The Stunning Transformation Of The Cast Of Euphoria

The following article contains mentions of addiction.

With its striking visuals, ethereal soundtrack, and moving exploration of addiction, mental health, and identity, the hit drama show "Euphoria" has captivated audiences. Although it's only had two seasons so far, with much of the fanbase eagerly awaiting the upcoming third installment, the series is now HBO's second-most watched show, just behind "Game of Thrones." But there's so much more to the untold truth of "Euphoria," and it's all to do with the talented group of actors.

While the series has showcased groundbreaking performances, the cast has come a long way in their careers, in part due to the raw emotion they've manifested from the scripts. Sam Levinson, writer and creator of the show, based much of "Euphoria" on his own experiences. "I just follow the emotion," he said in speaking with the Television Academy in February 2023, which the actors convey authentically on screen. Here's the stunning transformation of the cast of "Euphoria," from their early careers to today.

Since Storm Reid got her first-ever credited role in the 2012 made-for-TV movie "A Cross to Bear," she's been a force to be reckoned with, starring in other projects like "12 Years a Slave" and "The Invisible Man." According to Reid, as she explained during her conversation with W Magazine in February 2020, she knew from the age of 3 that she wanted to be an actor because God told her. One day in 2006, she professed her future ambitions to her mother, saying, "I want to be on TV, and I want to be a superstar."

Reid's stunning transformation landed her a gig on "Euphoria" as Rue's sister Gia, but it was short-lived, as she revealed that she wouldn't be returning for Season 3. "[It's] bittersweet," she said of her departure to Variety in February 2025. "I love Gia. I loved being able to embody her and give her life." But, thankfully, she's made a "sister for life" in her co-star Zendaya, adding, "I'm sure we'll work together again one day in some capacity."

Addiction is a profound topic in "Euphoria," with Zendaya playing Rue, a drug-addicted teenager. Nika King was handed the difficult task of playing her mother Leslie, who attempts to help her throughout the series. Her ability to tap into the caretaking role shouldn't be surprising, as King managed to relate to her own experiences.

"My life began in the humble environment of a slum," King told Westlake Malibu Lifestyle Magazine in June 2022. She was raised by a drug-addicted mother alongside her five siblings, but despite her troubling environment, she found solace in performing. From a young age, King knew she wanted to make people laugh, so she set off for Hollywood and enrolled at the Groundlings Improvisational Theater School. She worked her way up the ladder, performing on stage and landing minor on-screen roles until she secured the part of Leslie.

During a February 2022 interview with Complex, King addressed the difficulty of her role on "Euphoria." She remarked, "It definitely did a number on my psyche in regards to just constantly going after someone who is being so disrespectful and hurtful, and at the same time, having a level of compassion for someone who's obviously out of control."

The world was first introduced to Javon "Wanna" Walton in the pilot episode of "Euphoria" as Ashtray, a young drug dealer and the adopted brother of Fezco. He's since gone on to star in shows like "The Umbrella Academy" and "Under the Bridge," but acting surprisingly wasn't his first career choice. Walton had spent a good portion of his childhood training for his boxing career and began competing at 8 years old, with the ultimate goal of reaching the Olympics. But, when the star got an audition for the HBO series a few years later, he put his training on hold.

In speaking with Esquire in February 2022, Walton explained that he'd like to strike a balance between his two passions. "People will ask me, 'What would you rather pick, boxing or acting?' I don't got to pick," he said. "I can do both."

Chloe Cherry has more than 250 projects under her belt, the majority of which she'd earned prior to playing Faye on "Euphoria." But she may have been considered relatively unknown in Hollywood because she is an adult film star — and her debut on the HBO series was her intro to mainstream television. In 2022, Cherry revealed that Sam Levinson discovered her on Instagram. "I was so blown away that he wanted to audition me at all. It was the greatest honor of my life," she said to Interview Magazine.

Cherry had a positive experience transitioning from adult films to the series. "I really liked shooting mainstream because people are just really focused on your acting," she told Flaunt in May 2022. "And in adult [films], they want you to act well, but it's not as important. I think that the transition for me was really great because I feel more appreciated."

When Elliot was first introduced on "Euphoria" as the new kid in Season 2, it was clear that he was going to be bad news for Rue and Jules. But the truth about Dominic Fike, who played the character, is that his troubled past kept him from securing the role sooner.

Raised in Naples, Florida, Fike was inspired by his parents to get into music. But they were sadly unreliable, with his mom in and out of jail and his father out of the picture. He had some run-ins with the law and dealt with substance abuse over the years. "I actually am a pretty big drug addict myself, believe it or not," he told Variety in January 2024.

