Logo text The internet seemingly cannot get enough of the Cousins crew from The Summer I Turned Pretty.

Sean Kaufman, who plays main character Bellys older brother in the series, is one of several younger actors to call the show their breakout role. While Belly (Lola Tung) has been dealing with her seasons-long love triangle with Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) and Conrad (Christopher Briney), Kaufmans character Steven has dealt with plenty of his own romantic and career drama.

Stevens the main character in his own story, as Kaufman puts it. The 25-year-old actor is outwardly grateful for the gift that this show has been to him, sharing that he hopes to be a figure for other actors coming up in the industry. I do want to be a figure for Asian actors, and young Asian actors, especially, Kaufman tells The Hollywood Reporter over Zoom last week, just a day after The Summer I Turned Prettys penultimate episode. One of the most beautiful things ever was being able to see Steven Yeun do The Walking Dead. I think he was the first ever guy who I saw up there [that] kind of had the same face as me, he continues. It wasnt a stereotype, he didnt have an accent and it wasnt racist. He was just a dude who happened to be Asian in the apocalypse. And I was like, Thats fucking awesome.

As the Prime Video series prepares to conclude after three seasons, Kaufman speaks with THR about the bond he shares with his cast, why logging off of social media was needed and why he was a bit nervous about where Steven might end the series.

This season of The Summer I Turned Pretty has essentially taken over the Internet. What has the experience been like with this last season on such a magnified scale?

Its been surreal. I think Im beyond grateful for it. Its anything I think any of us could have asked for. Its amazing that people are so invested in it and care about it just as much as I think we cared about it when making it. I think that is a really satisfying feeling. I know this season we put a lot of work in, all of us, and to see people, whether theyre enjoying it or not enjoying it or however they feel about it, theyre investing so much of themselves into the show. I think that thats really, really cool. Thats better than just blindly liking it. I dont know, but its amazing. And now a lot of people stop me on the street and thats pretty dope too.

Sean Kaufman and Rain Spencer in The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3. Prime Video Looking back at the beginning of the series, has everything exceeded your expectations? Were you able to do the things you had hoped going in?

I tried to always hold myself to no expectations and just let things come and go as they do. I think its kind of just good for me mentally, but I do remember, in the very beginning of the first season, we all got along extremely well. So well. Theyre my best friends, the people in this show. I remember hearing from the crew, people whod been doing this for 20, 30, 40 years, and they were like, you guys got something special. The shows special, but the bond you guys have, this does not happen every show [or] every movie. Hearing that, this being my first real big thing, I didnt believe it. I didnt understand what that meant. I was like, what do you mean? Its not always like this? That I dont always find the best people in my life and people Im going to talk to forever. [I was] not really listening to people who have been in the industry for 30, 40 years.

Slowly throughout this process, Ive figured out that it is special. My bond with these people will long outlive this show, and that is something that is beyond essential to me. [Its] something Im so happy to have figured out. Going back to the books, I think one thing that I love about my character specifically is that hes not in the books too much. There was a lot of freedom with Jenny [Han, creator] and I when it came to what happens with his story and where does it go and the arc it takes throughout the full three seasons.

Hearing you say that youve all become so close is sweet. For a lot of you in the series, it was your big break. What was it like to have them as your support system as you all took this new path in your careers?

It was really lovely to have this experience with them. I talk to my friends about this a lot where its like, from now on, I will always be known as Sean Kaufman from The Summer I Turned Pretty, whether I do projects that eclipse it, it doesnt matter. This is what Ill be known for, and there are only a handful of my true friends who knew me before this. And they [his fellow cast members] are those people that knew me before this. Just as I knew Lola before she was Belly, and I knew Chris before he was Conrad. That opportunity is past itself now, and that is no longer a thing for me to meet people and not know that.

Its awesome to have that together because its truly the last set of friends in my life where Im like, we knew each other way before anything, way before it all went down. That is something that I think I can truly learn to appreciate because at the end of the day when I know I have a real problem and really something that I need to talk to somebody about, I can go to them and be like, you know me and who I really am, and thats irreplaceable.

Sean Kaufman, Gavin Casalegno and Christopher Briney in The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3. Prime Video Do you find that to be a good thing for you? That youll be someone known for being in this show, or do you find that its a bit of a challenge for you to work past?

I think its a blessing to me. The fact that anybody would ever recognize me from something and stick that to me is amazing. As an actor, I only ever want to do projects that I care about, and because of that, if somebody recognizes me from a project, I care about it. I love it. Its so amazing to me. I know there was a time where nobody gave people still dont give a fuck who I am. But there was a time where a lot of, theres a time where a lot of less people gave a fuck about me, and I am grateful that people know me for Steven and for The Summer I Turned Pretty. I think Ill always carry that with a badge of honor on my chest. The only thing is that I hope I can carry a lot more badges on my chest, but Im very proud to carry that one.

