US actress Zendaya has reflected on some “really, really tough days” she had while filming the first two seasons of hit HBO show Euphoria.
A third series of the TV programme, about a group of high school teenagers, is to begin production in January, with the actress reprising her role as Rue Bennett, a recovering drug addict.
Speaking to Moulin Rouge actress Nicole Kidman for Variety’s Actors On Actors series, Zendaya, 28, spoke about the “exhaustion” she has faced playing the troubled teenager.
Zendaya: “I’ve only done two [seasons] of #Euphoria, but it feels like five!” #ActorsOnActors https://t.co/58hcgfLokc pic.twitter.com/AlZfVGGDMB
— Variety (@Variety) December 13, 2024
Also in the interview, Kidman, 57, who stars in new erotic thriller Babygirl, spoke about how it can be “taxing” for an actor to experience “emotions that are so intense and deep”.
The actress, who plays high-powered CEO Romy in the film, said: “It was very intense on Babygirl.
“And there were parts of Babygirl that are not now in the film, but that fed into it that we shot that kind of, just after a period, it was exhausting, but it was also just emotionally disturbing.”
She added: “And then, the same when I was doing Big Little Lies, that was disturbing to my body and my psyche, because I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t.
“So it was just like, ‘this is hard’, and I would have the real bruises on my back and body and like, so I’d be seeing it and my brain would say, ‘Well, hold on you’re hurt’.”
In TV black comedy drama Big Little Lies, Kidman plays Celeste Wright who has faced abuse at the hands of her husband.
Responding to Kidman’s comments, Zendaya said: “For me, with Euphoria specifically, we’d have really, really tough days.
“And then I would just leave it.
“I was like, ‘And cut. And now we’re gonna talk about, what are we doing later today… just talk about normal stuff’.”
She continued: “I don’t want to talk about what Rue just went through, and it kind of, I guess, it can seem a little jarring.
“We’ll laugh about it on set, because I’ll be like, ordering my food or my lunch, whatever.
“And then I’m like, ‘Okay, gotta go cry and knock down a door real quick, you know?’ And then I’ll come back and be like, ‘Hey, Cheesecake Factory? Like, What are we getting for lunch?’
“So I try my best to leave it at work. And you know, it’s not always easy.
“I mean, sometimes you carry the residual effects, like you’re saying, your mind is like, ‘It’s fake’, but your body is always ‘no’ and you can hold it still, but I do try my best to leave them (the characters) at work and then go home.”
The actress also said the “exhaustion” that comes with playing Rue is “worth it” as “there’s someone who’s gonna watch this and it’s gonna mean a lot to them”.
Zendaya, who is in a relationship with British actor Tom Holland, has also starred in science fiction blockbuster Dune: Part One and Dune: Part Two and co-hosted the Met Gala this year.
