“We didn’t know if she could handle what it would take”: Zendaya Stole Her Iconic Euphoria Role from an Upcoming Actress With a Dark Past, Left Casting Director Floored With Her Acting

“We didn’t know if she could handle what it would take”: Zendaya Stole Her Iconic Euphoria Role from an Upcoming Actress With a Dark Past, Left Casting Director Floored With Her Acting
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While there might’ve been a rise in the number of TV shows and Web Series in the last few years, only a select few of them have made a significant impact on their audience. But even among those shows, there’s been just a handful that has become something phenomenal like HBO’s Euphoria. Ever since the release of season 1, the show has taken the audience by storm and has gathered a massive fan following along with substantial commercial and critical success.

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Zendaya in a still from Euphoria
Zendaya in a still from Euphoria

The credit success of the series largely goes to the inductive and unique plot, with absolutely stunning narration and the amazing performances by the cast of the series, which all culminate into the show that has now won Zendaya, the lead cast from the series, a Golden Globe Award. But if it hadn’t been for her, the role of Rue Bennet would’ve gone to an entirely new actress, which could’ve been a massive boost to her career.

How Zendaya Stole Her Role From An Upcoming Actress In Euphoria

Zendaya
Zendaya

While the story and other invisible aspects of a show are the cornerstones, the cast is what helps those cornerstones materialize and form the solid foundations of the story. Thus, it becomes a challenge for the casting directors to scout out talent that would perfectly fit the character of the show. Thus, it was a little surprising to know that Zendaya, the actress who plays the role of Rue Bennet to perfection in Euphoria, was the first choice of the casting director Jennifer Venditti, but could’ve lost the role to someone else.

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You may also like: Zendaya’s MJ Rumored To Be Returning in Spider-Man 4 Despite Mind-Wipe

During the 2022 Emmy Awards, the nominations for the award for Best Casting Director were interesting as many prominent shows had their directors nominated, Among them, Jennifer Venditti, the casting director for the superhit HBO series revealed that they always thought of bringing Spider-Man star into the picture, but the role of Rue Bennet was also being considered for a new actress with a similar backstory to the main character of the show. She said:

“There was a young woman who had been street scouted by my team who was a magical person and had a similar trajectory as Rue and had come around to the other side, But with a TV show, it can be many years [of work]. We all loved her, but when we went through the rigor of the process, we didn’t know if she could handle what it would take in terms of stamina.”

Thus, the role ultimately went to the first pick and the actress who was being considered was dropped from the race of the character.

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What’s Next For Euphoria?

The cast of Euphoria
The cast of Euphoria

With the successful run of two seasons of the show, the ratings and viewership of Euphoria indicate the future of the show is shining bright. Along with the numbers, the story too was left at a massive cliffhanger with the events in the season finale of the second season, which means that it can go on for a long time. With the confirmation of the third season being announced by Warner Bros., fans can take a chill pill and wait for the upcoming season.

You may also like: ‘No one can take a 6 months break!’: Euphoria Star Sydney Sweeney Gets Blasted For Saying She Can’t Survive With Her Income, Internet Says Welcome to the Real World

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Euphoria, now streaming on HBO Max

Source: Variety

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Written by Deepak Bisht

Articles Published: 1394

Deepak Bisht is a writer at FandomWire who has vast expertise in films of many genres, a hardcore anime nerd along with two years of writing experience. After completing his Bachelor's in Business Administration, he became part of the company in hopes of providing accurate, informative, and exciting articles to the world.

Apart from his contributions to FandomWire, the rest of his time is spent either reading quality works of literature, listening to vintage music, or playing any video games he can get his hands on.