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\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Sam Levinson<\/strong><\/a> is looking back at the \u201ctough\u201d conversation he had with Zendaya<\/strong><\/a> when he pitched her the ending to her Euphoria<\/strong><\/a><\/em> character Rue\u2019s story.<\/p>\n In the season three finale of the hit HBO series, which also served as the series finale<\/a>, Rue dies from an accidental overdose<\/a> when she took fentanyl-laced pills given to her by crime lord Alamo Brown (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje<\/strong>).<\/p>\n During his appearance on the Wednesday (June 10) episode of Variety<\/em>\u2018s \u201cHalf Hour With\u201d series<\/a>, Sam<\/strong> revealed that the 29-year-old two-time Emmy winner had a \u201cvery emotional reaction\u201d to learning about Rue\u2019s death.<\/p>\n \u201cWe love the character Rue,\u201d Sam<\/strong> said as he praised Zendaya<\/strong> for doing \u201csuch an incredible job bringing this character to life.\u201d<\/p>\n He went on to call Zendaya<\/strong> a \u201cgifted actor\u201d and said \u201cwouldn\u2019t be as charming and lovable and humorous\u201d if she was played by someone else.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it was a tough discussion,\u201d Sam<\/strong> recalled. \u201cEven through shooting, it sort of weighed on both of us. At the end of the day, she understood what I was doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Sam<\/strong> went on to confirm that the manner of Rue\u2019s death was to honor late Euphoria<\/em> star Angus Cloud<\/strong><\/a>, who died from an accidental fentanyl overdose in July 2023 at the age of 25. The showrunner said that Angus<\/strong> \u201cwas someone whom we loved dearly and really rooted for and saw the best in.\u201d<\/p>\n Sam<\/strong> also praised Colman Domingo<\/strong><\/a>\u2018s performance as Rue\u2019s mentor, Ali Muhammad, who finds her dead body.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen when it came time to shoot the scene, we also had Colman Domingo<\/strong> there, who\u2019s been one of my closest collaborators for over a decade and a grounding force in Zendaya<\/strong>\u2019s life as well,\u201d Sam <\/strong>explained. \u201cThat kind of camaraderie really helped this sequence feel authentic and meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been doing this for eight, nine years together, so it was a beautiful couple of days as we were shooting those scenes, because I think we knew how audiences would respond to it.,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n In another recent interview, Sam<\/strong> defended his decision<\/a> to kill off Rue.<\/p>\n Posted To:Euphoria<\/a> Sam Levinson<\/a> Television<\/a> Zendaya<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Sam](\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/zendaya-rue-reaction-788x525.jpg\")
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