Angus Cloud, Actor on ‘Euphoria,’ Dead at 25

Angus Cloud, the actor who starred on HBO’s Euphoria for two 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 to The Hollywood Reporter. “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.”

The family continued, “We hope the world remembers him for his humor, laughter and love for everyone. We ask for privacy at this time as we are still processing this devastating loss.”

HBO added to THR, “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 after a raid gone wrong.

When speaking to THR after the March 2022 finale, Cloud spoke about how his character was supposed to die in the first couple of 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 surrounding Zendaya’s Rue and her ensemble of high school friends.

“He just appreciated what I did, so he kept me going,” said Cloud of Levinson elevating his role. “I was excited. I was just ready to work.”

Levinson was writing the already renewed third season before the May 2 writers strike. With the season currently halted amid the work stoppage, it’s unclear what the creator had planned, a source tells THR.

Cloud said at the time 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 finale script kept changing, with Cloud not getting the script and reading about his finale fate until they began filming. Still, he remained optimistic at the time, telling THR, “Everyone can change, you know? He’s just a survivor. He’s going to figure out how to make the best of situations.”

Cloud was also recently cast in Universal Pictures’ untitled monster thriller from the filmmaker duo known as Radio Silence. The film — which, along with Euphoria season three was set to release in 2024 before the strike — was being directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who helmed the two latest Scream movies.

Euphoria was Cloud’s biggest credit, with the actor having previously appeared in a couple of music videos, including Becky G & Karol G’s “Mamiii” and a 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 and 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, which is where he had the street encounter that led to his Euphoria audition.

While speaking to 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.”

Abbey White and Lesley Goldberg contributed to this story.