Fil-Am actress Sam Morelos stars in her debut lead feature film, 'Summer of 69'

Bubbly, charming, and full of positive energy, Sam Morelos is that ray of sunshine, that ball of fire, the sunflower in your life.

Only 19, this Angeleno, who made waves in the show "That '90s Show" is now a leading lady in the funny and wild coming-of-age movie, "Summer of 69."

Helmed by Jillian Bell in her directorial debut, the movie also stars the talented Chloe Fineman as the exotic dancer Santa Monica, Matt Cornett as Max, Emy Coligado as Margaret, Liza Koshy as Angel, Paula Pell as Betty Spaghetti, among others.

We were able to virtually interview Sam and she revealed how her journey was in the making of this campy movie as a leading lady, her challenges, and how she related to her character Abby.

Photo courtesy of Hulu

Congratulations on the movie "Summer of 69." How was the journey doing this movie and being the lead actress here? Did you feel any pressure?

Yeah, I did feel a lot of pressure, but it was all self-inflicted. No one on set ever made me feel like I had the weight of this whole project on my shoulders, but it was something that I did to myself. I was like, oh, my God, I have this responsibility. Like, this is basically another introduction of myself to the world. Like I have to. I'm this lead up. So, I put a lot of pressure on myself, but the people on set really took that weight off my shoulders because they were just so lovely and warm.

This is also the directorial debut of Jillian Bell. How was it working with her?

I think she should do this for the rest of her life, like she needs to. It would be a disservice to this industry if she didn't continue directing, because this is what she was meant to do, genuinely. She's a brilliant director. She has an amazing eye and vision, and I think she encapsulates exactly what you want in a director, which is someone communicative, warm, welcoming, kind and collaborative, like she was not the voice of God. She was the glue that held every department together. Everyone respected her so much because she led with kindness. She set the tone for the entire project, which made everyone just open to becoming a family. We became a family, and it was all thanks to her. You'd be surprised. I'm surprised that this is her first. Because it was so brilliant. But I'm grateful that this will not be the last.

How much do you relate to your character, Abby? You are only 19 years old, your last year being a teenager.

I know, oh, my gosh, I turn 20 in, like, a few months in. It's terrifying. But, I mean, I relate to Abby. Maybe 80% of that character is just me. It's just me. I actually watched it with my friends last night because there was a screening at NYU, and my friends were all like, oh, that was just Sam. I was like, oh, you weren't supposed to know that. Because I am. We're awkward in similar ways, in different ways. We're both awkward, but she tends to take up less space, whereas I talk too much. She doesn't talk enough. I run my mouth, and I just overcompensate in social situations. So, we're both very socially awkward. We just show it in different ways. And I was a little bit of a loner in high school, like, I overcompensated in these social situations. But when I went home, I would barely talk to anyone. I was very lonely when I left school and had to be alone by myself. So yeah, very similar.

How did you prepare for your exotic dance? Did you consult anybody, or did somebody guide you?

Someone was guiding me. It was our brilliant choreographer, Travis Wall. He's amazing and so fun to be around. And also, a lot of it was such a collaborative project like everyone, but it wasn't in the sense of like there were too many cooks in the kitchen. It wasn't that. It was the perfect amount of cooks in the kitchen where everyone's voice was heard and valued, and we created something that we could be proud of together. And I mean, preparing for that. We were in a bit of a bind because I was out of commission for a week. I had COVID so we could barely rehearse. We maybe choreographed it and rehearsed it and got it together like the day before during lunch. And then the next day we shot it, which was so stressful and also almost exhilarating. And it was just fun. And it was also a lot of just Sam because sometimes I can't dance like, I'm not a stripper level dancer. I'm not that. So, a lot of that was just me.

Photo courtesy of Hulu

She reminded me of my mom a lot. Well, because we worked together, too. She asked me, "what does your mom call you? what does your mom say to you? Ingat anak. So, like, there's a scene where my parents are leaving, and Emy goes like, "oh, don't open the door, stranger danger." And I was like, oh, that's whoa. That's literally my mom.

Has your mother watched the movie already?

Yes, she loved it. I mean, like when I first booked the job and I told her about it, her first question that she would ask often was like, hey, Sam, is there any nudity in it? And I was like, mom, I swear there's none; it's not that kind of movie. I know it's the "Summer of 69." There's no nudity, I swear. But when she watched it, she loved it. She thought it was so funny. It was so fun.

What was the most challenging part of doing this movie?

It really was just getting out of my head. That was the hardest part because for the first couple of weeks, I was so in my head that no one would want to hang out with me. Oh my God. Because the crew would barbecue every Sunday night. But I didn't know if I was invited or not, I would see them from my window, and I would be like, I brought my boyfriend Warren there because he's just my rock. And I was like, oh my God, babe, they're hanging out. Should I go out there? What if they don't want to hang out, like things like that? It was literally Abby like, oh, I don't know if they want to hang out with me. Oh, I'm just going to stay home. But the second that I just let myself go and have fun and go with the flow and be present was when I had the best, most memorable moments on set.

This is also a female-led cast. How was that working with Chloe Fineman (as Santa Monica) and the other actresses?

Oh my God, they're just my idols. They're brilliant. They're the funniest people alive. Liza Koshy (as Angel) is a childhood icon of mine. Like, I watched all of her YouTube videos when I was a kid, and it was because she was one of the only brown girls, brown kids on in media that were like she was really saying it out loud, like, this is me as a brown girl. And just being around them. And I'm laughing all the time and I; the impostor syndrome will never go away because I'm like, oh my God, they are the funniest people ever. Like, how did I get here? But they never made me feel like that. They were always very warm and welcoming, and it was lovely.

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No, I've had to do a kissing scene for "That 90s Show," but the kissing scene in this one is pretty epic. I am not going to lie; it feels very much like the movies that I watched. The high school romance movies that I watched as a kid and dreamed of having. So, it was a really cool moment.

Doing this movie, did it feel very liberating for you?

It was very liberating, I'll say that. It was my first single-camera project, too. There was a learning curve. So, the freedom didn't come as freely, yet I had to that learning curve. You have to settle into the brand-new medium that you're being presented with. It's just a different medium than multi-cam sitcom and theater because I do a lot of theater.

Once I got into the hang of it, when I got into a groove, it was freeing. Coming from an awkward kid myself, to play one who's unabashedly awkward and doesn't have to change everything about herself to be wanted and likable, that was freeing. Or like healing my inner child who thought that to be loved and to be liked, to be popular, you have to fit the mold of femininity.

Were you shocked by some of the dialogues?

Oh, yeah. I think it was so funny. I laughed every single day on set. The dialogue was crazy, but it was also very honest about what high schoolers talk about or like, what virgins talk about. I feel like it was for virgins who need answers, and who want answers; virgins who don't know anything. I think it was just a very honest script. —MGP, GMA Integrated News