‘Euphoria’ Costars Zendaya and Hunter Schafer’s Friendship Timeline
- Zendaya and Hunter Schafer star as Rue Bennett and Jules Vaughn, respectively, on HBO’s “Euphoria.”
- Schafer has referred to Zendaya as one of her best friends in past interviews.
- Zendaya has praised her costar’s performance on the teen drama.
June 10, 2019: Zendaya posted a photo and a video of her and Schafer seeing a ‘Euphoria’ poster in public for the first time
In the video, the stars squealed and laughed as they walked by a poster on a building in California.
June 2019: Schafer spoke about the ‘special bond’ that formed between her and Zendaya while filming season 1 of ‘Euphoria’
Eddy Chen/HBO
In an interview with W magazine, Schafer said that portraying Jules has been “therapeutic to readdress that part of my life, using Jules as a pathway, and building a beautifully complicated relationship with Rue, Zendaya’s character.”
“We’ve formed a really special bond over the past eight months that I’m so thankful for,” she said.
June 16, 2019: Season 1 of ‘Euphoria’ premiered on HBO
Courtesy of HBO
The critically acclaimed series marked Schafer’s acting debut. The LGBTQ+ activist previously modeled and had an interest in fashion design prior to starring on “Euphoria.”
“Euphoria” is narrated by Zendaya’s character, Rue, and centers on the teen’s struggle with addiction. Her instant connection and crush on Jules, a newcomer to the neighborhood, is a major part of the series.
July 2019: Schafer called Zendaya her ‘new best friend’ after working together on season 1 of ‘Euphoria’
Eddy Chen/HBO
“She’s amazing,” Schafer said of Zendaya in an interview with the New York Times. “Z was my main scene partner for most of this season and I just feel so lucky to come out of this experience with a new best friend.”
July 7, 2019: Schafer shared a silly selfie with Zendaya that was taken while filming season 1, episode 4
The actress also posted additional photos and videos taken behind the scenes of the episode.
July 2019: Schafer praised Zendaya’s commitment to being a collaborative costar
Courtesy of HBO
“She is such a force,” Schafer told MTV News. “When you’re in a scene with somebody and you’re bouncing off of each other, it’s so exciting because it all starts to feel very real and it makes the acting part easier. I think Z was just so committed to doing it, holding space for me and made it that much easier to reciprocate and make our world very visceral and immersive.”
“And also, she’s just the sweetest person ever, so down-to-earth,” she added.
August 4, 2019: Zendaya and Schafer said that they didn’t do a chemistry read prior to costarring on ‘Euphoria,’ but they became friends quickly
In a video for HBO, Zendaya said that they became “very, very close” while filming.
“You’re kind of forced to be in these really intense situations emotionally,” she said.
“She has seen me in every form, the worst, the best, and vice versa,” Zendaya added of Schafer. “There’s no judgment, it’s all love.”
In response, Schafer said, “I feel like I’ve got a new sister.”
August 2019: Schafer said that filming scenes with Zendaya ‘broke down a lot of the physical intimacy barriers’
Eddy Chen/HBO
“We’d spend three hours just cuddling in bed together as our characters,” Schafer said in an interview with Cosmopolitan. “There are a lot of scenes where Rue and Jules are just in bed talking and holding each other. Shooting that broke down a lot of the physical intimacy barriers.”
February 20, 2020: Schafer described working with Zendaya as an ‘extensive’ and ‘intimate’ process
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for HBO
In an interview with musician Arca for V magazine, the actress was asked: “Who’s been your closest artistic collaborator, would you say?”
“I don’t know if I’ve ever worked closer with anyone than Zendaya on ‘Euphoria,'” Schafer replied. “It was such an extensive process, and a very intimate one. And also [showrunner and creator] Sam Levinson, who helped me get to those places I hadn’t been since I was a teenager…”
January 22, 2021: Schafer shared behind-the-scenes photos of her and Zendaya, taken while filming Jules’ special episode of ‘Euphoria’
The Jules-centric bridge episode of “Euphoria,” set between the events of season one and season two, was cowritten by Schafer and Levinson.
Schafer posted several photos on Instagram, including one of her and Zendaya hugging and another image of the Disney Channel alum laying on a floor.
January 2021: Schafer gushed about having Zendaya as a frequent scene partner on ‘Euphoria’
Eddy Chen/HBO
“I feel so lucky to be working next to her and to be developing these characters’ relationship with her because I know she loves them just as much as I do, if not more,” Schafer told Collider.
“As a scene partner, she is just so good about, when the camera’s on me, doing whatever she needs to do to help me be where I need to be for the scene,” the actress continued. “It makes it that much easier for me to reciprocate and give that back to her.”
Calling Zendaya one of her “best friends,” Schafer also said that the two stars “trust each other.”
“We’re always just pushing each other to go deeper,” she said.
December 2021: Zendaya praised Schafer’s ‘beautiful performance’ on ‘Euphoria’
Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Elle
“I remember watching behind the camera and knowing that something had clicked,” Zendaya recalled in Schafer’s January 2022 cover story for Harper’s Bazaar, released the prior month. “She just took whatever pain she had, and she translated it into such a beautiful performance.”
December 31, 2021: In honor of Schafer’s 23rd birthday, Zendaya shared a selfie of the duo on her Instagram story
Zendaya/Instagram
“Happy hunty day! I love you so much @hunterschafer,” Zendaya captioned the photo.
January 9, 2022: ‘Euphoria’ returned to HBO for its highly anticipated second season
HBO
The season two premiere showed Rue and Jules reuniting at a New Year’s Eve party and kissing as the clock struck midnight.
Teasing Rue’s storyline and relationship with Jules this season, Zendaya told Insider: “She thinks that she knows what’s best for herself and in the beginning of the season, we give her everything she says that she could ever want, but we all know that you can’t have your cake and eat it too.”
“Ultimately, what she’s doing is hurting herself and it’s eventually going to implode,” the actress added. “We know that. It’s just about how long she can get away with it until eventually, something happens.”
January 9, 2022: Zendaya shared behind-the-scenes photos from the set of season 2 of ‘Euphoria’ that included Schafer
Zendaya/Instagram
The images also featured “Euphoria” costar Alexa Demie (Maddy Perez) and the show’s makeup designer, Donni Davy.
January 10, 2022: Schafer posted more behind-the-scenes photos and videos of Zendaya and her ‘Euphoria’ costars
The photos and videos were all taken during the filming of the season two premiere.
