Where Else You've Seen The Cast Of Euphoria
Sam Levinson's edgy HBO series Euphoria explores the complicated traumas and dramas in the suburban orbit of Rue Bennett (Zendaya). While it has faced criticism for its explicit subject matter featuring teenage characters (all played by actors in their twenties, but still), it has also offered groundbreaking trans representation. Its breakout star — Hunter Schafer, a trans woman — plays Jules, Rue's friend. Schafer's first on-screen performance has already garnered both critical and audience accolades.
Schafer isn't the only newcomer. Angus Cloud plays Fezco, a drug dealer with a heart of gold, with so much confidence, you'd never know it was his debut.
Euphoria has also cast many familiar faces in unlikely and even downright shocking roles. You've probably seen a few of the following stars and supporting characters before. Here's where else you've seen the cast of Euphoria.
Zendaya
Zendaya is one of the most familiar faces in the Euphoria cast. As traumatized and drug-addicted Rue Bennett, Zendaya has shed her formerly wholesome image and demonstrated range. Showing her dark side has paid dividends; she became the youngest woman to win a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance.
Zendaya got her start as a Disney kid, singing and dancing as Rocky Blue on Shake It Up. Zendaya has also shown off her dancing skills in music videos for Taylor Swift and Katy Perry. She also starred on season 16 of Dancing with the Stars in 2013, landing in second place.
But Zendaya is best known these days for her movie career, which began with her snarky turn as Spider-Man's love interest, M.J., in Spider-Man: Homecoming, as well as Spider-Man: Far From Home. Zendaya will reprise the role for future installments in this popular Marvel franchise. Zendaya also starred as one of the romantic leads across from Zac Efron in The Greatest Showman, a role that also allowed her singing and dancing talents to shine. During the 2020 pandemic, Zendaya and John David Washington secretly made a black-and-white art film, Malcolm & Marie, directed by Euphoria creator Levinson.
Jacob Elordi
There are several villains in Euphoria, but Nate Jacobs is the worst. A complicated young man, Nate is also one of the cruelest people in Rue's community on so many different levels, from nonconsensual sexual contact to extreme violence against women and other men. In short, he's a monster.
The actor who plays Nate Jacobs, Australian Jacob Elordi, has shown quite the range in his career since arriving on the scene in a couple of short films filmed Down Under back in 2015. Fans of Netflix's popular romantic dramedy The Kissing Booth will recognize Elordi as the story's sweet love interest, Noah Flynn — a far cry from Nate's destructive persona in Euphoria.
Elordi reprised his role as Noah Flynn for the first sequel to The Kissing Booth. He's slated to star in its third installment, too. Elordi can also be seen in the horror movie The Mortuary Collection, as well as a Crocodile Dundee comedy.
Maude Apatow
As Lexi Howard, Rue's tormented best friend and enabler, Maude Apatow sometimes functions as the much-needed comedic relief in Euphoria and other times shows some serious acting chops. Thanks to her status as minor Hollywood royalty — she's the daughter of director Judd Apatow and actress Leslie Mann — Maude Apatow has been appearing on screen since 2007, starting with her father's films Knocked Up, Funny People, and This Is 40.
Apatow had a brief three-episode arc on season five of Girls as Cleo, a girl whom Hannah Horvath (Lena Dunham) bullies into getting a terrible mouth piercing. She has also starred in the Molly Shannon drama Other People, the dramedy The House of Tomorrow (also starring Asa Butterfield and Nick Offerman), the action/horror flick Assassination Nation, and Pete Davidson's memoiresque The King of Staten Island. As far as other television appearances go, Maude Apatow starred as Henrietta in Ryan Murphy's Hollywood before joining the core cast of Euphoria.
Eric Dane
One of the few older adults regularly featured in the Euphoria cast, established television actor Eric Dane plays Cal Jacobs, father to psychopath Nate. The closeted Cal films his encounters with transgender sex workers even though he's known in his community as a conservative family man.
Eric Dane's first major arc on TV was nine episodes as Jason Dean on the original run of supernatural drama Charmed. Dane went on to land small roles in TV movies, as well as minor roles in films like X-Men: The Last Stand and Burlesque, before a guest spot as Dr. "McSteamy" Mark Sloan turned into a part in long-running medical drama Grey's Anatomy from its second season all the way through its ninth.
Dane had two more long recurring TV roles before his dark turn in Euphoria: as Admiral Tom Chandler on horror drama The Last Ship and Carter on The Fixer. But thanks to his extremely explicit scenes in Euphoria, it's likely this will be the role folks remember Eric Dane for going forward.
Alexa Demie
With her elaborate jeweled eye makeup and epic Showgirls-inspired outfits, Alexa Demie often steals the scene in Euphoria as Maddie Perez — and not just because she often glitters from every available surface. Her performance as a popular girl in a dysfunctional relationship with local psycho Nate Jacobs is so commanding that it's hard to believe Demie isn't a veteran actress.
