When Euphoria premiered in 2019, most of its stars were still early on in their careers. For some, the hit HBO series was their first role. For others, they had been around for some time — but they all achieved a new level of stardom as the Sam Levinson series exploded in both popularity and acclaim.
As Euphoria became more famous, so did its cast, with Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, Colman Domingo, Hunter Schafer and more going on to star in projects like Dune, Priscilla, Anyone But You, Rustin and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, among others.
On Monday, news broke that Euphoria season three was being put on pause indefinitely, as Levinson and HBO work to create a new world and figure out where the characters go after they leave high school. The very in-demand cast has now been freed up to pursue other projects in the interim, even as all parties “remain committed to making an exceptional third season,” per HBO.
It’s been long speculated that the show would have a time jump between its second and third seasons, because most of the stars who play high schoolers onscreen are well into their late 20s, almost 30s. Sources close to the series confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that will, in fact, be the case when the show returns ideally in 2025.
The cast remains in first position on Euphoria, THR reported, which means if they line up new TV projects, they may have to pause them whenever season three is ready to begin production, or they would have to shoot concurrently. Production could also work around their schedules, but that would likely delay when they could start filming with a cast this size.
Season three’s storyline is mostly unknown, including how many episodes there will be and the arcs of Rue (Zendaya), Nate (Elordi), Jules (Schafer), Cassie (Sweeney) and the others. But in Zendaya’s September 2023 Elle cover story, Levinson did tease that the new season as a “film noir,” with Rue exploring “what it means to be an individual with principles in a corrupt world.”
Below, see how far many of the Euphoria stars have come and what they have coming up.
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Zendaya
Image Credit: Eddy Chen/HBO Zendaya was a Disney Channel star before she started breaking into larger roles like MJ in the Tom Holland-starring Spider-Man films and The Greatest Showman. However, when she landed the lead role in Sam Levinson’s Euphoria, she reached a new level of stardom. Following season one of the hit HBO show, she became the youngest lead actress in a drama Emmy winner in history. She broke another record when she won the same Emmy for season two, becoming the TV Academy’s youngest two-time winner.
Since taking on the role of Rue Bennett, Zendaya reprised her role of MJ in two other Spider-Man films, starred in Malcolm & Marie, voiced the iconic Lola Bunny in Space Jam: A New Legacy and landed the massive part of Chani in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune and Dune: Part Two. Up next, the actress has Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers, in which she portrays Tashi, a tennis pro-turned-coach who is married to a once-world champion now on a losing streak. She stars alongside Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor.
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Jacob Elordi
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Max Jacob Elordi achieved teen heartthrob status after landing the role of Noah Flynn in The Kissing Booth and the two sequels that followed. Looking back now, Elordi considers those films “ridiculous,” noting, “They’re not universal. They’re an escape.” But shortly after the first one was released, the actor got the part of Nate in Euphoria, leading to him being taken more seriously. He starred opposite Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas in 2022’s Deep Water and broke out even further in 2023 with two major film roles.
Elordi took on the role of the King of Rock and Roll in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, which tells the story of Priscilla and Elvis Presley from Priscilla’s perspective. The biopic was based on Priscilla Presley’s biography Elvis and Me and follows her life, starting when she met him in Germany in 1959 until she left him in 1972. Elordi followed that up with Emerald Fennell’s cultural phenomenon Saltburn, in which he portrayed Felix Catton, a popular rich kid who becomes the subject of Oliver Twist’s (Barry Keoghan) obsession. Priscilla and Saltburn were released a month apart and filmed three weeks apart.
The actor has six projects coming up. He just wrapped production on Prime Video’s miniseries The Narrow Road to the Deep North, based on Richard Flanagan’s Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name. The love story spans decades and follows Elordi’s Lieutenant-Colonel Dorrigo Evans, as his brief love affair with Amy Mulvaney (Odessa Young) shapes his life. Elordi was also recently cast to replace Andrew Garfield as Frankenstein in Guillermo del Toro‘s upcoming film, starring alongside Oscar Isaac, Christopher Waltz and Felix Kammerer.
