Euphoria is a drama series on HBO. It was created by Sam Levinson. It aired on June 19, 2019. The show focuses on high school students. It explores drugs, sex, and violence. The series is praised for its raw portrayal of teenage life. The Euphoria characters give exceptional performances. The cinematography is visually stunning. Euphoria is changing from high school to early adulthood. It’s a big shift in the story.
The change affects how the story is told. The characters from Euphoria will develop differently, and themes will be explored in new ways. The decision is made because of scheduling conflicts and the need for a more mature story. Season 3 is coming soon, and people are excited to see how the show evolves. Let’s take a look at the main characters from Euphoria through this detailed guide.
Euphoria Characters: Season 1 and Season 2
Season 2 introduces new characters from Euphoria while keeping many from Season 1. The show is created by Sam Levinson and produced by A24. It’s loosely based on an Israeli TV series and draws from Levinson’s own experiences. The series centers on Rue Bennett, a teenage addict. Her struggles with addiction are the focus of the show. Season 1 followed Rue’s romance with Jules, a new girl in town. The rest of the cast revolves around Rue’s life, creating a colorful group of characters.
Season 1 of Euphoria focused on individual characters, exploring suburban high school life. It sparked controversy for its graphic portrayal of teenage issues, but despite controversy, it received praise. Season 2 delves deeper into the stories of the main characters. Here are the main characters from the Euphoria cast.
Zendaya as Rue Bennett
Zendaya plays Rue in Euphoria. Rue is 17 years old. She’s recovering from drug addiction. She returns to high school after rehab. She falls in love with Jules. Being with Jules helps her stay clean and get better. At the end of season one, Rue and Jules, one of the Euphoria main characters plan to run away together. Rue changes her mind because of her family. Jules goes to the city alone.
Zendaya started as a child star on Disney Channel’s Shake It Up. She also acted in KC Undercover. She’s in the MCU Spider-Man movies as MJ. She starred in The Greatest Showman and Dune. She co-produced and starred in Malcolm & Marie. Zendaya won an Emmy for her role in Euphoria.
Hunter Schafer as Jules Vaughn
Hunter plays Jules in Euphoria. Jules is a trans girl who moved to town after her parents’ divorce. She becomes friends with Rue but is unsure about Rue’s feelings for her. She uses hookup apps and has anonymous sex with men. She develops feelings for Nate Jacobs. Their relationship is complicated because Nate catfished Jules. He wanted revenge for her involvement with his dad. In the end, Jules goes to the city alone despite Rue changing her mind about running away together.
Schafer will voice act in the English dub of the Japanese animated film Belle. She will also appear in the movie Cuckoo soon.
Jacob Elordi as Nate Jacobs
Nate is a typical jock and bully at school. He often vents his problems on others. At the start of season one, he’s dating Maddy, but their relationship is very unhealthy and violent. Nate once chokes Maddy, leaving bruises on her neck. Her parents press charges. Throughout the season, Nate also grapples with his sexuality, especially his feelings for Jules.
Outside of Euphoria, Elordi is famous for playing Noah Flynn in The Kissing Booth trilogy on Netflix. He will next appear in the erotic thriller Deep Water.
Alexa Demie as Maddy Perez
Alexa plays Maddy in Euphoria. Maddy is Nate’s girlfriend, and later his ex. She’s popular at school. In season one, Maddy has a tough time with Nate. He hurts her, but she still says she loves him. Eventually, she decides to end their relationship.
Demie has had small roles in Ray Donovan, Love, and The OA. She’s also been in movies like Mid90s, Waves, and Mainstream.
Barbie Ferreira as Kat Hernandez
Kat Hernandez is a shy girl who enjoys writing One Direction fanfiction. She begins the new school year hoping to improve her reputation and explore her sexuality. She accomplishes this by changing her style, losing her virginity, and embarking on a career as a cam girl known as KittenKween. While Kat becomes involved with a lot of not-so-great guys, by the end of the season she realizes she likes her classmate, Ethan, who was always very sweet to her, and she confesses her feelings to him.
Ferreira has been in the HBO series Divorce. She’s also appeared in the HBO Max film Unpregnant.
Sydney Sweeney as Cassie Howard
Cassie is friends with Kat and Maddy. She dates Chris McKay in season one. They struggle with long-distance as he’s in college. Cassie decides to get an abortion at the end of the season. Her relationship with Chris is uncertain.
Sweeney has been in popular TV shows like The Handmaid’s Tale and Sharp Objects. She’s also appeared in Everything Sucks! and The White Lotus. In movies, she’s been in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Under the Silver Lake, and The Voyeurs.
Algee Smith as Chris McKay
Chris is a football player and Cassie’s boyfriend. He is struggling in his first year of college and is not a star player anymore. Chris thought he would go pro, but now it seems unlikely. He’s frustrated, and it affects his relationship with Cassie.
