After the news of Angus Cloud’s tragic passing at 25 sent a shockwave through the entertainment world Monday evening, Euphoria fans rushed to share favorite moments of his from the show. A tidal wave of content based on his character, Fez, flooded social media. Overwhelmingly, the screenshots and quotes shared online referenced a specific arc his character had in Season 2—a sweet, tender love story shared with straitlaced Lexi (Maude Apatow).
Fez—a high school dropout and drug dealer—was seemingly the least likely type of guy for Lexi, a quiet, witty teen with a penchant for playwriting. But then again, Fez was a completely unassuming candidate to lead a rom-com storyline in general. And yet, even after just a few scenes, it was clear how perfect Cloud’s beloved character was for the leading-man role in Euphoria’s twisted version of When Harry Met Sally.
Perhaps opposites attract. But consider that Fez and Lexi might never have been opposites—they were two teens with different lives, yet similar personalities. Cloud met Apatow’s performance, who was equally excellent at portraying Lexi’s subdued discomfort, with grace. Fireworks went off in every corner of the internet when the pair shared a drink and a deep talk at a party in the Season 2 premiere, which also, not so coincidentally, finally gave us a humanizing backstory for Fez.
While her older sister Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) experienced a toxic love story with the evil Nate (Jacob Elordi), Lexi spent more and more time with Fez. He offered her a safe haven from her sea of instability: Cassie went off the rails, due to Nate’s emotional abuse. Their mother (Alanna Ubach) was not able to provide support for her two girls. But Fez became an unassuming ally, leaving his door open for Lexi to talk when her best friend Rue (Zendaya) was busy with that pesky suitcase.
It should come as no surprise, really, that these two really blew up as the fan-favorite couple of the season. Lexi was a sweet character, but Fez was even easier to root for in his character arcs. After learning how Nate mistreated his friends, Fez deservedly punched his lights out. He always looked after Rue as she struggled with her addiction, even as he served as her dealer. And with Lexi, he showed that these all led to him being the perfect, albeit unconventional, rom-com leading man—caring, humble, and handsome.
A lot of what inspired the Lexi/Fez fanbase was Cloud’s thoughtful performance in particular. Jennifer Venditti—a casting director known for finding people who don’t look like movie stars, including the folks seen in Uncut Gems and The Rehearsal—scouted Cloud off the street in New York to play Fez. “I thought it was some type of scam,” Cloud said in a 2019 interview around the time Euphoria Season 1 premiered, of the moment that launched his acting career.
It is, however, important to note that even though he was typecast off the street, Cloud said his laid-back character was nothing like him in real life. “It does bother me when people are like, ‘It must be so easy! You get to go in and be yourself,’” Cloud told Variety last August. “I’m like, ‘Why don’t you go and do that?’ It’s not that simple. I brought a lot to the character. You can believe what you want. It ain’t got nothing to do with me.”
But it was hard to forget that modest start when watching Cloud’s portrayal of Fez, and the story made it so much easier to love him. The drug dealer, who employed his preteen brother and threatened to kill Nate, was a larger-than-life character, but Cloud never blew him out of proportion. Despite his much more precarious lifestyle, Fez had just as much humanness and youthfulness as the rest of the characters, thanks especially to Cloud’s intimate understanding of the teen.
As the teens of Euphoria fell into love triangles and toxic romances, it became relieving to root for Fez, the underdog. One unforgettable, defining scene was when Lexi and he cried over Stand By Me together. They channeled Rob Reiner (who also directed When Harry Met Sally) with frequent phone calls, talking about movies and future plans. Perhaps the Lexi storyline would not be the usual plot for a gun-slinging drug dealer, but that made it all the better.
Another pivotal Season 2 scene came in the finale, in which Lexi premiered her stage play while Fez was at home, preparing to attend. But then a SWAT team busts into his home, wounding Fez and taking him into custody for his involvement in a drug deal-related murder. This prevents Fez from attending the event, leaving him stranded with a bouquet of roses and a note to Lexi, while Lexi was a bundle of nerves in his absence. It was a harrowing note for Fez and Lexi’s storyline to end on, now made even more tragic by the news of Cloud’s passing.
Fez deserved a conclusion to his rom-com, even if his storyline was left in a precarious place. It would’ve proven what we already knew about Cloud from the short time he spent developing Fez’s relationship with Lexi—he was a singular, honest, lovely leading man fit perfectly for Euphoria’s unique romantic storyline. Cloud’s memory will live on in these beautiful scenes, which will now tug at the heartstrings even more upon rewatch.
