The 20-year-Old Is The Breakout Star Of Euphoria, But She’s Still Getting Used To The Spotlight
This summer, millions of people tuned in to Euphoria to watch Zendaya depart from her squeaky-clean Disney Channel image once and for all. She plays Rue Bennett, a 17-year-old drug addict fresh off an unsuccessful stint in rehab, on the Drake-produced HBO drama series. But it was 20-year-old model Hunter Schafer, making her acting debut, who stole the show. Schafer plays Jules, a trans girl who has just moved to town from the big city and quickly befriends Rue while also inadvertently winning her romantic interest.
As one of just a few visible trans actresses in Hollywood, Schafer gives a performance that has been hailed as revolutionary for the way it casually presents her gender identity. Jules isn’t a token character. Notably, her plotline is largely devoid of any pat explanations about her transition (though there is one frightening flashback to Jules’s childhood stint in a psych ward), and Schafer plays her with captivating vulnerability. “I certainly wasn’t living my life the same way Jules was in high school,” the actress says with a laugh, presumably at the thought of sleeping with a parade of married men in sketchy motels— something Jules does with alarming regularity. “The environment I was in at her age differs, but the headspace felt accurate. I could definitely relate to her motives.”
This story is from the September 2019 edition of Marie Claire - US.
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This story is from the September 2019 edition of Marie Claire - US.
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