Siena Agudong Won’t Let Fear Of Failure Hold Her Back

Siena Agudong wasn’t scared to swim with tiger sharks or jump out of a plane (both of which she did in Oahu to celebrate her 20th birthday in 2024) or pursue her childhood dream by uprooting her life in Hawai’i for the hills of Los Angeles. It turns out that the one thing that did have the actor shaking in her metaphorical boots was acting alongside social media star Noah Beck in 2024’s Sidelined: The QB and Me. “It can be a little bit of a scary place,” Adudong tells me over Zoom about being paired with someone as adored as Beck. “I was really preparing myself for the backlash.”

In the adaptation of Tay Marley’s novel The QB Bad Boy and Me, Augdong plays Dallas Bryan, a young cheerleader with big dance dreams who recently transferred schools, while Beck stars as the star quarterback with intense familial pressure. Thankfully, she and Beck hit it off pretty quickly. “We knew we had to get as close as possible outside of the set to have good chemistry,” she says. When they weren’t working, the two spent time exploring Canada, where the movie was filmed.

While the 20-year-old is used to high-profile projects — she’s worked on Nickelodeon and Disney, and starred in Netflix’s action-horror series Resident Evil, in addition to joining the Fast & Furious franchise in 2021 — Sidelined is in a world all its own. Originally a Wattpad novel, Marley’s book has been read over 32.3 million times. Needless to say, the pressure to deliver a worthy performance for the fans was on — and both Augdong and Beck succeeded, with the film quickly becoming the No. 1 movie on Tubi. A sequel for the film was greenlit and announced in February 2025. It will follow the couple’s college experiences and how they navigate their relationship while facing more adult challenges.

Noah was sending me edits before the film of other movies and was like ‘This is going to be us.’

Beyond the ratings, the true sign of success for any teen rom-com is the fan edits, and there are thousands dedicated to Dallas and Drayton. A week after the movie came out, she was glued to her phone watching the edits. “Noah was sending me edits before the film of other movies and was like ‘This is going to be us,’” the Filipina American says. “I think it’s really fun that people connect with the characters so much.”

Agudong entered this project when she was struggling with her self-worth, which made the idea of playing Dallas, who “radiates confidence,” especially attractive. “This became a love letter to myself because taking on [the role] ended up healing parts of me off-screen,” she says. “Her confidence slowly showed me to mine — and that is exactly what I wish for in those who are watching.”

Agudong’s love of acting began at the Hawai’i Children’s Theater when she was about 6. She joined productions alongside her older sister, Sydney Agudong, before flying to Los Angeles two years later to meet with her now-talent manager. Her father gave the sisters a few weeks to land a role, and, after several auditions, they managed to do just that, both getting their first roles in the 2013 film Second Chances. And neither of their lives has been the same since. “It is such a win-win with everything we do,” Agudong says of navigating the film industry alongside her older sister, who is set to star in the Disney live-action adaptation of Lilo & Stitch this year. “The most exciting thing is to fangirl over my own sister. It’s nothing but pride.”

When the Agudong sisters aren’t filming, they’re back in Hawai’i, hanging out with friends and family. Siena also attends university there and, as her manager jokes, moonlights as a secret superhero. In reality, the Hawaiian native says lots of soy milk lattes have fueled her academic and career aspirations. That, and plenty of trips to the beach.

“I really try to go for it all,” she says of her busy schedule. “At my core, I’m so incredibly proud to be from Hawai’i that everything to do with this place is so grounding for me. Coming back home, you really remember who you are and what you value. The industry is a big place with really bright lights and coming back here, I don’t feel blinded by it.”

Over the past few years, she’s invested in her mental health, using the guitar and folk-heavy playlists with tons of Lizzy McAlpine to re-center herself. “I’m very proud of the person I’m becoming,” she says. “I’m saying yes to things and I’m really feeling it out and trying to be vulnerable, and trying to fail and trying to mess things up and be wild.” The biggest lesson she’s trying to learn by going with the flow more? “Everything that’s meant to happen will happen.”

I love that I’m able to represent that diversity on screen, especially in a rom-com — I did not see a lot of that growing up.

It’s this attitude that allowed Siena to fully embrace her role as Dallas — and one of the reasons she’s excited to start filming a sequel. Not only is she able to portray a young woman of color as a love interest on screen, but she’s also able to show girls watching that they could get the boy, even if they’re not what society tells them they need to be. “I love that I’m able to represent that diversity on screen, especially in a rom-com — I did not see a lot of that growing up,” she says.

Even though she was initially scared of letting down the fans — of both the novel and her co-star Beck — it’s this fear of failure that fuels her desire to try in the first place. “I see it as an opportunity to feel inspired to learn more about myself and where I can grow,” she says. “That is the gold I search for. There is a priceless kind of wisdom that only comes from the moments that feel like failure. It makes room for faith to thrive.”

Aspiring to have a career like her idols Selena Gomez and Julia Roberts, Agudong says she’s focused on challenging herself over the next few years. “I really want to jump into something new, especially a drama, and tackle that. Every project you work on is a challenge, but I think I crave something like Resident Evil again, that really tests me and requires me to do different work.”

She’s keeping her dream role close to her chest, but teases that it’d be a film that tells a true story, like Erin Brockovich. “Something that uses art to paint a picture for people to really understand socially sensitive topics and expand their perspectives,” she says. “I really love storytelling, and if making people feel something can also inspire change or inspire awareness, I genuinely feel like that is the most powerful tool.”