Angus Cloud Was Everything ‘Euphoria’ Wanted to Be

In the first episode ofEuphoria , Zendaya’s Rue introduces Fezco O’Neill as someone who is “not normally revolving in the same direction as planet Earth.” He’s a walking contradiction—both dealing the drugs to which Rue is addicted and pleading with her to stop taking them. But across two seasons of the Emmy-winning HBO drama, it became clear that pills weren’t the only thing drawing Rue back into Fezco’s orbit.

That was due to the striking performance of Angus Cloud, who died this week at age 25. “As an artist, a friend, a brother, and a son, Angus was special to all of us in so many ways,” his family said in a statement. “Last week he buried his father and intensely struggled with this loss. The only comfort we have is knowing Angus is now reunited with his dad, who was his best friend. Angus was open about his battle with mental health, and we hope that his passing can be a reminder to others that they are not alone and should not fight this on their own in silence.”

Euphoria found Cloud almost by accident. A casting director discovered him on the street in Manhattan, plucking Cloud out of his job as a waiter and putting him into the trickiest role on a major series. “There was no one quite like Angus,” Euphoria creator Sam Levinson said in a statement. “He was too special, too talented, and way too young to leave us so soon. He also struggled, like many of us, with addiction and depression. I hope he knew how many hearts he touched. I loved him. I always will.”

Despite Cloud’s rising star, he had no desire to be famous—and said as much in a 2022 podcast appearance. “I want to be a regular person and have regular interactions with people. And something about fame and notoriety, you lose that,” he explained. Cloud’s actions bore that philosophy out. When directed to give out Fezco’s phone number in a scene, Cloud freely recited his actual number, as shown in a season two blooper reel. He told Rolling Stone that the first time he was recognize by a fan , they ask , “ Hey , are you is are fromEuphoria?” Cloud responded, “No, I’m from Oakland. But I was in the show, yeah.”