Like all of us, Regretting You stars Mckenna Grace and Mason Thames know what it feels like to discover yourself as you grow from teenage years to adulthood.

The two actors play star-crossed lovers of sorts in the film, their relationship defined by growing pains and, in the case of Grace’s character Clara, life-altering tragedies and exposed family secrets.

Thames, who plays Miller, told Blavity/Shadow and Act Managing Editor, Trey Mangum, how growing up can be a time of disillusionment.

“I mean, growing up is such a strange thing. Like, it’s such a weird time and I feel like it’s kind of a time where you think you know who you are, you think you know what’s going on, but you really don’t, especially for me these past couple years, just kind of figuring out who I am,” said Thames. “And I think that’s such a confusing [time], and everybody goes through that. And I think in this film, you really feel that, because these characters feel real and tangible and you can really put yourself in these characters and relate, which is, I think, really, really important.”

Grace agreed, adding that her character Clara is easy to sympathize with.

“I feel like for me it’s easy to relate to Clara,” she said. “And the fact that I’m playing a teenage girl who is going through very big traumatic events, but at the end of the day, she’s a teenage girl who is making mistakes and growing up and falling in love and just figuring everything out as she goes.”

Regretting You follows a mother, Morgan (Allison Williams) and daughter Clara (Grace), whose already tense relationship gets tested even further after two unexpected deaths in their family. The tragedy breaks open Pandora’s box of secrets and lies as the two reckon with the truth and each other. According to the film’s description, the characters undergo a journey “of growth, resilience, and self-discovery in the aftermath of tragedy.”

Based on the novel by Colleen Hoover and directed by Josh Boone, the film also stars Dave Franco, Sam Morelos, Scott Eastwood, Willa Fitzgerald and Clancy Brown.

Regretting You is now in theaters.

Mason Thames

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