Lana Condor and Ross Butler Talk ‘Worth the Wait’ and Their Favorite Cheesy Tropes

Spring is in the air, and so is love. So, what better way to close out AAPI Heritage Month than with a swoon-worthy romcom starring Lana Condor and Ross Butler?

Tubi’s upcoming film Worth the Wait follows a group of Asian American strangers whose lives intertwine one fateful night in Seattle. Butler and Condor star as Kai and Leah, respectively, who embark on a whirlwind romance that’s complicated by the harsh reality of long distance.

This isn’t the first time the actors have appeared in a romcom together — fans of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before will fondly remember Butler’s role as Trevor Pike in the final two films — but Worth the Wait marks their first time playing each other’s love interests. “We got to explore different interactions than we were used to,” Butler tells The Nerds of Color.

“After To All the Boys, I have a visceral memory of me being like, ‘Man, I really wanna work with Ross in a different capacity,'” Condor adds.

In addition to Condor and Butler, Worth the Wait stars Karena Ka-Yan Lam, Osric Chau, Sung Kang, Ali Fumiko Whitney, Ricky He, Elodie Yung, and Andrew Koji. Tom Shu-Yu Lin (Yen and Ai-Lee, The Garden of Evening Mists) serves as the director; Condor, Koji, Jim Yu, HP Jin, Fumiko Whitney, Brian O’Shea, Nat McCormick, Andrew Ooi, Steven Shapiro, and Matt Drake are co-EPs. The movie marks Tubi’s first Asian American original film.

Ahead of the film’s release on May 23, The Nerds of Color chatted with Condor and Butler about reuniting as co-stars, their favorite “cheesy” romance tropes, and the most meaningful relationship advice they’ve ever received. Check out the full interview below!

THE NERDS OF COLOR: I love that you were both in the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before movies. What was your reaction when you found out you were going to be reunited as love interests in Worth the Wait?

BUTLER: Hated it. I almost didn’t do the movie. No, I’m kidding [laughs]. It’s honestly because of her that I did the movie. We had such a great relationship prior to this, and that made it so much fun.

CONDOR: In the To All The Boys movies, the interactions that we had were all just fun and friendly. … I know we worked together, but not really. I left being like, “Man, that’s one person from set that I would really love to work with and explore more with.” So, when this project came around, it was such a no-brainer.

Worth the Wait explores so many different types of love stories. When it comes to movies/shows/books, do you have any personal favorite romance tropes?

CONDOR: This is such a cheesy answer, but I love the wedding planner [trope]. Like, she’s planning a wedding for someone and then she falls in love with the groom or the groom falls in love with her. I [also] love a workplace forbidden love.

BUTLER: When I was a kid, I used to love the trope of the uncool guy in high school — probably because that was me — for some reason getting with the popular girl, and she ends up liking him. Then he gets too cool and dumps her, and then he gets humbled, and they get back together in the end.

CONDOR: Classic.

One of my favorite things about the film is how it takes a multi-generational approach to love stories, which really resonates with me as a second-generation Filipino American. Have either of you gotten any advice about relationships from older family members that’s really stuck with you?

CONDOR: Yeah, I just got married. My mom recently passed away, so she wasn’t able to go to the wedding, but she wrote me a letter. One of the pieces of relationship advice she gave me was to always respect each other. You can fight and you can do all these crazy things, but at the end of the day, you have to always respect each other.

[Also], to base your love off of comedy — she always felt that if you could laugh with your partner … you know, if you’re laughing with your best friend, that’s the greatest gift and hope that I think she could’ve had for me in a partner. So, respect each other and also keep comedy very much alive in your relationship.