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Sydney Sweeney
Image Credit: HBO Prior to Euphoria, Sydney Sweeney had one-off roles in shows like Criminal Minds, 90210, Grey’s Anatomy and Pretty Little Liars, before being a recurring castmember on The Handmaid’s Tale and Sharp Objects. Her first major film was 2019’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. She portrayed “Snake,” one of the members of the Manson family who lived on Spahn Ranch. That same year, Sweeney began her run as Cassie in Euphoria season one. In 2022, Sweeney was a two-time Emmy nominee for her take on Cassie in season two of the Levinson show and Olivia Mossbacher in the first season of The White Lotus.
The last year or so has been, arguably, Sweeney’s biggest one yet. In 2023, she starred in HBO’s Reality to great acclaim and Anyone But You, which helped revive the modern-day rom-com genre and marked her first foray into producing. Only a few months into 2024, the actress has already had two films hit theaters — Madame Web and Immaculate, the second film she’s produced through her banner, Fifty-Fifty Films. Up next, Sweeney has Eden with Vanessa Kirby, Ana de Armas and Jude Law, as well as Echo Valley, starring alongside Domhnall Gleeson and Julianne Moore.
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Colman Domingo
Image Credit: HBO Considering Colman Domingo has been acting since before some of his Euphoria co-stars were born, this show certainly did not launch his career. But it introduced the Oscar-nominated actor to a whole new generation of fans. Like many actors, Domingo had stints on multiple variations of Law & Order, before landing roles in films like Lincoln, The Butler, Selma and If Beale Street Could Talk. He also had a longtime recurring part in Fear the Walking Dead, which ran from 2015-23.
Following his casting in Euphoria season one as Ali, Rue’s sponsor, he went on to star in acclaimed projects including Zola, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Candyman, Sing Sing, The Color Purple and Rustin, for which he received an Oscar nomination. So far this year, Domingo can be seen in Drive-Away Dolls and is next expected to portray Joe Jackson in the 2025 Michael Jackson biopic that is currently in production. His other upcoming projects include a Nat King Cole biopic, which he’ll star in and direct, and miniseries The Madness.
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Hunter Schafer
Image Credit: Courtesy of Eddy Chen/HBO Unlike some of her co-stars, Hunter Schafer was early in her career when she got the role of Jules in Euphoria. She had only voiced a character in an anime before landing one of the main parts of the hit HBO series. Since then, she has had main roles in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Cuckoo.
Next, Schafer will star alongside Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Jesse Plemons, Margaret Qualley and more in Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness. The actress also has Mother Mary upcoming, in which she’ll act opposite Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel. Schafer will lend her voice to OD, a one-of-a-kind horror video game from the mind of Hideo Kojima. She, Sophia Lillis and Udo Kier will voice star in the game co-written by Jordan Peele.
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Angus Cloud
Image Credit: Courtesy HBO Max Angus Cloud was, quite literally, plucked from the streets of New York City for his first acting role, portraying Euphoria‘s lovable drug dealer Fezco. Before his tragic death in July 2023 from an accidental overdose, Cloud’s career had begun picking up. He wrapped production on three projects before passing: Your Lucky Day, Freaky Tales and Abigail, the latter set to premiere in April. Fez was supposed to die in the first couple of episodes of Euphoria, Cloud told THR after the season two finale, which was a cliffhanger for his character, in February 2022. But Levinson “just appreciated what I did, so he kept me going,” the late actor said of his expanded role. “I was excited. I was just ready to work.”
When asked in that same conversation about people who claim the show glorifies drug use, he shut it down immediately. “If that shit looks fun to you, then I don’t know what you up to, but that shit’s no joke. It’s not fun,” he shared. “Addiction is real, and it kills. I wouldn’t wish it on anybody.”
