Zendaya on Empathy, Redemption, And What Euphoria, Season Two Has In Store For Rue
“I care about Rue deeply. I also care about the people who care about her, because I think many of them share her story… It’s important that we continue to have that love for her…”
Euphoria Season Two Spoiler Alert: The below article may contain information related to the plotline and/or character developments in the upcoming season.
Bazaar Arabia contributor and Esquire Middle East’s Digital Editor William Mullally sits down with the award-winning actress and Euphoria star, as she discusses the toughest moments from the upcoming season premiering today on OSN and why she’ll never give up on Rue…
Euphoria Season Two: Zendaya On The Challenges of Playing Rue
William Mullally (WM): I think Rue, in a lot of ways, is a Tony Soprano-esque character in an era in which we don’t have those characters anymore; what do you think we’ve lost when audiences want all characters to be a reflection of the values that they hold, rather than a reflection of the world that exists around us?
Zendaya (Z): For me, what has always been important with the show is the concept of empathy, the concept of a greater human understanding. I think Rue makes decisions and does things that are painful, not only to herself, but to other people – and we see that fallout over, and over again.
In this show – and this season more specifically – she goes to rock bottom. It’s my hope for people watching that they still see her as a person worthy of their love. And worth of their time, and that she has a redemptive quality still, and that we still see the good in her even if she can’t see it in herself… if people can go with her through that, and get to the end, and still have hope for her future, and watch her make the changes… then maybe they can extend that to people that in real life.
If you can love her, then you can love someone that is struggling with the same thing, and maybe have a greater understanding of the pain they’re facing. That is often out of their control. So for me, that is the most important thing.
It’s important that we have characters that are flawed – and to remember that we are not the worst mistake we’ve ever made and that redemption is possible.
WM: The stand-alone holiday episode, set in the diner with Ali [played by Colman Domingo], captured that beautifully.
Z: One of my favourite lines from the diner episode was when Ali is talking about the concept of redemption. He’s like, If you think that you’re already a bad person, you’re just going to keep doing bad things, because what’s the point? Then you have a whole bunch of people running around who don’t [care] about redemption.
Rue just needs to find the good in herself – and remember that she is still worthy of beautiful things, love and happiness. Just because she has made mistakes does not mean that she can’t or doesn’t deserve a beautiful life; that’s easier for me to say about her than for her to say about herself. But that’s my hope for her. And hopefully – I don’t want to give away the season – but, hopefully, we get to that point with her.
WM: When the project first came to you, did you hesitate in taking on this material, knowing all that it would come with?
Z: I think the choice to do this show wasn’t really a choice; I just felt like I had to do it.
I felt very connected and emotionally invested in Rue, and the characters. When I met Sam [Levinson, Creator of Euphoria], I immediately was drawn to the story that he was telling and how honest it was because I think Rue is a version of himself… I thought it was a beautiful story.
It wasn’t a decision of like, Oh, is this the right thing to do? Or, is somebody going to think this way of me? All those preconceived notions about what I was supposed to do just kind of went out the window because I was really just focused on what emotionally felt like the right decision and the right move. I felt like if I was going to do something as beautiful as this, there was no better home than HBO to do that.
WM: How difficult is it to put yourself through this, from an acting perspective?
Z: I mean, it’s incredibly difficult. This is a very difficult show to do and can be quite painful. Your body doesn’t know that any of it is not real, even if your mind does. And honestly, if you really care about the characters – which I know we all do – you can internalise the things that they go through. You just want them to make the right decision, and you want them to be okay.
That’s a painful battle that happens inside of you, where you have to do something that you just wish they wouldn’t do or say, or something you would never say in real life, which is difficult, especially when it’s in scenes with people that you really care about. You’re like, I’m so sorry that I’m doing this because I don’t mean any of this, this is not me, this is a character, please forgive me after this.
What’s really special is the fact that we’re in a really safe environment. That’s from top-down, whether it be Sam, Marcell [Rév, Cinematographer], our [Assistant Directors], our crew, and then each other, I always felt very safe and protected to do my best work. I knew that I was in good hands. And I knew that I could go to the places I needed to go to because I had the support, I had people there that have my back. And that’s really the only way that you can operate with something like that.
WM: You’ve also continued to grow as an artist year after year, bringing along a fanbase that is growing with you. How much did you consider that existing fanbase when you jumped into this material?
Z: I’m very grateful for the people who have followed with me through my career and grown up with me and grown beside me because I think we’re all pretty much the same age now. There are a lot of people who, I think, connected to Euphoria, regardless of age, just based strictly on the fact that they connected to Rue in a meaningful way, or any of the characters really.
For a lot of people, Rue was a version of themselves… I think so many people connected to that, and I became the catalyst to connecting those two people. I just got to be the storyteller in the middle. And it felt great, but I’ve continued to feel very grateful for that responsibility to feel connected to these people that feel connected to her, because I know I am, too.
I have found that I’ve been able to meet people in all different walks of life, in all different age groups – some people that aren’t Gen Z, but still find something in one of these characters that feels like home, that feels honest to who they are, or puts words to an experience that they can’t quite describe or weren’t able to articulate. I think that is a beautiful thing about Euphoria. I’m very grateful for that.
WM: How does that journey continue in Season 2, thematically speaking?
Z: I think that’s one of the biggest themes of the season. Other than redemption, I think it’s also hope.
I remember halfway through the season, that’s when the rock bottom hits – and that’s where it became extremely painful. I think for all of us, just to watch it happen and to watch Rue go through this will be hard, and to portray her going through it hurt me. I remember having a conversation midway through with Sam. I was like, She can’t stay here. We can’t leave her here. We all wanted… to actually see a sense of hope throughout the show because it goes to such an extreme low for her.
That’s a massive, massive theme in this show; other than redemption – and that we are not the worst mistakes we ever made – but also the concept of hope, that there is something beautiful at the end, and that we deserve happy endings.
We deserve the good things in our life, no matter the mistakes we’ve made… It’s a long journey but when we get there; I promise to keep loving her and keep supporting her.
Lead image by David M. Benett/WireImage via Alexander McQueen
Euphoria Season 2 is streaming exclusively on OSN starting today.