Fike landed an audition for "Euphoria" after he became successful in the music industry, but he completely blew it as he'd decided to take shrooms right before his final chemistry read. When Sam Levinson learned Fike had sought help for his issues with drugs, the showrunner gave him a second shot. To play it safe, a "sober coach" was appointed to the first-time actor, but they didn't get along. "We had nothing in common ... It was hard to take advice from someone like that or give a s***," Fike explained.

Not long before Colman Domingo gave all of us chills with his incredible portrayal of Ali, Rue's sponsor on "Euphoria," he was a frustrated actor just trying to break into the industry. With a filmography that dates back to the late '90s, it's clear he was putting his time in, but he still kept coming up short.

In December 2023, Domingo revealed that he nearly quit acting altogether. He recounted how he'd killed it during an audition for "Boardwalk Empire," but he had been passed up for the role as his skin tone was too dark. "That's when I lost my mind," Domingo told The New York Times. He screamed, fell to the floor, and told his agent, "I can't take it anymore, I think this is going to kill me." Fortunately, the actor found the perseverance to keep going. Domingo earned an Emmy for his work on "Euphoria" in 2022, and he has been nominated for two Oscars.

It initially took time for Kat Hernandez to embrace her body on "Euphoria," and the self-conscious teen was played by someone who understood exactly what she was going through, as Barbie Ferreira struggled to break into acting due to her weight. "I thought that [the movie industry] would be more accepting of my body type," she said to W Magazine in March 2016, but she found that this was not the case. After rejection upon rejection, Ferreira submitted a photo to American Apparel and was hired for their ad campaign at 16, which then opened the doors for other modeling opportunities and editorials. "That's when I really started to model seriously," Ferreira remarked. "I wanted to take it to the next level."

After two seasons on "Euphoria," the model decided to step away from the series in what she called a "mutual decision" while speaking on "Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard" in September 2024. "I really wanted to be able to not be the fat best friend," Ferreira said. "I don't want to play that."

Long before either of them found fame, Angus Cloud and Zendaya were both students at Oakland School for the Arts. Surprisingly, playing Fezco was his first on-screen role, as he was discovered by the casting director of "Euphoria" at his restaurant job. Cloud's character was initially meant to be killed off in Season 1, but Sam Levinson adored him so much, he kept him on.

Tragically, the actor died at 25 years old in July 2023 due to an accidental overdose of methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine and benzodiazepines. Cloud had dealt with a dependency on drugs after a brain injury he'd sustained at 15. In May 2023, just two months before the overdose, Cloud's father died from cancer. Zendaya shared a touching tribute to honor Cloud on Instagram at the time, writing, "I'm so grateful I got the chance to know him in this life, to call him a brother, to see his warm, kind eyes and bright smile, or hear his infectious cackle of a laugh (I'm smiling now just thinking of it)."

For nearly as long as he's been acting in front of a camera, Austin Abrams has been playing a high schooler. Since his mom signed him up for acting camp at 5 years old to drag him out of his shell, he's been in love with the craft, and it paid off exponentially when he landed the part of Ethan on "Euphoria." Abrams explained that it was Sam Levinson who caught his interest in the project. "He's just a really good director and it seemed like a lot of good people to work with," the actor remarked during his conversation with Coup De Main Magazine in December 2019.

But, after starring in the American version of "The Inbetweeners," "Paper Towns," and the HBO series, it seems like Abrams is finished playing a teenager on screen. "I can't really do it anymore," he told IndieWire in April 2024.

Eric Dane kicked off his career in the '90s, but it seemed like the actor had made it when he was cast on "Grey's Anatomy" as Dr. Mark Sloan. Unfortunately, his time on the show was cut short. "I didn't leave so much as I think I was let go," he explained on Dax Shepard's podcast "Armchair Expert" in September 2024. He dealt with an addiction to drugs and alcohol at that time, and while this wasn't the reason he was fired, "it definitely didn't help." According to Dane, he'd become too expensive for the network, and they were forced to cut ties with him.

He was in a handful of projects but nothing groundbreaking until he played Cal Jacobs, Nate's domineering father, on "Euphoria." "It's been freeing for me to play this role," Dane told Men's Health in January 2022. While he loved his time on "Grey's Anatomy," he remarked, "I didn't feel like there was too much that was asked of me in that role. And Cal is a whole different story."

