- The season two finale of "Euphoria" airs this Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
- Many cast members are close in age to their characters.
- Zendaya, 25, portrays 17-year-old drug addict Rue Bennett.
Zendaya stars as Rue Bennett, a 17-year-old drug addict.
Season one of "Euphoria" is set in 2019 and follows Rue's junior year of high school. After leaving rehab, the teen struggles to maintain her sobriety.
Season two, which premiered in January 2022, centers on the same school year at East Highland and opens with Rue and her friends celebrating New Year's Eve.
Zendaya is 25 years old in real life.
The actress rose to fame on the Disney Channel sitcom "Shake It Up" alongside Bella Thorne. After the show ended, Zendaya landed her own series called "K.C. Undercover," in which she starred as the titular character.
Zendaya joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as MJ in 2017's "Spider-Man: Homecoming," starring Tom Holland as the iconic web-slinger. She's also appeared in films like "The Greatest Showman" and "Dune."
In September 2020, Zendaya became the youngest star to win an Emmy for best actress in a drama series, for her performance on season one of "Euphoria." She was 24 years old at the time.
Hunter Schafer portrays a 17-year-old junior named Jules Vaughn.
Jules moves to the suburbs at the start of season one with her dad, who has full custody.
When Jules and Rue meet, they immediately form a bond. Their friendship becomes romantic when Rue develops feelings for Jules.
Model-turned-actress Schafer is 23 years old.
Before her acting debut on "Euphoria," Schafer made headlines in 2016 for serving as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the controversial bathroom bill, House Bill 2, which was passed in her home state of North Carolina.
Outside of acting and activism, Schafer is passionate about fashion. The model previously walked in runway shows for brands like Christian Dior.
Off-screen, she and Zendaya are also close friends in real life.
Jacob Elordi stars as East Highland quarterback Nate Jacobs, who's in his senior year.
Nate is a violent 18-year-old who grapples with his sexuality, perhaps due to his father Cal Jacobs' (Eric Dane) own struggles.
Nate joined his school's football team as a freshman and excelled, becoming the team captain by the end of the year.
Elordi previously told Esquire that playing the manipulative, toxic character is "so enjoyable."
At 24 years old, Elordi is six years older than his "Euphoria" character.
The Australian actor's big break came when he landed the role of Noah Flynn in Netflix's 2018 rom-com "The Kissing Booth."
The film, which costarred Joey King and Joel Courtney, spawned two sequels released in 2020 and 2021.
Sydney Sweeney plays a senior named Cassie Howard.
Her dad, Gus (Nick Blood), and mom, Suze (Alanna Ubach) separated the night before Cassie began ninth grade.
Cassie didn't like to be alone and fell in love with every guy she dated, many of whom objectified her.
In real life, Sweeney is 24 years old.
Prior to "Euphoria," Sweeney starred on shows like "Everything Sucks!" "The Handmaid's Tale," and "Sharp Objects."
More recently, she appeared on the HBO dramedy "The White Lotus."
The actress also produces projects through her own production company, Fifty-Fifty Films.
Maude Apatow portrays Lexi Howard, Cassie's younger sister.
Lexi and Rue are childhood friends who grew apart. Lexi is also a quiet observer of the chaos around her, which inspires an autobiographical play on season two. She's probably 16 or 17 years old.
Apatow is 24 in real life.
She's the daughter of "Knocked Up" director Judd Apatow and actress Leslie Mann.
Apatow has appeared in films like "Knocked Up," "This Is 40," and "Assassination Nation."
Alexa Demie stars as a teen named Maddy Perez.
She's Cassie's best friend and turns 18 on season two of "Euphoria."
Throughout both seasons, Maddy is part of an unhealthy, on-again, off-again relationship with Nate.
There's conflicting information regarding Demie's real-life age.
Demie's age is listed as 24 in interviews with the New York Times and People Chica, published in August 2019 and September 2019, respectively. In an interview with InStyle, published in late November 2019, interviewer Isabel Jones refers to Demie as "almost 25" in one question.
Based on the aforementioned articles, the actress should be around 27 years old in 2022.
However, her IMDb profile page lists her birthday as December 11, 1990, which would make her 31 as of this article's publication.
Barbie Ferreira plays a high schooler named Kat Hernandez.
She's part of the same friend group as Cassie and Maddy.
Kat's season one storyline includes body-image struggles and her decision to become a cam girl. On season two, Kat's main plot involves her waning interest in her relationship with her wholesome boyfriend, Ethan (Austin Abrams).
Ferreira, 25, made a name for herself as a model before starring on "Euphoria."
Ferreira modeled for brands like Aerie and American Eagle. She also had a large following on Tumblr.
Angus Cloud stars as the fan-favorite character Fezco, also known as Fez.
He's first introduced as Rue's drug-dealing friend. The season two premiere gives viewers a look at Fez's backstory and explains how he became a drug dealer.
Fez's age is a bit unclear.
On season one, episode seven, Nate said that Fez "dropped out of school at 20." But on season two, episode two, Rue, in the narration, alludes to his age while talking about his New Year's Eve interaction with Lexi.
"She couldn't remember the last time someone her age asked her so many questions about herself," Rue says of Lexi and Fez's conversation.
Rue's comment seems to imply that Fez's age has been altered to fit his season two storyline and blossoming romance with Lexi.
Cloud told GQ that his character was originally supposed to get killed off on season one, but showrunner Sam Levinson decided to keep Fez around.
It's possible that Levinson chose to break the show's continuity and adjust Fez's age so he could better fit in with the other characters and storylines on "Euphoria."
"Euphoria" marks the professional acting debut of Cloud, who's currently 23 years old.
Pre-fame, he attended the Oakland School for the Arts. But instead of acting, he built the sets and assisted with lighting the stage.
Cloud was living in New York and working at a chicken-and-waffle restaurant near the Barclays Center in Brooklyn when he was approached on a street one day by a representative from a casting company.
Cloud told GQ that he "thought it was a scam" when she expressed interest in having him audition for a new TV show. The series turned out to be "Euphoria" and he booked the job after two auditions.
Javon "Wanna" Walton plays a drug dealer named Ashtray.
The season two premiere of "Euphoria" reveals how he got the name Ashtray. The episode also clarifies that he and Fez and not biological brothers.
Ashtray, who became part of Fez's family as a baby, is a few years younger than Fez.
At 15 years old, Walton is around the same age as his "Euphoria" character.
Walton's real-life younger brother, Daelo Walton, actually plays young Ashtray in flashbacks as part of season two of "Euphoria."
Algee Smith portrays college freshman Chris McKay.
McKay is a football star who broke East Highland records. He gets recruited to play at a state college 30 miles from his house and envisions a life for himself in the NFL.
But in college, he struggles to stand out and questions whether or not he'll get drafted.
He and Cassie break up at the start of season two, and McKay is largely absent from the rest of the season.
Smith is 27 in real life.
He previously starred on the miniseries "The New Edition Story" and the films "Detroit" and "The Hate U Give."
Storm Reid stars as Gia Bennett, Rue's younger sister.
At 13 years old, Gia found Rue unconscious after overdosing, which led to her older sister being sent to rehab. Seasons one and two show how Rue's addiction affects those around her, particularly Gia and their mom, Leslie Bennett (Nika King).
Reid is 18 in real life, just a few years older than Gia.
Outside of "Euphoria," Reid has starred in films like "12 Years a Slave," "A Wrinkle in Time," and "The Suicide Squad."
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