The casting director for HBO's teen drug addiction drama Euphoria revealed that a first-time actor was considered for the role that eventually went to Zendaya–who at 24 became the youngest person in 2020 to earn an Emmy Award for her performance in the series.
In an interview with Variety featuring Hollywood casting directors, Jennifer Venditti–who cast the actors in Euphoria–said Zendaya was always the first choice to play the character of Ruby "Rue" Bennett.
Rue, the show's protagonist, is a 17-year-old recovering drug addict struggling to find her place in the world after the death of her father.
Zendaya admitted the emotionally grueling role has left her with "physical scars and bruises" in addition to some of the intense scenes taking an emotional toll on her.
Before Zendaya was officially cast in the role, however, Venditti noted an unknown actress–who actually was a recovering drug addict like the character–was considered for the part.
\u201c\u2018Euphoria\u2019 casting director reveals that before Zendaya, Rue was going to a street scouted first-time actress who had been through the same struggles and addiction as the character.\n\nUltimately, the casting director & Sam Levinson decided she wasn\u2019t confident enough for the role.\u201d— Pop Base (@Pop Base) 1660065496
"There was a young woman who had been street scouted by my team who was a magical person and had a similar trajectory as Rue and had come around to the other side," recalled Venditti.
After setting the inexperienced actress up with a coach to prepare her for the emotional weight of playing the character, Venditti and showrunner Sam Levinson ultimately decided to move forward without hiring her.
“With a TV show, it can be many years [of work]," Venditti continued.
"We all loved her, but when we went through the rigor of the process, we didn’t know if she could handle what it would take in terms of stamina.”
Some people thought the unknown actress should've been given a chance.
\u201c@PopBase that actor should have been cast tbh. as much as i love Z, we gotta give other actors chances too. im sure this would be a great opportunity for them, create something beautiful out of their trauma and actually share their perspective on this pain.\u201d— Pop Base (@Pop Base) 1660065496
\u201c@Variety So sad it didn't go to someone who needed that opportunity. This just shows how in Hollywood the rich and famous stay rich and famous, and the ones seeking tend to get screwed!\u201d— Variety (@Variety) 1659984099
\u201c@PopBase So they took away a breakthrough role from an upcoming actress because she didn\u2019t seem confident enough????\u201d— Pop Base (@Pop Base) 1660065496
\u201c@Variety This only serves to turn the knife in the actress who didn\u2019t get the role. Leave it alone\u201d— Variety (@Variety) 1659984099
Others had their hunches the show's creators had opportunistic intentions.
\u201c@PopBase That\u2019s a lie. They just wanted someone more popular so they could get more attention for the show.\u201d— Pop Base (@Pop Base) 1660065496
\u201c@PopBase I personally feel like they used her for fame, bc a lot of people was watching it because of her .\u201d— Pop Base (@Pop Base) 1660065496
\u201c@PopBase It wouldn\u2019t have been as popular as it is now if Zendaya wasn\u2019t casted. Most people started watching because it her whether they admit it or not.\u201d— Pop Base (@Pop Base) 1660065496
\u201c@PopBase we watch the show because zendaya starred in it\u2026yeah it might\u2019ve turned out to be a good show in the long run with the other girl, but i feel like zendaya really killed the role and deserves all the credit she is given. don\u2019t try to say she doesn\u2019t now ://\u201d— Pop Base (@Pop Base) 1660065496
Some people agreed with the casting decision out of respect for the unknown actress based on her life experiences.
\u201c@PopBase Considering how brutal the role is, I don't think this role would've been healthy for a struggling/recovering addict at all. It took so much of zendaya to play that role and she has a healthy support system. Imagine what itll to a starter with no support system.\u201d— Pop Base (@Pop Base) 1660065496
\u201c@PopBase Why does this have to be anything other than what exactly is stated? If you truly know about former addicts, this is not difficult to understand. Furthermore, clearly there was no suffering to the show due to choice of actress-it's a freaking cult hit and she won an Emmy\ud83e\udd37\ud83c\udffe\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\u201d— Pop Base (@Pop Base) 1660065496
\u201c@PopBase idk if i should be happy or sad like, on one hand, dreams of an unknown actress fulfilled, but on the other, saving potential relapse...\u201d— Pop Base (@Pop Base) 1660065496
\u201c@PopBase that wouldnt have been a good decision anyways. putting her around so many triggers.\u201d— Pop Base (@Pop Base) 1660065496
\u201c@PopBase i don\u2019t think the role would\u2019ve been easy or good for the said first-time actress to play, considering how brutal it is. imagine the mental toll it would\u2019ve taken on her.. when even zendaya said she found it painful to play rue in season 2.\u201d— Pop Base (@Pop Base) 1660065496
Venditti noted the interesting dichotomy between the two actresses.
“It’s so interesting. A polar opposite."
"Because here’s Zendaya, who has none of the life experiences of Rue, who was able to dig into her toolbox and access it in such a beautiful way.”
Last month, Zendaya told Vanity Fair she was "overwhelmed" after hearing she received a total of four Emmy nominations this year for her work on Euphoria.
In addition to earning a nomination for lead actress in a drama series–after having won in the same category in 2020 for the same show–the Spider-Man: No Way Home star is also up for an Emmy as executive producer on Euphoria and for producing and writing lyrics for two original songs featured in the popular series.
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