Demie's first television and on-screen appearance was a three-episode arc as Shairee on Showtime's action drama Ray Donovan. Demie followed that up with two episodes on Netflix's romantic comedy Love and one episode on Netflix's sci-fi horror The OA. Demie had a small role in Kyle Mooney's dramedy Brigsby Bear, Jonah Hill's Mid90s, and Gia Coppola's Mainstream. She had a larger part in the 2019 sports drama Waves, where she played the main love interest opposite lead Kelvin Harrison Jr.
Barbie Ferreira
Another captivating young talent in Euphoria is Barbie Ferreira. Barbie plays Kat Hernandez, a brave girl on a remarkable journey of self-empowerment and sexual awakening. Kat is a body positivity activist, a quality actress Ferreira shares with her in real life. Before pivoting to television acting, Ferreira was a model. She worked with Teen Vogue on their "Body Party" project, using her platform to promote a body-positive message for young folks. She was also a host on Vice's web series How To Behave, which won her several awards, including a Webby for Best Personality/Host.
Ferreira's television debut, though, came in a two-episode arc on Sarah Jessica Parker's HBO dramedy Divorce. Since appearing on Euphoria, Barbie Ferreira has starred across from Haley Lu Richardson and Giancarlo Esposito in an HBO Max production Unpregnant, about a soon-to-be Ivy League student who finds out she's expecting.
Nika King
As Rue Bennett's aggrieved mother, Leslie, Nika King brings one of the few grounding forces to the whirlwind of sex and drugs that is Euphoria. While King made her TV-movie debut in 2002 in Miss Miami, her television career began in earnest after a 2003 appearance on CSI: Miami that has led to dozens of one-off roles in a variety of popular shows, including Hannah Montana, iCarly, Castle, NCIS, Modern Family, and 2 Broke Girls. In 2016, she got her first recurring role on Greenleaf as Pastor Ramona Chapman.
King appeared in an eight-episode arc in the web series Funny Married Stuff from 2016-2018 before signing on with Euphoria. In 2019, Nika King played Josephine Baker in Kevin Hart's Guide to Black History, as well as a small role on Wanda Sykes' variety show Herlarious. Nika King also worked under the stage names Shenika and Nika Williams until 2019.
Storm Reid
Storm Reid may be one of the youngest cast members, but she's also one of the most experienced and accomplished. Storm plays Gia Bennett, Rue's younger sister, who's been badly traumatized not just from her father's death, but also from finding Rue half-dead from a drug overdose.
Storm's acting career began in 2013 with the Academy Award-winning film 12 Years a Slave, which also brought Lupita Nyong'o renown. Since then, Storm has been unstoppable. Her film roles have included leads in A Wrinkle in Time, which also starred Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon; Don't Let Go, a sci-fi time-travel thriller also starring David Oyewelo; and Leigh Whannell's horror film The Invisible Man.
Reid's television performances have been just as varied, with larger roles in When They See Us and The Bravest Knight, along with one-off appearances on popular shows such as Adam DeVine's House Party, NCIS: Los Angeles, and Chicago P.D. Storm Reid also appears in Beyoncé and Jay-Z's short film Family Feud.
Algee Smith
As golden footballer Chris McKay, Algee Smith brought incredible nuance and depth to his character's complex familial and personal difficulties, which unfolded over the show's first season. Like Zendaya, Smith began his acting career with Disney projects Let It Shine and Earth to Echo back in 2012 and 2014.
Smith had other small television roles in Army Wives, How to Rock, Complications, Here We Go Again, and Saints and Sinners before his proper breakout role as Ralph Tresvant in The New Edition Story, where he was able to show off his dancing and singing chops. Smith reprised his role as Tresvant in The Bobby Brown Story before getting cast in Euphoria.
As for movies, Smith starred in Kathryn Bigelow's crime drama Detroit and had a significant role in George Tillman Jr.'s The Hate U Give. He also has a supporting role in 2021's historical drama Judas and the Black Messiah.
Sydney Sweeney
Beginning her acting career at just 12 years old, Sydney Sweeney is another one of the more accomplished on-screen faces you've totally seen in many, many places. In Euphoria, Sweeney plays Cassie Howard, Lexi Howard's sister. She's a sweet but misguided girl who seems to find herself constantly in trouble, even though all she wants is to fall in love and live happily ever after.
But Cassie is a far cry from Sweeney's other television roles, which include long runs on In the Vault, Netflix's Everything Sucks, Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, and a significant and disturbing supporting role in HBO's Sharp Objects that was created specifically for her. Her smaller television roles include appearances on Heroes, Criminal Minds, 90210, Grey's Anatomy, The Middle, and Pretty Little Liars.
Sweeney hasn't stopped with television. Beginning with the horror film The Ward in 2010, she's had minor and major roles in Sophia Coppola's The Bling Ring, Angels in Stardust, Under the Silver Lake, Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in America, as well as cult horror movies Dead Ant, Along Came the Devil, and Nocturne.
