Entertainment
Zendaya nearly missed out on Euphoria role to unknown actress ‘scouted on the street’-Ruth Lawes-Entertainment – Metro
Can you believe it?!
Another actress nearly took Zendaya’s part in Euphoria (Picture: Getty/HBO)
It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Zendaya playing the role of Rue Bennett in Euphoria – but that very nearly was the case.
The high school drama, which also stars Sydney Sweeney, follows a bunch of teens who deal with addiction, family rows, friendship fallouts and scandalous hook-ups.
While the HBO series centres on Zendaya’s Rue, with the 25-year-old winning acclaim for her portrayal of the troubled youngster, an unknown actress plucked from the street narrowly missed out on the part.
Casting director Jennifer Venditti revealed an unnamed performer, who had experienced similar struggles with drug addiction as Rue, 17, had also caught show bosses’ eyes.
She explained: ‘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.
‘But with a TV show, it can be many years [of work]. 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.’
In an interview with Variety, Jennifer said the team went as far to arrange an acting coach for the wannabe star, but were not convinced she would be able to cope with the demands of a large-scale drama.
Zendaya is iconic as Rue (Picture: TNS)
Zendaya wowed the casting directors with her ability to tap into Rue (Picture: HBO Max)
The Uncut Gems casting director, however, did believe Zendaya, who is in a relationship with Tom Holland, could bear the emotional weight of the project.
Jessica stressed that while they auditioned the other aspiring performer, The Greatest Showman actress was always the first choice.
She added: ‘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.’
Zendaya won an Emmy award for her portrayal (Picture: HBO)
Zendaya will return in season 3 of Euphoria (Picture:HBO)
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The Dune actress will be reprising her role as the East Highland student in due course, with season 3 confirmed back in February.
Although bosses remain tight-lipped over the plot, it will likely pick up from the end of season two, which saw Custer (Tyler Chase) stabbed by Ashtray (Javon Walton), only for him to retaliate by shooting Ashtray to death.
Euphoria is available to stream on NOW and Sky Atlantic.
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