek, but I never really got into writing until COVID, when there was no acting to be done. I’m drawn to the idea of building characters and that arc that I was talking about. I love actin,g but playwriting is a way for me to channel that when I’m not working.

When you’re writing, is it a case of knuckling down and knocking out a few pages, or is it more of a spur-of-the-moment situation?

In all honesty, there’s no system. Most of my writing gets done between 2 am and about 6 am. I tend to get stuck with a line or a scene and base the rest around that. Steve Hadley, a fantastic playwright, told me once, “You’re never gonna be able to write. The only way to get it done is to tell your friends that you’re having a reading 30 days from now. Set the date, and then you have to get it done.”

Have you done that yet?

I have actually. I was finishing up a play and was getting a little stuck, so I told a couple of friends I was having a reading and forced myself to just sit and write for two weeks out of fear of disappointing them.

Now that ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ is coming to an end, is the idea of being recognised for future roles daunting, or is it just incredibly exciting?

Incredibly exciting. Getting recognised for [playing] Steven is a blessing. I still can’t fathom a world in which I get stopped on the street and people know who I am, but there are so many stories and characters out there that I want to try to help tell. I want to try to do everything in my career at least once. Who doesn’t want to be like an action star once? And who doesn’t want to do the sad Indie?

The show deals with some pretty heavy stuff – grief, heartbreak, all the messy parts of growing up but it still feels really light and easy to watch. Was that all down to the writers and producers, or did you guys have to figure out how to strike that balance on set, too?

I think it’s always a little bit of both. That’s what makes this show really beautiful. There are really raw topics for a show like this that I think you don’t often see. Grief is a big one in this show, and it comes around and takes you off guard. But then, still understanding that it is a show aimed at teens and young adults and it’s focused on this love triangle, you know. I have to say anything to do with the actual writing is a credit to Jenny Han. She is incredible.

It can be the most devastating scene, and then you’ll just hear Taylor Swift in the background, and you’re reminded of the show you’re watching.

Right? I think about that so much. I remember one of my favourite moments was in season two – that scene of Conrad and Belly on the beach. It’s such a distraught, heartbreaking scene, you want to tear your own heart out and then immediately it cuts to Steven and Taylor making out or something. It’s this beautiful line that I think she plays so well, where it’s not cheesy or corny or even out of place. It just works in this world.

Honestly, I think that balance is a huge part of why the show’s so successful.

I also think that’s a big part of why our fans are so diverse. I’m often surprised by how we have so many fans of all kinds of races, genders and everything. It’s lovely because there’s a part for everyone. As many people are watching to see Steven make out with Taylor, there are also people watching for the likes of Susannah and Laurel’s storyline, you know?

Tell me about ‘For All Mankind’ season five. How did it feel to come into a project with such a history behind it, compared to a project like ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’, where you were able to start the story with your character?

That was definitely daunting at first. It’s filled with such a stacked cast of veteran actors, and it’s been going on forever, so there’s so much to learn to get in that world. I think in the moment I was terrified, and it scared me so much, but looking back on it, it was a godsend. I had booked the show while we were shooting season three of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’, and as soon as we wrapped,d I flew straight to LA and started shooting the next day.

Oh wow, did that not completely mess with your head?

It was weird, I was literally playing Steven 24 hours beforehand. I was like, “How do I distinguish these two people?” The fact that it was such a fast turnaround helped, actually, I think. There was no waiting around or time to get in my head about it. That was a blessing when I look back on it. I just had to jump in. That whole experience was amazing and so starkly different from ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’. That was exactly what I was looking for. What a lucky position to be in as well, to be able to go straight into another project. Such a blessing. I’m the luckiest guy on earth.

So, what do you have in store for us for the rest of the year?

Both ‘For All Mankind’ and ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ are coming out, which is exciting.

Yes, and the episode rollout has just been shared with the final episode of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ out in the fall.

Yeah, I’ve seen a big debate online as to what people want now. I’m a big fan of that old school TV vibe, an episode a week. I don’t know about you, but I remember watching an episode, and then you’d go to school and talk about it all week long. Everyone just binges series now, and you end up missing bits and having to rewind. We put so much effort into this season, and we want to help make everyone savour it and enjoy it as much as we did making it.

Exactly, who wouldn’t want a taste of summer in the midst of fall? Well, I for one can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to. Thanks for chatting Sean!

Appreciate it. Chat again soon.

The third and final season of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ is streaming now on Amazon Prime.

photography. Ben Abarnabel
fashion. Jordan Dorso @ A-frame Agency
talent. Sean Kaufman
casting. Alabama Blonde
grooming. Rheanne White @ Tracey Mattingly Agency
production. Clara La Rosa
video. Kevin Farley
location. The Peninsula New York
special thanks. Mason Rose PR
interview. Patrick Grady