There are very few book adaptations now a days that really take the essence of the book and honor it. So many times, there are changes that take away from what made the book special and touched a fanbase.
The adaptations of Jenny Han’s To All The Boys series are not one of those. The essence of the book, the scenes that were important to the fandom, the characters; everything is there.
And everything is enhanced in a way that draws you in.
Part of that is because the cast of the series is flawless. One of those being 16 year old Anna Cathcart, who plays Lara Jean’s younger sister Kitty.
And if you’re like us, Kittie is one of your favorite characters. She brings everything to life, steals the scene when she’s in it, and is the little sister that we all want in our lives.
We had the pleasure of talking to Anna about her role as Kitty, in the upcoming movie To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before: P.S. I Still Love You.
The Covey sisters are super close and supportive of each other. What can people learn about family from their relationship? What has been the most important thing you have learned from their relationship?
The way that the sisters are portrayed on screen, the Covey sisters, are a great representation of sisterhood in general. I have an older sister that I am super, super close with in real life. I think it is really special to see that as a key storyline on a rom-com for young people, that sisters are super important. And you can have a relationship with them that you aren’t always fighting or competitve or bicker with each other. You can just have a lot of love for them and be there for each other. I think it’s super special.
What have you learned about yourself from filming these movies?
I think I’m in that stage of life where I’m constantly learning things because I’m in teenagehood, I guess. I’m figuring out who I am. I’m figuring out stuff, so I think in doing these movies, because they started a few years ago, I have definitely learned things about myself as an actor, but also as a person, and I’ve met so many amazing people along the way that have helped me with that. I’m so, so grateful for that. As an actor I have gotten to explore a really great character that has been so much fun to play and I’ve gotten to do a lot of improv with that, so I can really understand her and add things that I thought felt right. I’ve always loved doing improv, it’s a super fun opportunity as an actor. But ya, I’ve definitely learned a lot from this experience and all of the people who I have met.
What would you say to people who have written love letters and are too afraid to send them?
I’ve never written a love letter. I’ve never sent a love letter, that’s for sure. I’m not as old as Kitty and I wouldn’t do something like that, for sure. I think it really depends on the situation, because sometimes it’s totally true that why not, just go for it, tell someone how you feel and be honest about it because you never know, maybe they feel the same way about you and they are just as scared and you are living this whole time without knowing that. So, if you feel like it’s right, I feel like it’s important for communication and to tell someone how you feel.
Kitty is responsible for sending the letters – which effectively changed her sisters life – sometimes for the best, sometimes for a lot of complications. Is what Kitty did sending the letters, the right thing? Would you do that in real life?
I don’t know. Obviously Kitty thinks it was the right thing. She likes to remind Lara Jean about it a lot in the second film and later on is like “you’re welcome, this is my doing, you wouldn’t have this amazing boyfriend and this amazing new life experience if it wasn’t for me,” so that was super fun to play with. But in real life I definitely would not do that to my older sister, because I feel like it’s a personal decision. I would maybe convince her and I would try as much as possible and not shut up about it, so she would do it herself. But if someone did that to me, I mean it worked out for Lara Jean, so maybe I’d be happy with it, but I think I would be pretty upset. I don’t think I would do this in real life.
What advice would you give to Kitty if you could as Anna Cathcart?
I think I would just tell her to keep doing the things that she’s doing and applaud her for being so confident and bold. She stands up for herself, stands up for her sisters. She stands up for what she believes in, which I think is super important. I honestly would love to be friends with Kitty. I think she’d be a super awesome friend. I feel like she would give super amazing advice and amazing pep talks to me, so I would love to have her around.
If you had to pick between John Ambrose and Peter Kavinski, who would you pick?
As Anna, I love them both. Of course I love Peter, because who doesn’t love Peter. Everyone fell in love with him from the first film. But John Ambrose is more my type of guy. Like Lara Jean proves, you can’t always figure that out, sometimes the person that you like in life is the person that you don’t expect. I feel like he’s my type of guy. He’s sensitive, a little on the soft side, he’s like sweet and stuff. But I think Kitty is definitely Team Peter all the way.
As much as Lara Jean is growing up, so is Kitty. What can we expect from her in P.S. I Still Love You?
You can expect the same kind of girl. She’s still meddling with people’s love lives. She’s kind of moved on to her Dads love life. She’s very excited about that. She’s still the same smiley, bold, confident person that everybody loves.
