Brianne Tju was not sure a UGLY The film would ever actually be seen by the audience.

Scott Westerfeld’s bestselling young adult novel was published in 2005 – 26-year-old Tju read it as a child – and first went into film development in 2006. Joey King was hired as Tally Youngblood and executive producer in 2020, with Tju later joining as Tally’s classmate Shay, Keith Powers, Chase Stokes and Laverne Cox. Filming took place in late 2021, but then … silence.

“We thought the film would never be released, and now we are here,” says Tju from her backyard in Los Angeles a few days before UGLY will be released on Netflix on September 13. “It feels really good and I’m just trying to enjoy it.”

Tju grew up outside of LA with three younger sisters and an older brother. She began her acting career as a child with minor roles on Nickelodeon and Disney Channel. (And, as we’ll talk about later, a guest appearance as Chinese gymnast Genji Cho in All or nothing.) She now lives between LA and Philadelphia and her roles have become increasingly bigger. She often gravitates towards thriller and horror projects and plays in series such as Light as a feather And I know what you did last summer.

Below, Teen Vogue chats with Tju about the big issues in UGLYthe shameful aspects of beauty culture and how she transformed herself into the beautified version of her character Shay.

Teen Vogue: If you read Ugly Can you remember what particularly touched you about the story as a child?

Brianne Tju: It’s been so long since I read it, but knowing myself back then, I probably thought… I was in elementary school, so I’m sure I was more like, “Oh my God, full surgery (to look pretty). I want that.” The exact opposite of the book. I don’t think there were narratives in the media back then about self-acceptance and love like there are now.

In some ways, I’m grateful that I didn’t grow up with social media, but there was also no one telling me, “Oh, you should love yourself.” So I probably thought, “Oh, cool, surgery to change me. I think that’s great.” And thought, “Ugh, Tally, why don’t you want the surgery? You crazy girl.”

But now it’s funny to reread it as an adult and get ready for the movie. I mean, it’s so crazy that that’s the theme and the message in a book that’s meant for young adults, and how relevant it is now, probably more than ever with social media and technology. It’s a coming-of-age story and it’s set in a dystopian future, but the message is pretty universal and timeless.

Brianne Tju as Shay in UGLYBrian Douglas/Netflix

TV: No, that’s a good point. I read it when I was in middle school and I probably felt the same way. That’s one of the things that makes the book so good – it makes you want to have the surgery a little bit. It’s not like The Hunger Games where you read that and think, “Yeah, I don’t want to be in the Hunger Games. That’s awful.” This is like, “Well… maybe there’s something nicer.”

BT: Exactly. But the interesting thing about the message of the story is that every reader lives Tally’s journey with her, and Tally’s journey is not like… she’s not a heroine from the beginning. Actually, Shay is more of a heroine from the beginning, but Tally goes on a journey to discover herself and (discover) that she doesn’t want the surgery and she doesn’t want to change. That’s how my journey went as I got older. I understand Tally’s reason for not getting it anymore a lot better now, and I think that’s the cool thing about the books: you can be young and enjoy them, and as you get older, I think you can just relate to them even more.

TV: You’ve talked about how the story is almost more relevant today than it was 20 years ago when it was written – everything is filtered now. I was thinking about the scene where we see Shay in her glorified version, and how it’s not unlike what you would wear to a Hollywood premiere. There’s the normal you and then there’s the red carpet you. I was curious how you think about those sides of yourself and about going to events and promoting the projects you’re involved in. How do you deal with that weird, almost dysphoric “Oh, I look like this, and then I look like this” feeling? The” Feeling?

BT: I think I’ve always struggled with that, but it’s funny to think about it more critically now, because before I always thought, “Well, that’s just the way it is.” I think that’s the great message of the story, because it’s not condemning surgeries or filters or whatever, it’s saying you have a choice, so you can do this or you don’t have to do it, and that’s totally fine too.