Euphoria actor Angus Cloud, who died suddenly Monday morning at age 25, was plucked from obscurity by a talent scout while working as a waiter in Brooklyn — and narrowly avoided death when he smashed his skull in while falling into a construction pit.
Cloud, who rose to fame as drug dealer Fezco on the hit HBO series Euphoria when it first aired in June 2019, was waiting the tables at the now-closed Woodland chicken and waffle restaurant in Prospect Heights a few weeks earlier — not knowing he was about to star in the platform’s second most-watched show of all time.
But Cloud’s life was not without struggle. In 2013, the California native suffered a brain injury when he fell into a construction site and didn’t wake up for 12 hours, slowing his speech and giving him the characteristic drawling associated with his popular disposition.
His untimely death comes just a week after burying his father Conor, which left him with “intense grief” and “serious thoughts of suicide,” his family said in a statement. Cloud was found unconscious at his family home in Oakland, California, around 11:30 a.m. by his mother.
At the age of 14 or 15, he revealed that he had suffered a brain injury that slowed his speech and gave him the characteristic drawling associated with his popular nature. He was pictured at a children’s hospital in Oakland, California at the time
Cloud was working at a chicken and waffle restaurant in New York in 2018 around the time he was spotted by a casting director. He can be seen in a viral video waiting tables
Cloud played Fezco on the hit HBO series Euphoria, which became the second most watched show of all time
Cloud — who turned 25 on July 11 — was born and raised in an Irish-American family in Oakland. He attended the prestigious Oakland School for the Arts, where he specialized in technical theater and went on to build sets for various productions.
He then moved to New York with the intention of eventually going to Ireland to live and work told The Wall Street Journal in 2019.
‘I was going to move to Ireland for a while. My whole family lives there,’ he said.
But then he was scouted and plans changed. He was working at a chicken and waffle restaurant in 2018 when he was spotted by scout Eléonore Hendricks, a street casting specialist.
“She asked me if I wanted to audition, but she didn’t say exactly what it was for. I thought it was some form of scam,” he told The Journal.
Separately, he said Variety magazine of the traumatizing head wound suffered during a young teen.
He described how in 2013 – aged 14 or 15 – he got separated from friends and fell into a 10-foot deep construction pit that he hadn’t noticed.
Cloud said he woke up 12 hours later with a broken skull and told how he climbed out in a daze with broken fingers. He then returned to his mother before spending five days in ICU recovering.
“The brain is so fragile,” he told the magazine. “It was damn near like nothing really happened. I’m so blessed to have only minor brain damage.”
Earlier this year, he posted a picture of himself lying in hospital during his recovery and thanked the children’s hospital, which praised him for saving his life.
The incident left him with a scar on the left side of his head, which became as much a part of his famous Euphoria character’s identity as his voice.
The scar was even written into his character’s story – in the second season, Fez is hit on the head with a crowbar.
A scar sustained by Cloud on the left side of his head was even written into his character’s story. In the second season, Fez is hit on the head with a crowbar. He is depicted playing the popular character Fez
Cloud (left) was born and grew up in an Irish-American family in Oakland, California. He is depicted during his childhood
Cloud’s father Conor was buried in Ireland earlier this month. The actor’s last post on social media came on July 18, in which he noted that he was in Dublin.
A family statement released after his passing read: “It is with the heaviest of hearts that we had to say goodbye to an incredible human being today. As an artist, friend, brother and son, Angus was special to all of us in so many ways.
“Last week he buried his father and struggled intensely with this loss. The only consolation we have is knowing that Angus is now reunited with his father, who was his best friend.’
Emergency services told NBC News they received a call around 11:30 a.m. but that the “patient was determined to have already died” when they arrived.
“The Oakland Police Department (OPD) is investigating a death that occurred just after 11:30 a.m. today, July 31, 2023, in the 200 block of Euclid Avenue,” the OPD said.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of death is unknown. No additional information is being released at this time. This is an active death investigation.”
Euphoria social media channels also shared a tribute to the actor.
“We are incredibly saddened to hear of the passing of Angus Cloud,” it said.
“He was immensely talented and a beloved part of the HBO and Euphoria family. We extend our deepest condolences to his friends and family at this difficult time.”