Angus Cloud death: Euphoria star was ‘literally plucked off the street’ from obscurity while he was working as a waiter in Brooklyn before his rise to fame – and later opened up about his ‘broken brain’ after he fell into a construction ditch
- Angus Cloud was scouted for his role in Euphoria while working as a waiter
- He suffered a brain injury in 2013 to which he attributed his characteristic drawl
- His death came just a week after he had been in Ireland for his father’s funeral
Euphoria actor Angus Cloud who suddenly died aged 25 on Monday morning was plucked from obscurity by a talent scout while working as a waiter in Brooklyn – and narrowly avoided death when he smashed his skull falling into a construction pit.
Cloud, who shot to fame as drug dealer Fezco in the hit HBO series Euphoria when it first aired in June 2019, had been waiting tables at now-closed chicken and waffle restaurant Woodland in Prospect Heights just weeks earlier – unaware 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 falling into a construction pit and did not wake for 12 hours – leaving him with slowed speech and giving him the characteristic drawl associated with his popular character.
His untimely death comes just a week after he buried his father Conor, which left him with ‘intense grief’ and ‘severe suicidal thoughts’, his family said in a statement. Cloud was found unresponsive in his family home in Oakland, California, by his mother at around 11.30am.
At 14 or 15 he revealed he suffered a brain injury that slowed his speech and gave him the characteristic drawl associated with his popular character. He is pictured in a children’s hospital in Oakland, California, at the time
Cloud had been working at a chicken and waffle restaurant in New York in 2018 at around the time he was spotted by a casting director. He is seen in a viral video waiting tables
Cloud played Fezco in the hit HBO series Euphoria, which became its second-most watched show of all time
Cloud – who turned 25 on July 11 – was born and grew up 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 long-term plan of going to Ireland to live and work, he told The Wall Street Journal in 2019.
‘I was gonna move to Ireland for a while. All my family lives out there,’ he said.
But then he was scouted and plans changed. He had been working at a chicken and waffle restaurant in 2018 when he was spotted by scout Eléonore Hendricks, a specialist in street casting.
‘She asked me if I would be down to do an audition, but she didn’t exactly say what it was for. I thought it was some type of scam,’ he told The Journal.
Separately, he told Variety magazine of the traumatizing head injury sustained as a young teenager. He described how in 2013 – aged 14 or 15 – he became separated from friends and fell into a 12-foot deep construction pit which he had failed to spot.
Cloud said he woke up 12 hours later with a broken skull and recounted how he climbed out in a daze with broken fingers. He then returned home 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 just have minor brain damage.’
Earlier this year he posted a photo oh himself in hospital during that recovery and thanked the children’s hospital for saving his life.
The incident left him with scar across 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 over the head with a crowbar.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=elh2P9OXR2A%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
A scar sustained by Cloud to the left side of his head was even written into his character’s story. In the second season Fez is hit over the head with a crowbar. He is pictured playing the popular character Fez
Cloud (left) was born and grew up in an Irish American family in Oakland, California. He is pictured in his youth
Cloud’s father Conor was buried earlier this month in Ireland. The actor’s final post to social media came on July 18, in which he noted he was in Dublin.
A family statement released after his passing read: ‘It is with the heaviest heart that we had to say goodbye to an incredible human today. As an artist, a friend, a brother and a son, Angus was special to all of us in so many ways.
‘Last week he buried his father and intensely struggled with this loss. The only comfort we have is knowing Angus is now reunited with his dad, who was his best friend.’
Emergency services told NBC News they were called at about 11.30am but the ‘patient was determined to already be deceased’ when they arrived.
‘The Oakland Police Department (OPD) is investigating a death that occurred today, July 31, 2023, just after 11:30 AM, in the 200 block of Euclid Avenue,’ the OPD said.
‘The victim was pronounced deceased at the scene. The cause of death is unknown. There’s no additional information 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 learn of the passing of Angus Cloud,’ it read.
‘He was immensely talented and a beloved part of the HBO and Euphoria family. We extend our deepest condolences to his friends and family during this difficult time.’
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