The “fucking brilliant” actor Zendaya called the “perfect person” to work with
There have been many good depictions of generational struggles over the years, but few come close to Zendaya’s nuanced portrayal in the coming-of-age drama Euphoria.
From Sex Education and Heartstopper to Stranger Things, there’s a lot on offer when it comes to stories about young’uns navigating the world in high-stakes situations, and yet, Euphoria still stands alone when it comes to depicting these perils in all of their gloriously painstaking colours.
In fact, this is something that people have loved about the show from the start, which doesn’t capture the struggles of Gen-Z with any kind of sheen or desensitisation; in fact, it spotlights the different nuances of complicated youth by peering beneath the curtain in a Skins-like fashion, where every character has their own threads of challenges to navigate, including sex, drug abuse, and mental health issues.
As she shining star, Zendaya portrays each of these themes masterfully, such that her role as Rue Bennett is what propelled her to internet icon status. People especially commended her explosive emotional range and ability to depict issues like addiction and withdrawal with stark authenticity, allowing those with similar situations to feel seen, and those outside of it to understand the community at a new level.
Rounding out the cast is also Jacob Elordi playing high school footballer Nate, who navigates struggles with his broken family home, while Sydney Sweeney plays Cassie, who suffers from immensely low self-esteem and abandonment issues, as well as anxiety around her own self-worth, all very part and parcel of the teenage experience; however, another whose involvement appears more impressive than those performances is Hunter Schafer, who got her start in the series with her acting debut as Jules Vaughn.
Like Zendaya, Schafer rose as an internet favourite because of the show, as people commended her nuanced acting ability and natural emotional connection to Jules. As a first punt at acting, Schafer is incredibly admirable, especially as Jules also navigated being transgender at an early age while also navigating problems at home, namely her mother’s addiction.
Playing Jules has been considerably confrontational for Schafer, and she often discovered new pieces of herself as she went, especially as she felt that, for the longest time, she’d kept a lot of things bottled up, and playing the character meant opening up again.
As she previously explained to V Magazine, “It didn’t feel natural at first. Part of surviving [that] experience was just, like, getting through shit. Letting it rest and not addressing it. I think that’s what I had been [doing] up to that point: just going and going, fighting to be on the other side of my transition.”
The show might have eventually made Schafer want to turn away from such roles to explore other projects and avoid being reduced to one specific label or idea, but it ultimately opened her eyes to the ways that her emotions and experiences could bolster a role or a story, opening doors for the countless other opportunities that ultimately came her way following the success.
But on Euphoria, everybody noticed her talent and how she enriched the entire story beyond the complexities of the accompanying characters. Zendaya, for one, was enchanted by Schafer’s performance, once telling Collider, “She’s an angel. She’s a truly perfect person, through and through. When she comes into a room, she’s like this ray of sunshine that reflects off of everyone. I can’t even think of more positive things to say about her as a human. She’s just amazing. She’s fuckin’ brilliant.”