Before she donned the gorgeous, colorful makeup on "Euphoria" as Cassie, Sydney Sweeney had well over 30 acting credits to her name. She's since had an impressive rise to fame, taking on many more roles and all sorts of ventures. But back when she was just a kid growing up in the Pacific Northwest, Hollywood seemed impossibly far away.

"I grew up in a town where there wasn't any sort of entertainment industry, so acting was a fairytale," Sweeney told Coveteur in May 2019. When she was 12, the "Euphoria" star learned of auditions being held in her hometown of Spokane, but her mom and dad would need some convincing. "I begged my parents to let me audition by putting together a five-year business plan presentation," Sweeney laughed. Fortunately, it worked and the family moved out to Los Angeles the following year to help her pursue her dreams.

Although she grew up physically closer to Hollywood than some of her castmates, Alexa Demie didn't have the easiest childhood. The "Euphoria" star, who plays Maddy on the HBO series, grew up across the street from a meth lab and had a difficult relationship with her mother. "I've revolted my entire life, from a super toxic family environment," Demie explained in December 2020 to Cultured. "Running away from home as a teenager was a major revolt."

Taking on her role in "Euphoria" proved challenging for Demie given her background, as Maddy's destructive relationship with Nate baffled her. "When I was growing up, I would not let any boy or man say one negative thing to me, because I didn't grow up with the best male figures in my life," she told Wonderland Magazine in October 2019. Demie shared that while being vulnerable was difficult for her, finding compassion for Maddy allowed her to better understand her character's mindset. 

An argument could be made that Maude Apatow has benefitted from nepotism, as her mom Leslie Mann and father Judd Apatow have been successful pillars in Hollywood for decades. However, the actor's talent speaks for itself, as she's delivered a number of impressive performances as Lexi on "Euphoria." In fact, Apatow's first movie role was way back in 2005 in her dad's classic comedy "The 40 Year Old Virgin." But you probably don't remember seeing her on-screen until 2007's "Knocked Up" because her dad ultimately cut her scene.

Apatow explained that she used to feel "sad" about her "nepo baby" label, but now she's using it to motivate herself in her career. "I've got to keep going and make good work," the actor remarked during an interview with Net-a-Porter in September 2022. "It's so early in my career, I don't have much to show yet, but hopefully one day I'll be really proud of the stuff I've done by myself."

Jacob Elordi is probably best known for playing Nate Jacobs, the hyper-masculine antagonist on "Euphoria," but he had to come a long way to get there — literally and figuratively. Born in Brisbane, Australia, the HBO star fell in love with acting early on. "I think subconsciously, my whole life I wanted to be an actor, because I demanded all the attention from my parents and friends and people around me," he told W Magazine in February 2021. Elordi became involved with musical theater at 12 years old and took drama classes, but eventually he learned that if he wanted to make it big, he'd have to move to America.

Elordi's rise to fame came pretty quick after he arrived in Los Angeles at 19. The actor became an overnight sensation with Netflix's "The Kissing Booth," and just a year later he'd landed the part of Nate, whose complexity surprised him. "I had no idea of the scope or the depth that was to come," Elordi said of his character's arc.

Hunter Schafer has undergone a stunning transformation over the years, going from an activist to a model to an actor. Her career flourished after being cast as Jules on "Euphoria," a transgender teenager with an experimental fashion sense. It was Schafer's first-ever acting role, and it was because of her modeling agency that she even heard about the audition. "I think every trans girl at the time got the call," she told Elle in February 2023.

While "Euphoria" helped make Schafer a household name, the actor says that she's ready to leave the "trans" label behind. "I don't want to be [reduced to] that, and I find it ultimately demeaning to me and what I want to do," Schafer explained in speaking with GQ in April 2024. She'd rather be able to play cisgender characters, saying, "I've gotten offered tons of trans roles, and I just don't want to do it. I don't want to talk about it."

When Zendaya was growing up, her mother worked at the California Shakespeare Theater, exposing her to performing at a young age. In 2010, she got her start on Disney Channel's "Shake It Up," but with it came a lot of pressure. "I felt like I was thrust into a very adult position: I was becoming the breadwinner of my family very early," Zendaya told Vogue in April 2024. But her talent was undeniable.

"Euphoria" fans have been blown away by Zendaya's portrayal of Rue, and her performance has earned her two Emmy awards already. Portraying a character who struggles with addiction isn't an easy feat, though. In fact, Zendaya said playing Rue was actually painful for her. "I think it was a very painful experience because I care about Rue as though she's a real person," she told The Nerds of Color in February 2022. "To see her in this deep pain is scary."

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).