In its short existence, Euphoria – Sam Levinson’s wild, often gruesome HBO melodrama about wayward teens in suburban California – has been memed and mocked, often for its outlandish plot elements and self-indulgent tone. It also has ardent defenders, who love its gossipy salaciousness and the way it treats teen emotions – hate, heartbreak, lust, apathy, alienation – with fundamental earnestness and sincerity. Key to this spirit is the show’s talented cast, who are adept at capturing the anxiety and profound awkwardness of youth. Few were better at that than Angus Cloud.
The actor, who died on 31 July, aged 25, played the mumbling, sweet drug dealer Fezco and built one of Euphoria’s most compelling characters out of half-sentences and dazed stares. As one of the key foils to Zendaya’s drug addict Rue, Cloud was required to toe a constant line between compassion and exasperation without turning his character into a caricature. In a show known for its larger-than-life aesthetic and soap-operatic plotting, Fezco became an unusual fount of realism. Even as his character became embroiled in the kind of dealers-vs-feds sub-plot that seemed as if it was lifted straight from a cop show, Cloud kept a tight grip on his character’s grace and empathetic nature.