John Ales
As Jules' incredibly compassionate father David, John Ales brings warmth to an otherwise gritty and emotionally intense Euphoria. It's no surprise that Ales brings so much to his brief moments on screen: He's been steadily working in television since his first long run on Madman of the People from 1994-1995 — before many of his Euphoria costars were even born.
Ales' other recurring roles over the decades include You Wish, 2011's Beavis and Butthead reboot, FX series Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, and two Amazon series, Bosch and Sneaky Pete. His smaller arcs on TV have included Law & Order: SVU, Brockmire, Runaways, and Burn Notice. He's also had single appearances on popular shows like Fantasy Island, Chicago Hope, CSI: Miami, Without a Trace, Medium, Mad Men, In Plain Sight, Rizzoli & Isles, Major Crimes, Longmire, Preacher, Star Trek: Picard, The Good Doctor, and so many more. You've probably seen him dozens of times outside of Euphoria and never even realized it.
John Ales hasn't been in many movies, but he was in Spy Hard, The Nutty Professor, and Ang Lee's Ride With the Devil, among a handful of smaller projects.
Alanna Ubach
In Euphoria, Alanna Ubach plays Cassie and Lexi's permissive but loving mom Suze, who is often seen with a huge glass of wine and in various stages of inebriation. Where else have you seen Ubach? Where haven't you seen her is the better question. Ubach's career began with the TV movie Just Life in 1990, and she hasn't taken a break since. Her most notable television roles include significant parts on Touched by an Angel, The Huntress, Friday Night Lights, Hung, Californication, A Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce, and Snowfall, along with small parts on what feels like every show ever made: L.A. Law, ER, Party of Five, Chicago Hope, The West Wing, CSI: New York, The Closer, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and House.
Her movie career is just as long, with significant supporting roles in dozens of films, including Sister Act 2, Renaissance Man, The Brady Bunch Movie, and Virtuosity. But Ubach is maybe best known for playing Elle Woods' dopey best friend and extra comedic relief Serena in Legally Blonde, its sequel, and the upcoming third installation of Elle's legal shenanigans. Ubach has also lent her distinct raspy voice to a number of animated features.
Austin Abrams
As Kat Hernandez's lovesick romantic interest and the new boy at school, Ethan, Austin Abrams is one of the few guys in Euphoria who is fairly nice — a breath of fresh air among a cast of violent and psychopathic men like Nate Jacobs and his dad Cal.
Abrams hasn't always played good guys. In This Is Us, he has a recurring role as Kate Pearson's abusive boyfriend, Marc McKeon, who would be right at home with Nate and his crew.
Abrams has had several other long arcs on television shows, including Dash on Dash & Lily, Todd Cooper on The Inbetweeners, and Ron Anderson on seasons five and six of The Walking Dead. Abrams had smaller roles on shows like Silicon Valley, SMILF, Shameless, and The Americans, as well as supporting parts in films such as Jewtopia, Paper Towns, Gangster Squad, Tragedy Girls, and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
Keean Johnson
There are many creepy dudes in Euphoria, but Daniel, played by Keean Johnson, gives them all a run for their money — especially after dressing up as Ted Bundy for Halloween and then verbally assaulting Cassie after she tries to set sexual boundaries with him. But Johnson's other roles have been far more wholesome than this would-be pervert in Euphoria. Johnson played the lead in the horror fantasy adventure show Spooksville and The Spooksville Files from 2013-2014 before going on to a number of significant roles in shows like The Fosters, Nashville, and Guidance.
As far as movie appearances, Johnson starred in family comedy Heritage Falls, indie horror We Summon the Darkness, big-budget sci-fi action flick Alita: Battle Angel, drama Low Tide, Roland Emmerich's war film Midway, historical drama Emperor, and crime thriller Cut Throat City.
Colman Domingo
As Rue Bennett struggles with sobriety, she finds an unlikely ally in Ali (Colman Domingo), one of the more insightful and helpful folks at the addiction meetings Rue is required to attend for her treatment. Most recently, Walking Dead franchise fans will recognize Domingo from his ongoing work with Fear the Walking Dead, where he's played Victor Strand since the show's second season.
Domingo is no stranger to television. Since his career began in 1995, he's had significant character arcs on shows like The Knick, Nash Bridges, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Big Gay Sketch Show, as well as smaller parts on Lucifer, Horace and Pete, and Jordan Peele's The Twilight Zone reboot.
Domingo has also had both supporting and larger roles in many movies, including Clint Eastwood's thriller True Crime, Joe Roth's Freedomland, Spike Lee's Red Hook Summer, Stephen Spielberg's Lincoln, the Jackie Robinson biopic 42 (which also starred the late Chadwick Boseman), Lee Daniels' The Butler, Ava DuVernay's Selma, Assassination Nation, Barry Jenkins' If Beale Street Could Talk, and George C. Wolfe's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, among many others.