Lauren Tsai Is Living Her Best Faux College Life Experience on Rooster
By The DivaGals | March 6, 2026 | Celebrity & Culture
Sometimes the most fabulous path in life means skipping the traditional route—but that doesn’t mean a girl doesn’t wonder “what if?” Just ask the stunning Lauren Tsai.
The multi-talented star is gracing our screens in the highly anticipated series Rooster, and while she’s serving major talent, she’s also getting a taste of a life she never actually lived: the college experience.
When it came to her own post-high school plans, Lauren traded dorm rooms for international adventure. “I was gonna go to college, actually, on the East Coast. I’m from Massachusetts originally, which is where Rooster is based,” she revealed during a panel interview for the new HBO series.
“Last minute, I decided to take a gap year, which has now become a gap life, and move to Tokyo instead at age 18, which felt normal at the time, but looking back, it’s crazy how confident you are when you’re that age, and you think that’s normal.”
We love a bold move! But even with a glamorous, globe-trotting “gap life,” Lauren admits she had a little FOMO about university life.
“Not having the college experience I always longed for and wondered about what it would have been like if I had roommates, and I think that was the thing I missed a lot, was that community you build that a lot of people carry through life,” she shared. “And it’s always very interesting to me to meet people who are like, ‘Oh, we went to school together 20 years ago’ or ‘Now we’re working together, we started a company together.'”
Thankfully, stepping onto the set of Rooster to play Sunny, who has an affair with her graduate professor, gave her exactly what she was craving. Walking the sets in a small New York suburb allowed her imagination to run wild, and her castmates became the ultimate chosen family.
“So, in a kind of Schenectady, NY way, when I was walking through the sets, I was imagining how it would’ve felt if I had gone to college, and I feel like I really found a sense of community and family amongst the cast when we were shooting,” Lauren dished. “And even after, feeling so familiar when I see everyone’s face, it fulfilled that desire a lot.”
Of course, Lauren wasn’t just there to play co-ed—she was there to deliver a stellar performance. As she perfectly put it: “I also wanted to do some smart sh%#. I hope that I was able to.”
We’re sure you did!
Catch Lauren in Rooster, premiering March 8 on HBO.
Photo credits: Marion Curtis / StarPix for HBO, HBO
