Zendaya says filming Euphoria season 2 was "f---ing brutal"

16 February 2022, 12:55

Euphoria team show how they filmed Zendaya’s road running scenes

By Sam Prance

"Even if your brain knows it’s not real, your body takes on this anxiousness and anger.”

Zendaya has opened up about filming Euphoria season 2 and how gruelling playing the part of Rue was for her this season.

Zendaya did not lie when she said that Euphoria season 2 was "not going to be a fun watch". Over the course of the season so far, we've seen Cassie vomit over her friends in a hot tub, Cal deliver a seven-minute monologue with his penis out, and Nate threaten Maddy with a gun. Not to mention, Rue has relapsed and hurt almost everyone in her life in the process.

Now, Zendaya has revealed why "playing an addict perpetually on the edge of a breakdown" has been so taxing to film.

Zendaya says filming Euphoria season 2 was "f---ing brutal". Picture: HBO

Speaking to The Cut, Zendaya said that filming season 2 was "fucking brutal". She then explained: "I can mostly shake it off but there are days where you’re just in it, and even if your brain knows it’s not real, your body takes on this anxiousness and anger." Zendaya previously revealed that she still has scars and bruises five months after filming Rue's intervention in episode 5.

Discussing Rue's journey in season 2, Zendaya added: "It clearly falls apart quite quickly". She continued: "You don’t have to like her character, but the show only works if you want to see her get clean and find inner peace. How far can she go while we still love her, still root for her, and still see her as a human who deserves our love?"

It's not all doom and gloom though. Zendaya also teased that Rue's season 2 storyline will end on a good note. She said: "Episode 8 is where we’ll get that sense of redemption. I think Rue deserves it...and I think anyone who suffers with the same thing she does deserves it."

Zendaya says her body takes on "anxiousness and anger" playing Rue in Euphoria. Picture: HBO

Zendaya isn't the only Euphoria star who's opened up about how hard the show is to film. Sydney Sweeney recently let slip that Alexa Demie broke her toe while filming an upcoming Cassie/Maddy scene and Jacob Elordi said that Eric Dane "smashed him" and left him physically bleeding after filming the season 1 finale.

With Euphoria season 3 now confirmed, here's hoping that filming is a little less intense for the cast going forward.