‘The First Time’ With Joey King

Actress Joey King sat down in this episode of The First Time to discuss her latest film The Kissing Booth 2, a sequel to the hit Netflix teen rom-com The Kissing Booth. King has been a fan of the project since the very beginning, recalling her first time reading the script for the first film.

“Reading the script made me feel all those awesome feelings that you get when you watch it — all those teen angsty, rom-com-y, beautiful, upsetting, sad, happy emotions,” she says. “I had a FaceTime meeting with our director Vince Marcello and we just had the best, hour-long conversation about how much I want to do this movie. And then we made that shit and it was awesome.”

King’s breakout role, though, was in Ramona and Beezus, opposite Selena Gomez. “I had to read some of the scenes with her from the movie before I got the role. And she was the best! She’s still the best — so sweet — and I was just a gigantic fan of hers. Doing that screen test with her was a dream come true, and afterward, when I found out I got it, I was just so excited to be able to work with her and just be around her. She was the most infectious, sweet person ever.”

The Kissing Booth 2 will premiere July 24th on Netflix.