Sam Levinson opened up for the first time about the accidental overdose death of 'Euphoria' star Angus Cloud. As part of an emotional 'People' exclusive about the late actor, the 'Euphoria' creator revealed the lengths that were taken by him and HBO to help Cloud to sobriety. The report follows news when the Alameda County Coroner confirmed his official cause of death as an accidental overdose.
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00:00 Sam Levinson has opened up for the first time
00:02 about the accidental overdose death
00:04 of "Euphoria" star Angus Cloud.
00:06 As part of an emotional People exclusive
00:09 about the late actor,
00:11 the "Euphoria" creator revealed the lengths
00:12 that were taken by him and HBO to help Cloud to sobriety.
00:17 The report follows Thursday's news
00:18 that confirmed Cloud's official cause of death
00:21 as an accidental overdose.
00:23 Levinson explained that he had originally planned
00:25 to kill Fesco's character off at two points during the show,
00:28 but kept changing his mind.
00:30 Angus was supposed to die at the end of the first season,
00:32 but I loved him so much.
00:34 "Euphoria" is inspired by Levinson's own struggles
00:37 as a teenage drug addict.
00:39 Cloud's own using soon grew obvious
00:41 to both his family and Levinson.
00:43 "I looked him in the eye
00:44 and I knew that he wasn't doing well.
00:45 At the same time, I've been in these situations before
00:48 where you're trying to get someone clean.
00:50 And I just said to him, I love working with you
00:52 and we've got this amazing season planned and stuff,
00:54 but I need you to be sober
00:55 because I got to be able to rely on you."
00:57 Per the magazine, HBO paid for Cloud
01:00 to enter a 30-day inpatient rehab program.
01:03 Once completed, Cloud returned to set
01:05 while continuing treatment
01:06 in an outpatient program for three months.
01:09 "I could always feel that he didn't want sobriety
01:11 as much as we all wanted it for him.
01:13 That's where it gets tricky
01:14 because the whole world can want it for you,
01:16 but he didn't want it.
01:17 It's just the self-destructive side of addiction
01:19 and it outweighs everything."
01:21 When Cloud relapsed midway through the season,
01:23 Levinson says he staged an intervention,
01:26 taking him to rehab and at one point
01:28 informing Cloud of plans to have Fesco die
01:30 in a later episode.
01:31 But again, Levinson had a change of heart.
01:33 "I could just see the blood kind of run out of his face.
01:36 I think the hardest thing is when you have addiction issues,
01:39 it's about finding your purpose
01:40 and finding your meaning in life."
01:42 Adding, "And I just thought, if this goes away,
01:44 I don't know what's going to happen in his life."
01:46 Over email, Zendaya also opened up about Cloud,
01:49 telling People, "I'm lucky because I got to experience
01:52 the most beautiful parts of him.
01:53 I got to watch him create
01:54 and I got to watch him discover the fact
01:56 that he was an actor.
01:57 A damn good one at that.
01:59 And as many times as I would tell him
02:00 or compliment his performance,
02:02 I don't think he ever truly believed it."
02:04 For much more on this story, head to thr.com.
02:07 And for the latest entertainment news and updates,
02:10 keep watching The Hollywood Reporter News.
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