Why Angus Cloud Was Told To Stop Rehearsing His Euphoria Lines
The surprising way Angus Cloud from "Euphoria" was discovered speaks to the kismet of him playing kind-hearted drug dealer Fezco, aka Fez. Longtime fans will find it near impossible to imagine anyone else inhabiting the role the way Cloud, a virtual unknown prior to landing "Euphoria," does. As an editorial in Men's Health argues, Fez is the strongest representation of what's so great about the show, particularly in his interactions with Maude Apatow's Lexi, which were the beating heart of Season 2.
In an interview with Complex, Cloud shared, "It was a blessing ... I love working with Maude — she's the best. We always had a great time whenever we get to work together. She's hilarious. She cracks me up." The up-and-coming performer credited Apatow with helping him tap into Fez's softer side, explaining, "You gotta feel safe and comfortable to sort of open up. I always feel like that around her, so it's not too difficult."
Unsurprisingly, the "Euphoria" scene that was the hardest for Cloud to film came right at the end of the show's sophomore season, even though, as his co-star revealed to Variety, it was originally Fez who was supposed to perish. For the most part, Cloud imbues his drug-dealer-with-a-heart-of-gold, who could read as a cliché in less capable hands, with a sense of realism by being himself. As the actor revealed, that's by design.
Angus Cloud was encouraged to behave more naturally
According to Cheat Sheet, during an appearance on "The A24 Podcast" with fellow actor Simon Rex, "Euphoria" breakout Angus Cloud shared that the show's creator, Sam Levinson, actually encouraged him to be less prepared. As Cloud recalled, he asked a scene partner, during an acting class, "What am I supposed to be taking away from this? What should I be learning?" but he couldn't get a clear answer from her, which left the fledgling performer feeling even more confused than when he started.
As Cloud admitted, "I didn't know what to take away or what I was supposed to be paying attention to and things. And then, at one point, Sam, the director of 'Euphoria,' he told me one day, he was like, 'Yo, did you rehearse this scene? And I was like, 'A little bit.' And he was like, 'Don't do it.'" As far as Levinson was concerned, Fez's interactions with characters such as Maude Apatow's Lexi or Zendaya's Rue were stronger when Cloud didn't try so hard to make everything perfect, and simply let them breathe.
Despite being mega-famous as a result of the hit show, Cloud maintains, as he told InStyle, "I consider myself a regular person, you feel me? Nothing special." He has no interest in fame and is just taking each day as it comes — similar, in fact, to Fez.
The actor sees a lot of himself in the character of Fez
Angus Cloud doesn't want people to assume he's not doing any work when it comes to playing Fez. But, as the actor explained to Teen Vogue, "We got some similarities, you know? It's not like I am playing a whole different person. It's my voice. Sometimes I freestyle the lines and say what I want to say. We definitely have some similarities." As the "Euphoria" star continued, "When I am over there, I am trying to act natural. I want to seem like a regular person, so I just act relaxed." Furthermore, Cloud sees Fez as one of the better characters on the hit show, despite his chosen line of work.
"He is definitely a good guy. You wouldn't expect that character in most on-screen things to have that moral compass, so it is a nice change. People like that are hard to come by," the breakout star argued. While chatting to GQ, Cloud revealed Fez wasn't originally supposed to survive the first season of "Euphoria," but evidently Sam Levinson and the rest of the crew loved him so much, that they decided to keep both of them around. Cloud still can't wrap his head around how he ended up here, admitting, "Why did they not hire a professional actor?"
And yet, fans of the show couldn't imagine anyone else making Fez who he is, particularly given how Levinson encouraged Cloud to do less with the character.