Euphoria Almost Lost Out on Zendaya’s Emmy-Winning Role After Finding a “Magical Person” Who Had Real Experience With Addiction
The powerhouse of talent Zendaya has already etched her name in the list of talented actors in Hollywood. She is well known for her choice of roles and critically acclaimed projects like Sam Levinson-directed popular drama Euphoria and her upcoming sports saga Challengers, where she would be seen opposite The Crown fame actor Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist.
Zendaya played the character of Rue Bennett in Euphoria. Her performances not only brought her multiple nominations but the actor also secured the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Euphoria at the 72nd Emmy Awards. Not many people know that she wasn’t the first choice for the character of Rue Benett.
Who Was Supposed to Play Rue Bennett In Euphoria Before Zendaya?
During an interview with the reputed media outlet Variety, Euphoria’s casting director spoke about getting the list of talented actors on board for the emotionally twisted characters. While talking about Zendaya, who played the character of Rue Bennett, Jennifer Venditti said-
“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.”
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Casting director Jennifer Venditti even introduced the young actor to a coach, but later neither she nor showrunner Sam Levinson felt confident about her. She said-
“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’s portrayal of Rue Bennett helped her in creating history as she became the youngest actor to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
Zendaya On Playing The Character Of Rue Bennett In Euphoria
During an interview with the media outlet Entertainment Weekly, the Spider-Man actor spoke about one of the most talked about characters played by her. Zendaya went on to break down the character of Rue Bennett and said-
“I think since season one, we knew that Sam had a vision of having an episode like that, where it would just be all on the line, and we would just be going at it, trying to just tell her that she needs help, but it was challenging to film.”
While talking about the intense episodes, the Challengers actor said-
“It’s always been a really intense episode. The general idea was always the same, which was this idea of, we cut right into an intervention and it’s Rue just ripping her life apart and setting her life on fire and kind of tearing everything to the ground to basically come to hopefully what feels like rock bottom for her.”
Source: Variety
