Who is Sean Kaufman, who plays Steven Conklin in The Summer I Turned Pretty? The New York-born actor has a younger sister IRL and is one of Hollywood's hottest young talents – but is he dating co-star

South China Morning Post

3 days ago

Sean Kaufman is rapidly emerging as one of Hollywood's most versatile young talents. He's racked up over 1.2 million followers on Instagram at the time of writing thanks to his breakthrough performance as Steven Conklin, the protective yet sometimes exasperating older brother of Belly (played by
Lola Tung ), the protagonist of hit Amazon Prime series
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Sean Kaufman with his The Summer I Turned Pretty castmates, including Lola Tung (second from right), who plays his on-screen sister Belly, and rumoured girlfriend Minnie Mills (right). Photo: @sean.kauf/Instagram
In a break from the original novel by Jenny Han – who also wrote
To All the Boys I've Loved Before – where Steven is a minor and somewhat annoying character, Amazon Prime's adaptation expands his role, turning him into a fan favourite with a blend of humour, loyalty and vulnerability. 'My favourite quality about Steven is that he makes mistakes and always learns from them. There is something beautiful about having a flawed character, not only from an actor's perspective but from an audience's perspective, because it allows one to sympathise with the character,' Kaufman told Timid Magazine.
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Fresh off filming the series' final season, the 25-year-old, Japanese-American actor is expanding his repertoire with a string of high-profile projects. Recently, he has joined the cast of upcoming supernatural horror film Other Mommy, in which he'll star alongside Jessica Chastain and Jay Duplass. He will also appear as a recurring cast member in the fifth season of the sci-fi series For All Mankind.
Here is everything you need to know about this Hollywood rising star.
He actually has a sister
Sean Kaufman has a younger sister named Abby. Photo: @sean.kauf/Instagram
Kaufman was born and raised in New York City alongside his real-life sister Abby, who's three years younger than him. Being protective over Abby gave him insight into why his character Steven is protective over his on-screen sister Belly. In an interview with Timid Magazine, Kaufman said, 'I'm an older brother in real life, so I feel most similar to Steven in that protectiveness. I love my sister to death, and there's nothing I wouldn't do for her, so it's very easy to understand where Steven comes from when he is seemingly overprotective.'
Kaufman also revealed to Schön magazine that, growing up, he and his sister shared a room and used to fight frequently. Playing Steven made him realise how important this relationship was; he ended up applying Steven's emotions toward Belly, to his own life.
He's loved acting since childhood
Sean Kaufman's had an interest in acting since childhood. Photo: @sean.kauf/Instagram
Kaufman's passion for acting began in childhood, but it wasn't until middle school that his interest became serious. He initially decided to audition for the school musical simply as a way to spend time with a girl he liked, but after landing the lead role, his love for acting grew rapidly during rehearsals.