Kiss and Tell

From the moment Joel Courtney read the script for the 2018 hit The Kissing Booth, “I felt an instant connection, like a kindred spirit with [my character],” he tells Us. “Like Lee, I’m very much a goofball. I also have a hard time facing change.” In The Kissing Booth 2 (Netflix, July 24), which follows Lee and best friend Elle (Joey King) during their senior year of high school, he has to learn to balance having a girlfriend and a girl friend. “Lee’s such a kid at heart, and 95 percent of the time, it’s his greatest strength,” says Courtney. “The other 5 percent, it’s his greatest downfall.”

ART IMITATING LIFE The heart of the first film was Lee’s friendship with Elle, and Courtney says his relationship with Golden Globe nominee King is as strong in real life. “In the movie, there’s this theme of laughter — when I’m at my lowest, she can make me smile; when she’s past the point of breaking, I can lighten her spirit,” he says. “Joey and I have the same effect on each other.”

KISS GOODBYE? Although the second flick, like the first, ends in a cliff-hanger, Courtney thinks viewers will be satisfied: “It really leaves people with a hopeful ending.”