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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