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Maude Apatow
Image Credit: HBO Maude Apatow, daughter of Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, got her acting start in her parents’ movies. Her first role was portraying Sadie in Knocked Up, followed by parts in Funny People and This Is 40, both of which she starred alongside her mother. She also had a brief recurring role in Girls in 2015. Prior to Euphoria, Apatow worked with Levinson on Assassination Nation, a 2018 film that sees chaos descend on Salem when a data hack exposes the small town’s secrets.
Apatow and Levinson reunited for Euphoria, which led to her landing parts in Hollywood, The King of Staten Island and TV series Pantheon. Last year, she made her Off-Broadway debut as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors.
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Austin Abrams
Image Credit: HBO Austin Abrams, who takes on the role of Ethan in Euphoria, began his career in 2011. In the years leading up to the HBO series, he had one-off appearances in Shameless and Silicon Valley, as well as recurring parts in The Inbetweeners, The Walking Dead, SMILF and The Americans. His first appearance in a major project came in 2013’s Gangster Squad, in which he portrayed Pete. He also starred alongside Nat Wolff and Cara Delevingne in 2015’s Paper Towns.
The same year the Levinson series premiered, the actor began a recurring stint in This Is Us. After being cast in Euphoria, he starred in Dash & Lily, Do Revenge and The Starling Girl. Next, he’ll star alongside Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Amy Ryan in Wolfs.
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Alexa Demie
Image Credit: HBO Alexa Demie portrays Maddy in Euphoria. While the series wasn’t her first role, it certainly is her most high-profile one. She appeared in three episodes of Ray Donovan in 2016 and followed that up with Brigsby Bear, a two-episode stint on Love and Mid90s. In 2019, not only did Demie introduce the world to Maddy, but also she appeared in The OA and starred in Waves.
Some of her post-Euphoria titles include Mainstream and Fables. She also starred in music videos for The Neighbourhood’s “Stargazing” and JSMN’s “Love 2 YU.” Aside from Euphoria season three, Demie doesn’t have any known future projects in the works yet.
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Storm Reid
Image Credit: HBO Like many of her co-stars, Storm Reid’s career began before Euphoria. She had roles in A Cross to Bear, 12 Years a Slave, White Water and The Summoning, as well as brief appearances in NCIS: Los Angeles, Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn and Chicago P.D. Prior to landing the role of Gia in the HBO series, she starred in Ava DuVernay’s A Wrinkle in Time remake.
The year Euphoria premiered, Reid also had parts in When They See Us and Don’t Let Go. She’s also taken on roles in The Invisible Man, The Suicide Squad, Missing, The Last of Us, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, and The Nun II. Up next, she has Killing Winston Jones.
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Barbie Ferreira
Image Credit: HBO Barbie Ferreira portrayed Kat in Euphoria, which marked the actress’ first major role. Before Levinson’s show, she appeared in TV shows like New York Minute and Divorce, and the next year she starred in Unpregnant. In 2022, she was featured in an episode of The Afterparty, as well as in Jordan Peele’s Nope, alongside Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun. This year, she starred in Bob Trevino Likes It and will next be seen in Faces of Death and House of Spoils, but not in Euphoria season three.
Ferreira exited the show in August 2022, explaining later that it was a “mutual decision” between her and Levinson. “I don’t think there was a place for her to go,” the actress previously said of why she left the show. “I mean, I think that there were places you could go. I just don’t think it would have fit into the show. I don’t know if it was gonna do her justice. And I think both parties knew that. I really wanted to be able to not be the fat best friend. I don’t want to play that, and I think they didn’t want that either.”
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Javon Walton
Image Credit: HBO While Euphoria launched the careers of many of its stars, it also marked an end for one in particular: Javon Walton. The actor has decided to take a break from acting for the time being and focus on boxing, which is what he was pursuing before landing the role of Ashtray in the hit series.
He went on to have recurring appearances in Utopia and The Umbrella Academy. He also voiced Pugsley in 2021’s animated film, The Addams Family 2, and portrayed Sam Cleary in Samaritan. Walton’s final acting project at the moment is Hulu’s upcoming miniseries Under the Bridge.
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