I Don't Want to Live in a World Where Zendaya Was Never Rue
There are a few characters on TV nowadays I could never imagine having a different face. Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy? Brian Cox as Logan Roy? Sarah Snook as Shiv Roy?! I'm just naming Succession characters.
In all seriousness, though, let's talk about a perfect match, which we almost found out never happened: Zendaya taking on the part of Euphoria's Rue, the brainy teen struggling with drug addiction. According to a new story from Variety, the part almost went to a relative newcomer who identified more closely with Rue's struggles. “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,” said Jennifer Venditti, Euphoria's casting director. “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.”
Apparently, Vendetti even had the actor work with a coach, but ultimately she (as well as series creator Sam Levinson) didn't feel like they were quite ready for the gig. That said, Zendaya was the "always the first choice," Vendetti said, adding that the Emmy-nominated "has none of the life experiences of Rue, who was able to dig into her toolbox and access it in such a beautiful way.” Hopefully, the unnamed actor Vendetti mentioned found an opportunity elsewhere.
But a world where Zendaya was never Rue, and never gave us moments like the detecive show parody? D0esn't sound like a fun place.
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