Smith is famous for playing Ralph Tresvant in The New Edition Story. He also appeared in Kathryn Bigelow’s film Detroit, starred as Jake Winters in Judas and the Black Messiah and is in the film Mother/Android.
Storm Reid as Gia Bennett
Storm plays Gia, Rue’s little sister. Gia found Rue overdosing. This led Rue to rehab. Their relationship became strained. They used to be close. They start to mend things.
Reid is famous for her roles in movies like 12 Years a Slave, Sleight, and A Wrinkle in Time. She’s also been in Don’t Let Me Go and The Invisible Man. Reid appeared in the Netflix miniseries When They See Us too.
Maude Apatow as Lexi Howard
Lexi is Cassie’s younger sister and one of the main characters in Euphoria. She is also Rue’s childhood friend. They haven’t been close since Rue got into drugs. Lexi is shy and often lives in Cassie’s shadow. Throughout season one, Lexi and Rue start to mend their relationship. It’s unclear where they stand now.
Apatow has been in movies directed by her father Judd Apatow. She acted alongside her mother, Leslie Mann, in Knocked Up, Funny People, and This Is 40. Apatow has also been in TV shows like Girls and Hollywood. In addition, she appeared in films like Other People and The House of Tomorrow. She was in Sam Levinson’s movies Assassination Nation and The King of Staten Island, too.
Angus Cloud as Fezco
Angus plays Fezco, also known as Fez. He’s Rue’s friend and the local drug dealer. Fez cares about Rue a lot. They have a falling out when he refuses to sell her drugs. In the series finale, Fez faces trouble because he owes a lot of money to a drug supplier named Mouse. Fez got raided by the police recently and had to destroy most of his drugs. He can’t pay Mouse. So, Fez decides to rob a man at gunpoint. It’s unclear who the man is, but this robbery might cause problems for Fez in season two.
Euphoria is Cloud’s breakout role. He also appears in the film North Hollywood. Sadly, Cloud passed away at 25 on July 31, 2023. The cause of his death was accidental drug overdose.
Dominic Fike as Elliot
You might know Dominic Fike for his music, but he’s also acting as Elliot in season two of Euphoria. He’s described Elliot as a friend of Rue and Jules, calling him a “degenerate.” In the season two trailer, he’s shown taking pills with Rue and playing guitar for Jules.
Singer-songwriter Fike debuted in acting on Euphoria. He was known for his music career before. Some of Dominic’s popular songs include “3 Nights,” “Chicken Tenders,” and “The Kiss of Venus” with Sir Paul McCartney.
Javon “Wanna” Walton plays Ashtray O’Neill
We learn about Ashtray’s bond with Fezco. He protects Fezco from rivals and Cal Jacobs. But what will happen to Ashtray’s violent behavior? Walton has appeared on the Amazon series Utopia and voiced Pugsley Addams in The Addams Family 2 animated film.
Austin Abrams plays Ethan Daley
Sweet Ethan is dating Kat, unaware of her struggle with desire. He auditions for Lexi’s school play and plays a big part in its outcome, ‘Our Life’. Abrams played Ron Anderson in The Walking Dead and Dash & Lily. He starred in movies like The Kings of Summer and Paper Towns. Abrams also appeared in Brad’s Status, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and Chemical Hearts.
Colman Domingo plays Ali Muhammed
Ali supports Rue as her sponsor in Narcotics Anonymous meetings. Rue becomes increasingly difficult to help. Domingo is also known for his role as Victor Strand in Fear the Walking Dead. He has a successful film career, appearing in movies like Lincoln, Selma, If Beale Street Could Talk, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and Zola.
Alanna Ubach plays Suze Howard
Suze keeps drinking and being sassy while supporting Cassie and Lexi. However, their sisterly relationship will suffer as the season progresses. Ubach is famous for her roles in Coco, Legally Blonde, Meet the Fockers and various voice roles.
Minka Kelly As Samantha
Minka Kelly plays Samantha in Euphoria. Maddy babysits for her. Maddy becomes like a mentee to Samantha in season 2. Samantha guides Maddy. Kelly is famous for playing Dove in DC’s Titans series. She’s also been in Friday Night Lights and other projects. Her next role is Cass in the thriller Blackwater Lane. She stars alongside Dermot Mulroney.
Chloe Cherry plays Faye
Faye is Custer’s girlfriend and a drug addict. She becomes friends with Fezco. Faye used to work in porn and modeling. This is Cherry‘s first major acting role. She’s signed with Anti-Agency London.
Is HBO Max a good choice to watch Euphoria?
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Bottom Line
The cast includes diverse Euphoria characters. They navigate high school life together. Season 1 focused on individual stories. It explored teenage issues in depth. Season 2 delves deeper into their backgrounds. Despite controversy, the show has received praise. Audiences look forward to further character development. The series moves beyond high school. It evolves with its Euphoria main characters. Early adulthood is portrayed authentically. Emotions are deep and resonant. Anticipation grows for the next season. Euphoria continues its bold storytelling. Viewers are invited to join the journey.