How do you feel about where Steven is going into the finale?

I think hes in a good place finally. I think it took a very long while to get there near death but I think hes finally in a place that he could feel comfortable with. The arc for this season for me, and I think Ive said this before, but its really been him figuring out that life can end tomorrow. It can be gone in the blink of an eye, so to spend it on people that arent fulfilling me and to spend it on work that isnt fulfilling me, to spend it on anything that isnt fulfilling, is detrimental to him. For him to go through that, to figure it out with Taylor (Rain Spencer) and his job at Breaker [Capital] to now where he just finally quit his job. Him finally being able to pursue what he wants and be with the person who wants him and he wants them, you know what I mean. Theres obviously a giant other mess that affects his life. But for the most part, hes his own main character. Hes in a great place, and Im really happy to to see that after a long tumultuous season.

Were you nervous about that outcome ever? Were you ever worried it was going to be a tough time until the end, or were you always hopeful that he would land on his feet?

I was always a little worried. Jennys a trickster, and she loves making surprises and writing stuff in that nobody expects. I know I was on my tiptoes, and I think she told me literally, I dont even know if I can say this, I dont really care, but she was like, I think she said she changed this Steven and Taylor ending, which I dont even think you guys have seen yet, but she changed it a million times before she finally picked the one well see [this week]. She told me [that] theres so many ways it could go around that it kept [her] on my toes. I was like, well, which one are you choosing though? She surprised me enough as it is. I thought I was dying in the crash. She came up to me when I read it, I was like, Oh man, guys, its been a good run. Ill see you guys at the press tour.

Sean Kaufman and Tom Everett Scott in The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3. Prime Video Considering this seasons been under such a microscope on the internet, did you feel more pressure or was that not really something you guys thought of when you were making this?

No, I definitely dont think its something to think about at all. I try to block everything out otherworldly when Im acting and just focus on obviously whats in the moment. The only time that it was prevalent was when we went to shoot in Chapel Hill on UNCs campus. Again, for the most part, shooting the first two seasons We have such great fans, but for the most part, nobody gives a fuck about us. Nobody cares. We can go to all these places. Then during the third season when we were shooting that, I remember we went to Chapel Hill and there were crowds of people waiting while we were shooting. Theyd see Gavin [Casalegno] and Chris [Briney] and youd just hear the screams of people. Its one of those things where you actually have take a breath and focus. There is something else going on. That part of me was just like, well, thats Gavin and Chris. Look at em. I would scream too. I do scream, but it was definitely an unexpected boom in popularity that we werent really thinking about.

Are you someone who disconnects from work? Are you someone who can stop thinking about it for a bit? Or are you always thinking about what that next step is?

Im always thinking about the next step. I always question where thats from though. I think a lot of it is from insecurity, to be quite honest. Im obsessed with acting and my career, and I love what I do so much. If I could do it 12 months out of the year, I would, thatd be a dream. I am not going to sit here and lie and pretend like I can let it go or that I dont care about it enough. I really do. I think about it every day, and theres nothing thatll stop me from that. The only thing time I can ever let go I understand probably the answer is therapy, but the only time that Im ever really able to let go of my insecurity or my thoughts is when Im acting. Im strictly in the moment of that character in that scene, everything else literally goes by the wayside.

Do you feel that thats gotten more difficult for you as the show has grown in popularity, or is it something that is maybe kind of dwindling as the years go by? Or do you find it kind of fluctuates?

I think it fluctuates. I dont know if it ever truly dwindles. I also know that there are steps that I can take to keep it under wraps to a certain extent. I try to stay offline a lot. I think once the show is out, I love that people can see it, but the only voice that I need for myself is my own. I know how I shot it, but it never goes away.

Social media can have such a positive effect, but I have to assume its tough to focus on the job youre doing with voices commenting on every part of your job. Was that a choice to say offline conscious?

It was a conscious choice. After the second season came out, I think I was on TikTok still. I was on Instagram a lot. Im on Instagram still, but I was on a lot and there was a lot of really positive stuff. I dont think I saw a single negative thing about me and my character after season two. It was, honestly, that that started to mess with me. Why is my ego huge? I got to keep myself in check. It was just nothing but positive things, and I was like, I have to do something to get offline because this is just getting to my head. It was kind of that moment where I [deleted] TikTok. [I] set a timer on Instagram. Thats one thing that I always love about my friends is that no matter all the love that Ill get online, I can go to my friends and theyre like, You idiot, you stupid idiot.

The Summer I Turned Pretty season three finale premieres Wednesday on Prime Video.