A breakout star. Since his first appearance on Euphoria fans have been dying to see — and know — more of Angus Cloud‘s Fezco, and creator Sam Levinson has granted their wish.
The first episode of Season 2 was centered around the drug dealer and his unusual childhood and Cloud is ready to show even more of his character’s backstory. “I’m excited for y’all to see how he kind of comes out of his hard shell a little bit and he kind of exposes his softer side,” the Oakland native told GQ in January 2022.
In the season premiere, Euphoria fans learned that Fez started dealing drugs at age 10 as his grandmother’s helper. He had to take over her illicit business after she fell ill.
“You see a little bit of his innocence and you see that he’s kind of been forced into this life, but he’s … still a kid like everyone else,” Cloud continued. “He might be a year older, but he had to act like an adult from such a young age. But his inner kid is still in there and you get to see it come out slightly.”
Fez’s soft side has been particularly visible during his budding romance with Lexi, played by Maude Apatow. Since their conversation at the New Year’s Eve party in the premiere, which saw Fez praise Lexi as cool and fearless and encouraged her to stop doubting herself, Euphoria has been teasing a connection between the two seemingly opposite characters.
“She’s pretty, she’s smart, she’s kind,” Cloud told Bustle in January about why he thinks Fez would go for the bookish, quiet theater kid. “I don’t think he got a ‘type.’ He got a type for pretty, nice, and smart.”
While Fez helped Lexi feel more confident onscreen, the North Hollywood actor credits Apatow for allowing him to share his vulnerable side as an actor. “I love working with Maude — she’s the best. We always had a great time whenever we get to work together. She’s hilarious. She cracks me up,” Cloud told Complex in January 2022 “You gotta feel safe and comfortable to sort of open up. I always feel like that around her, so it’s not too difficult.”
Fez’s emergence as a fan favorite — and Cloud’s status as the show’s new heartthrob — are doubly surprising considering he wasn’t supposed to make it through the first season.
“I was supposed to die in season 1,” the model confessed to GQ following the show’s Los Angeles premiere. “I guess the character of Fezco was [never meant to stick around]. I don’t even know how. I never saw that script.”
In fact, it was costar Jacob Elordi (who plays Nate) who broke the news to Cloud about his character’s original fate. “It was one day when we were filming the pilot that I think Jacob told me,” Cloud explained.
He continued: “It never ended up happening. I think that they liked what I did and so they decided to keep me alive and let me rock. I don’t know how I was going out, but hopefully I would’ve gone out like a G.”
Euphoria season 2 airs on HBO and HBO Max Sundays at 9 p.m. ET. Keep scrolling for five things you need to know about the actor: