Angus Cloud, the actor who starred on HBO’s Euphoria for 2 seasons, has died. He was 25.
Cloud’s family announced the news on Monday.
“It is with the heaviest heart that we had to say goodbye to an incredible human today. As an artist, a friend, a brother and a son, Angus was special to all of us in so many ways,” said his family in the 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.”
HBO added: “We are incredibly saddened to learn of the passing of Angus Cloud. He was immensely talented and a beloved part of the HBO and Euphoria family. We extend our deepest condolences to his friends and family during this difficult time.”
Cloud was walking down the street in Manhattan when he got cast as drug dealer Fezco on Euphoria, HBO’s Emmy-winning addiction drama from Sam Levinson and starring Zendaya. The role turned Cloud into a breakout star.
His role was expanded in the second season, which ended on a major cliffhanger for his character following a S.W.A.T. raid.
Levinson said, “There was no one quite like Angus. 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. Rest in peace and God Bless his family.”
After the March 2022 finale, Cloud noted that his character was set to die in the first episodes, but Levinson changed his mind to keep Fez around.
Cloud saw his role expanded with an origin-story flashback to open season two and emerged as an anchor amid the swirling drama with Zendaya’s Rue and her ensemble of high school friends.
It sparked #Fexi social media fandom over his onscreen relationship with Maude Apatow’s Lexi.
Levinson was writing the renewed third season before the May 2 writers strike, With the season now halted amid the work stoppage, it’s unclear what the creator had planned.
Cloud said he wasn’t aware of Fez’s full season-two arc, as the cast typically would receive two or three scripts at a time.
Even the last script kept changing, with Cloud not reading about his finale fate until they began filming. Still, he remained optimistic at the time, “Everyone can change, you know? He’s just a survivor. He’s going to figure out how to make the best of situations.” He added, “Nothing in life is free. Bad things happen to good people; good things happen to bad people. Bad people do good things; good people do bad things. Luck is blind.”
He also spoke about the fan response he received from the role and irony of now being approached on the street. “It’s a strange experience that I’m guessing not many people can relate to. I guess I’m just realizing that things can really never go back to how it was,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it.”
Mason Shea Joyce, who plays a young Fez on Euphoria, remembered Cloud’s “really sweet smile and generous soul” in a statement. “He was kind and supportive, never too busy for a quick chat or pep talk,” Joyce continued. “It was an honor to play young Fezco.”
Other upcoming films included horror Your Lucky Day and Freaky Tales, from Captain Marvel helmers Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden.
Euphoria was Cloud’s biggest credit: the actor and style star have previously appeared in music videos for Becky G & Karol G’s “Mamiii” and with cameo in the late Juice WRLD’s “Cigarettes.”
In 2019, he had a small role alongside Vince Vaughn, Miranda Cosgrove and Ryder McLaughlin in the Mikey Alfred skater dramedy North Hollywood and most recently starred in The Line, the Ethan Berger-directed, Alex Wolff and Halle Bailey-starring thriller about the culture of Greek Life.
Cloud was born in Oakland and attended the Oakland School for the Arts, where he focused on the technical theater arts, building sets and lighting the stage for his classmates. In 2018, he moved to New York after buying a one-way flight to the city to visit friends. It’s where he had the street encounter that led to his Euphoria audition.
While speaking with GQ in 2019, Cloud described the process of portraying Fez as “a different kind of hard” from other things he’d done: “I am not running around sweating, but it’s that mental shit. You have to stay focused. You have to be on point. You can’t call in sick. Acting takes a lot out of you. I’d be drained, but I was just sitting there acting.”
