The third season of Euphoria will pay tribute to late actor Angus Cloud by keeping his character, Fez, alive on screen.
“There are a lot of scenes where people are either talking to him on the phone,” creator Sam Levinson said to Variety while attending the season 3 premiere on Tuesday, April 7, explaining the decision for Fez to still be part of the story.
Levinson, 41, wanted to honor Cloud after he died in July 2025 following an accidental overdose. He was 25.
“I thought that if I couldn’t keep him alive in life then maybe within this show that I can control and keep him alive there,” he added. “I think the whole thing was to honor him and also I can’t wait for you to see the last few episodes.”
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Levinson concluded: “I think he would be cracking up at his story line. I think he would love it.”
Euphoria premiered in 2019 and originally followed troubled high school student Rue (Zendaya) as she struggled to remain sober after rehab. The hit HBO series was quickly renewed for a second season after its premiere, but it took nearly three years for the episodes to air.
Cloud isn’t the only costar the Euphoria cast has lost. Eric Dane, who played Cal, died in February at age 53 after a battle with ALS.
“Some people ask why it took so long between seasons 2 and 3. There were obvious factors — the strikes, trying to make a schedule work with our very in-demand cast, but the real time was in trying to figure out how to find a way to pay respect to those who we lost,” Levinson said in a speech on Tuesday.
He continued: “When Angus died, it was tough. I loved him deeply, and I fought hard to keep him clean. The year he died, in 2023, he was one of 73,000 people in America who died of a fentanyl overdose. I learned a whole lot that year, but what I realized more than anything is that death is what gives life meaning. You can’t be arrogant about existence. You’re forced to reckon with the fact that life itself is a wonder, a gift, a profound blessing.”
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Before his death, Cloud was candid about his struggles with mental health and addiction. Levinson recalled making several attempts to help the actor during his journey to stay sober.
“I looked him in the eye and I knew that he wasn’t doing well,” Levinson told People in September 2023 about helping Angus enter a 30-day in-patient program. “At the same time, I’ve been in these situations before where you’re trying to get someone clean. And I just said to him, ‘I love working with you and we’ve got this amazing season planned and stuff, but I need you to be sober because I got to be able to rely on you.’”
Levinson was determined to support Cloud, noting, “I could always feel that he didn’t want [sobriety] as much as we all wanted it for him. That’s where it gets tricky because the whole world can want it for you. But he didn’t want it. It’s just the self-destructive side of addiction and it outweighs everything. But you can’t give up on people. I wasn’t going to let anyone give up on him.”
Euphoria returns to HBO on Sunday, April 12, at 9 p.m. ET
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
