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Image Source: Getty Images / Craig Barritt
In our POPSUGAR Crush Q&A series, we get to know some of the more intimate details of our favorite stars – from their first celebrity crush to the best love advice they’ve ever received. This month we have a crush on The Summer I Turned Pretty star Christopher Briney.
Christopher Briney knows you hate Conrad sometimes when you see “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” He can relate.
“When I first read the book and when the script came in, I was like, ‘This guy sucks,'” he tells POPSUGAR. Conrad is one of the love interests chasing the heart of Belly (Lola Tung) in the new Amazon Prime Video series based on the Jenny Han novel series. Conrad is the older son of Belly’s mother’s best friend and Belly has had a crush on him for what feels like her entire life. But early in the series, Conrad is able to stand back and distance himself from everyone around him.
“He’s really rude and doesn’t tell people how he feels, and that’s why he’s in all this trouble,” Briney explains. But as the actor explored the character, his own feelings about Conrad changed, and he realized he was more than the classic brooding villain archetype. “He’s still young and … just trying to keep it together for the people he loves,” he says. “Yes, he owes some people in the world an apology, but he’s 17. He can make mistakes. He’s going to keep making mistakes and he’s just hurt.”
Briney was actually in Liverpool filming the first project he ever booked, the upcoming Dalíland, while auditioning for The Summer I Turned Pretty. He did all of his chemistry readings with Tung over Zoom. The day the table was read for the film was the day he found out he was being cast as Conrad. “It was one of the better days I’ve ever had,” he says.
Just a few years ago, Briney was a college student in New York City, studying hard and working in the service sector to pay her bills. He worked at Trader Joe’s on the Lower East Side. “I try to eat out every now and then while I’m going through school,” he jokes of his time in the service industry. “It is not easy.”
“I’m Team Conrad. I have to be. It’s in my contract.”
Before the show went into production, most of the main cast arrived in North Carolina, where they were filming, a few weeks early to socialize. “It was such a blessing to be able to make these actual friendships and have time because it gave us time to get to know each other, spend time together, and actually go to the beach and cause trouble for each other,” says Briney. “On the first day [of shooting]it felt like we’d known each other for years.” For Briney, this time together was pivotal in building his relationships with and with Gavin Casalegno, who plays his brother Jeremiah, and Sean Kauffman, who plays Belly’s brother Steven tung
One of Briney’s favorite days on set was when the cast was filming the volleyball tournament. He was a volleyball newbie. “They gave us classes every weekend before we filmed this episode, but I’d never played outside of gym class, but you don’t really know what you do in gym class,” he jokes. “It’s really hard.”
“The task was just to be better than the other teams,” he says. “They made us all better than them. So for a good five hours it felt like we were really good at volleyball.” He says Kauffman turned out to be the best volleyball player in the bunch.
All seven episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty are now streaming on Prime Video. Preview the rest of Briney’s POPSUGAR Crush interview.
Image source: Prime Video
Team Conrad, Jeremiah or Cam?
I’m Team Conrad. I have to be. It’s in my contract. No, but I have such a soft spot for Cam and maybe it’s just because I love David [Iacono] so much, but i think he’s so cute, and as much as it seems like he’s not right for belly, he’s so cute and deserves a good life.
Favorite pickup line:
“Hi how are you?” Does that count?
Favorite Flirty Emoji:
I like the two eyes, like the side eyes. 👀 I often send this to Sean.
Signature Scent (go-to Cologne/Perfume):
I only wear deodorant and it seems to do me good.
Favorite form of self-care:
Definitely therapy.
dogs or cats?
I grew up with cats and a dog and have trouble picking them. It’s nice to have a dog that wants to be your friend, but the approval of a cat that wants to be your friend is pretty significant. I think I have to choose a cat, but it’s not an easy decision.
What is your coffee/tea order?
I’ve been making a lot of oat milk cappuccinos lately, but I think only one black cup of coffee overall.
Go-to movie night?
“Before sunrise.”
Best Love Advice?
Just be honest with the people you care about. Just tell people how you feel when you feel something. Share that with the people.
Best trip you’ve been on?
I took this really wonderful road trip with my dad and sister after my freshman year of college. We just went on a road trip. We drove all the way to Arizona to Canada, back down through Chicago and I’m from Connecticut. So it took us two weeks, but it was great. It was a wonderful time and we didn’t kill each other.
Get dressed or wear comfortable clothes?
It must be comfortable clothing. It’s fun to be dressed up, but then I’m like, “I can’t spill anything. This has to go back to the owner.”
Favorite gift you’ve ever received?
I’ve had some very generous people in my life. . . . After completing the very first project I ever shot. . . The production bought me a custom made Zippo lighter, like old school, because the character smoked, but he used a lot of lighters. The title of the film was engraved on the side and I still have it in my apartment.