Angus Cloud, who played Fezco in HBO’s hit series Euphoria, has died at age 25.
“It is with the heaviest heart that we had to say goodbye to an incredible human today. As an artist, a friend, a brother and a son, Angus was special to all of us in so many ways,” the actor’s family told TMZ in a statement on Monday, July 31. “Last week he buried his father and intensely struggled with this loss. The only comfort we have is knowing Angus is now reunited with his dad, who was his best friend.”
The statement continued: “Angus was open about his battle with mental health and we hope that his passing can be a reminder to others that they are not alone and should not fight this on their own in silence. We hope the world remembers him for his humor, laughter and love for everyone. We ask for privacy at this time as we are still processing this devastating loss.”
Cloud rose to stardom after booking the role of Fezco on Euphoria, which he played from 2019 to 2022. He also appeared in movies including The Line and North Hollywood prior to his passing. Cloud has several projects in post-production such as an untitled Universal Monsters film, Freaky Tales and Your Lucky Day.
After becoming a fan favorite on Euphoria, Cloud got candid about how playing a drug dealer took a toll on him due to personal struggles.
“Sympathy, yo. Because addiction is serious and a lot of doctors call it a disease, it’s a real thing. People don’t understand it. It’s easy to talk about and it’s easy to say, ‘Just say no,’” he told Complex in February 2022. “But for someone who is in active addiction, that is damn near impossible and they will throw their whole life away and they will die because of this disease or whatever, and then they will say it’s not a disease because you ‘choose’ to do drugs. You don’t ‘choose’ to do cancer.”
Cloud went on to pay tribute to friends he lost to addiction, adding, “There are studies of the brain that this kind of addiction overcomes and it takes over your brain, so it’s almost a mental type of disease and it will take over your life, it will ruin your life. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemies.”
The actor praised Euphoria for offering an emphatic lens into hardships — such as addiction and drug dealing — through his character.
“Not all your actions define you. I’ve said it before, good people are forced to do bad things. The question is, like, if you got a starving family, if you go steal some f—king apple off an orchard to f—king save your family, does that make you a bad person for stealing an apple or a good person for taking after your family? It’s not black and white,” he continued. “Fez isn’t a bad person, he’s just someone in an unfortunate situation, kind of like most of the characters on Euphoria. What he does for a living doesn’t change the fact that he’s compassionate and good-natured, and ready to protect and defend his people when he needs to.”
