【Singapore Archives】

"I watched To All the Boysthe other night by myself,Singapore Archives as one does, and I was loving it," Lana Condor reveals to me on the phone earlier this week. "I was sitting there by myself and I just was like, gigglingcause I think [Lara Jean] is like the cutest person in the world."

That's how hard the world has fallen for Netflix's To All the Boys I've Loved Before; the film's own star can't resist its charm and forgets, while watching, that these are not real people, that she is not, in fact, Lara Jean Song Covey.

"It’s a really cute movie and it makes me happy," she adds. "I’m in love with Lara Jean and Peter too! I was like, ‘You go girl! You get him!’"

SEE ALSO: How 'To All the Boys I've Loved Before' revived our cold, dead hearts

Condor is a self-proclaimed cynic who was hopeful but not expectant about To All the Boys' success.

"It has truly made my dreams come true and I never expected it to be like this well-received," she says. "I wake up every morning smiling because this is what you hope your movie will do."

Since the film's social media-stopping debut weekend, critics have dissected what makes the film such a pure delight and instant success.

"The story is very universal, and I think with Netflix because it was released globally, there's a lot of people who can relate to it," Condor says. "The things that Lara Jean and Peter go through are very universal problems...it seems people are refreshed to see like wholesome, feel-good content, because there’s not a lot of that out there."

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

And then, of course, there's the crush.

Condor's costar Noah Centineo a.k.a. Peter Kavinsky stole thousands if not millions of hearts as the embodiment of new masculinity and a most unproblematic fave. Condor says she's seen men on Twitter admiring Kavinsky and saying he made them want to step up their game.

"Nowadays I think guys are more emotional and they’re more in tune with how they feel and I think Peter shows that," she says. "So hopefully guys will treat girls better – I freaking hope so! They should’ve already, in the first place – but if Peter’s the one to change their minds then let it be!"

The same is true of Centineo, whose success makes his Lara Jean giggle with gratitude.

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"The world loves Noah, like everyone’s in love with Noah," Condor says. "As we were shooting the film I was like, 'Oh my god the world is not ready for Noah, he’s just gonna charm the whole entire world,' and he definitely did that."

And not without reason, she adds. During production, she received some bad news and was feeling down one evening when she texted Centineo. He was at a dinner, and Condor just gave him a heads up that she could use company if he was free afterward.

"As soon as he got the text, he got the bill, got up from dinner, ran like seven blocks, full sprint, sent me a video – full sprint! – of him running back to our apartment building, ran upstairs, banged on my apartment door, came in, swaddled me like a baby with a bunch of blankets, and then cleaned my whole apartment."

"There’s a reason the world is thirsting after him. He’s a great guy!" she laughs.

To All the Boysnot only gave its audience new crushes, but it made the jittery uncertainty of a teen crush seem more appealing than ever.

"In my case, I get really obsessed with the person," Condor said of her own boys she's loved before. "I think about them all the time and it’s distracting and I can’t do anything else! But having a [pure] crush like Lara Jean and Peter, it just makes you smile and makes you feel happy and makes you feel hopeful, and I love it."

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Condor is still feeling the love for the film and for Lara Jean ("I just think she's the cutest person in the world!"), and she's grateful to be part of a watershed moment for representation at the movies.

"It’s not often that Asian American actresses get this juicy of a character, and they wrote her so three-dimensional and dynamic, and it’s just really exciting," she said.

Before this, Condor was known for sci-fi and action movies; it's a different kind of acting, something that goes hand in hand with "flashing lights" and visual effects.

But in To All the Boysand Crazy Rich Asians, Asian American characters get to be themselves and rely on good old-fashioned acting and emotion. The yields are undeniable, to the tune of Crazy Rich Asians' box office domination and To All the Boysstealing hearts on streaming.

"I am beyond honored to share the same opening weekend and it makes me want to cry because it’s long overdue," Condor says. "If we just keep hitting it hard with representation hopefully we can continue this amazing moment...I don’t want it to just be like we had an amazing summer and then all of a sudden there’s no more representation. I don’t want it to be just squeezed toward summer. I want it to transition to fall, and winter, and spring, and again and again and again and again."

"Seeing all this happen all at once and seeing how people are responding to it and that they actually want to see more of it, it’s so validating," she adds "If I had seen this when I was younger I would’ve believed in myself a little bit more as a performer."

Now she's an inspiration to the young Lara Jeans of the world, cheering them on as they chase their dreams.

To All the Boys I've Loved Beforeis now streaming on Netflix.

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Topics Netflix