If Sean Kaufman could choose what pops up when you google him, the results would be simple: “Really tall and cool guy,” he says with a cheeky grin. But he can't determine how the algorithm works, so for now, his name may be most associated with The Summer I Turned Pretty, an accomplishment he's more than proud to claim.
Born and bred in New York City, the 25-year-old has traded the concrete jungle for the sandy shores of Wilmington, North Carolina, to film Jenny Han's Prime Video hit series — and soon, a movie — for the past four years. He portrays Steven, the older brother of Lola Tung's Belly Conklin, and his character has evolved from brattish sibling to budding entrepreneur, with a side of confidant.
Kaufman's journey with Steven has more than one real-life parallel. “When I was first introduced to him, I was a college kid. I had never experienced the real world. Same with him,” he says. And, like Steven, Kaufman has a younger sister. The pair were raised by his mom, a veterinarian who immigrated from Japan, and his dad, an underground American actor making the stage rounds in the city to provide for his family. “You can cancel me for nepotism if you want,” Kaufman says with a laugh, echoing a question that his co-star and bestie, Chris Briney, talked about with Teen Vogue in 2024.
Steven might be Kaufman's breakout role, but the actor has spread his wings way beyond Wilmington these past couple years, going to Ireland to film Other Mommy, the new offering from horror maestro Rob Savage (Host, Dashcam, The Boogeyman), and to Los Angeles for season five of For All Mankind, Apple TV+'s certified-fresh sci-fi series.
Below, we speak to Sean Kaufman as part of Teen Vogue's New Hollywood Class of 2025.
Sean Kaufman: I am lucky that my father was. It took my mom some convincing. She is a Japanese immigrant, a very stereotypical Asian Tiger Mom when I was growing up. When I was in high school, she realized that the best thing for my life would be to let me do what I want. I'm so grateful that she was able to come around to that on her own.
I feel like there's a whole discourse around nepo kids and privilege in this industry. And I feel like, at the very basis, I have to recognize my privilege of having supportive parents, because I know a lot of people who don't.
SK: It's definitely been a different experience this season. I am so eternally grateful for it and for our fans. It's unreal to kind of believe the numbers and fathom the TikToks and Instagrams, but I've noticed it in small ways.
I'm not gonna say who it is because I don't think I can, but I just did a music video that comes out soon. [Editor's note: We now know this was Madison Beer's “Bittersweet.”] It's those kinds of things where I'm like… I'll get an email from my manager, and they'll be like, "Hey, this person just asked for you to be in their music video." And I'm like, "What?" Or they'll be like, "Hey, they invited you to go see a Yankees game.” Or a Knicks game. And I'm like, "What are you talking about?"
SK: I wouldn't say scary. It's a transitional period. I was talking with Chris [Briney] about this the other day. We're in a transition in our lives. It can be uncomfortable for certain people; other people can welcome it. To each their own.
I'm so grateful for everything that's come my way. It's been more than a blessing. I can also recognize that I can't just go to a bar anymore. Growing up in New York, I used to just get up to shenanigans. I can't do [those things anymore]. It's just getting used to a new way of living, neither good nor bad.
SK: No, I have nothing. I promise. I would literally tell you if I knew, out of spite, because they don't tell me anything. [Laughs.]
SK: I am ecstatic to go back to work with that cast and crew. They are my family. I love them. I think they're the best actors in the world, so to be able to work alongside them, and especially the crew as well, I'm over the moon for that. I can't wait.
When the movie got announced, I was like, Oh, I wonder what story's left to be told for Steven? I had to think, and I just kept coming back to him and Taylor (played by Rain Spencer). [I'd love to see] what their relationship looks like when it's working toward being together, as opposed to staying afloat.
I love a moment in a relationship when two people really commit to each other; the fights stop becoming "Are we gonna break up after this fight?" to be “This is a fight because we're working toward something together."
SK: It was the funniest. Chris and I were together, obviously, and it was the second time that we booked something where we were with each other, golfing. He booked Mean Girls while we were golfing, and I booked For All Mankind.
We were on a golf course, and I was having a horrible day. I got a call from my agents, and all of them were on the phone, and I was like, "Uh-oh, I did something wrong." I'm teeing off. Hit my ball in the water. I'm like, "F*ck, f*ck, f*ck." And they're like, "You booked it!" And I'm like, "Ah… yay!" I just couldn't get the golf out of my head. Chris was holding the phone while I swung. I was pissed and cursing. He kept muting it so they couldn't hear me. [Laughs.]
SK: I tried every off-chance I had to do work on the character. I'm very grateful that the For All Mankind [crew] were amazing to me. They set up a meeting with wonderful people. I met the NASA astronaut Garrett [Reisman], who had been up to the ISS [International Space Station]. He walked me through what it was like to be in microgravity and how your body would react.
SK: People say film is the director's medium and TV is the writer's medium, and I really felt that to the max. [Filmmaker] Rob Savage had complete control over that set. He rocked it. It was incredible.
Also, getting to work with somebody like Jessica [Chastain] and Jay [Duplass], two seasoned pros — the A-list of the A-list, the best of the best — was incredible. Watching their processes, and seeing how they act, what a number one Oscar-winning actor is like on a set, how commanding she is… I went home and wrote home about it to hopefully remember for future me.
SK: I'm a huge fan as a viewer. Who doesn't love something like Weapons or Barbarian? As an actor, it was incredible to see how the sausage gets made.
A horror set is a very funny one. You never know what you're expecting. I can't spoil anything, but you walk onto a set and you're like, "Oh my God, everything is… different." And you just have to roll with it.
SK: For All Mankind [is more] emotional. For the movie, you'll get to see a whole, like, thing… that I'm very excited for. [Laughs.]
With every single project, I want the audience to see a completely different side of me. I never want to do two roles where somebody goes, "Oh yeah, you did that thing." I want somebody to see me onscreen and be like, "What?!" every single time.
I see Tilda Swinton do a movie and I'm like, "What?" I'm like, "You're… a different person?" You know? [Laughs.] Hopefully, by the time my career is over — way, way, way, way, way in the future — people can say that.
SK: I still always have it in the back of my mind. I've been very lucky this past year, and I know that at any point, that luck can run out. I don't think I'll ever be able to feel secure in my life. Maybe that means I should go to therapy, I don't know. But I know that I just try not to take things for granted.
I will try my very hardest to continue to book, whether that's in a space that audiences can see me or a black box in the basement of a New York theater with a two-seat audience. I'll always try to find a way to work.
SK: In fifth grade, I pooped my pants twice in the same day. Publicly. It was a bad day. I cried a lot.
SK: I hope so. I hope it prepared me to fail a lot. I just feel like people are scared to fail nowadays. To anybody out there, please fail more. Just keep failing, and failing, and failing, and eventually you will succeed. But do not stop at failure. Do not judge failure. Please keep going.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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