Angus Cloud's Tragic Death 1 Year Later: Read PEOPLE's Feature Story About His Acting Journey and Artistic Legacy

July 31, 2024 marks the one-year anniversary since the 'Euphoria' star was found dead following an accidental overdose

Wednesday, July 31, 2024 marks one year since Angus Cloud was found dead in his bedroom due to acute intoxication following an accidental overdose.

Rising to stardom through his role as the chill and lovable drug dealer Fezco in HBO’s Euphoria, Cloud’s low-key attitude and heart of gold struck a chord with audiences, as well as series creator Sam Levinson — who cast Cloud after his team discovered him spontaneously on the street in Manhattan. Despite having any prior acting training, Levinson knew that he was a star.

However, the Euphoria actor had long struggled with drug use, having been introduced to opioids after he sustained a brain hemorrhage at the age of 15. As the show continued filming, Cloud’s addiction worsened — and a season 3 with Cloud in the cast seemed uncertain amid his struggles and admission to rehab. After his father died, Cloud “intensely struggled” to cope with the loss and had become a shell of himself in the days before his fatal overdose, according to his mother, Lisa Cloud.

“He went out at his total power, his total beauty, his total influence,” Lisa said to PEOPLE. “He’s not just an actor who overdosed. He was a beautiful soul, and that’s why people miss him so much.”

Below is PEOPLE’s feature story from the archive:

Angus Cloud’s mom, Lisa Cloud, opens her son’s bedroom door at her Oakland home. The walls are covered with his riotous graffiti, an explosion of colorful shapes and doodles that Angus, famous for his role on HBO’s hit show Euphoria, began spray-painting in middle school.

“He was so creative,” she says, breaking the stillness. Pointing to a desk splattered with paint, Lisa pauses and shakes her head: “This is where my boy passed away.”

Related: 'Euphoria' Star Angus Cloud's Mom and Loved Ones Share His Addiction Struggles and Final Days (Exclusive)

On July 31, Angus (born Conor Angus Cloud Hickey) died at 25 from acute intoxication following an accidental drug overdose. That morning Lisa found Angus—who had cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl and benzodiazepines in his system, according to the Alameda County Coroner—slumped over his desk. She thought he had fallen asleep, but as she approached him to say good morning, she realized something was wrong.

“I started shaking him and screaming. I pushed him hard, and he fell on the floor,” she says, sobbing. “I miss him so much. He was the love of my life.”

Four years ago, Angus, who was born and raised in Oakland by his mom, a former actor, and late dad, Conor Hickey, a sales executive, gained overnight stardom with his portrayal of Fezco, the low-key drug dealer with a heart of gold, on Euphoria. Discovered by the show’s casting director on the street in Manhattan, Angus was working at a chicken-and-waffle restaurant at the time.

“He had such a unique cadence and humor to him,” recalls the show’s creator Sam Levinson, 38. “His lack of training was a benefit because he wouldn’t overthink.”

Related: What Angus Cloud's Costars Have Said About the Euphoria Actor in the Year Since His Death at 25

Early in the show’s second season, Fezco gets bashed in the skull, leaving him with a giant scar on his scalp. The story behind the wound was even more traumatic in real life: At 15, while walking through downtown Oakland in the dark, Angus fell into a construction pit; he woke up 12 hours later with a brain hemorrhage.

He underwent surgery and was prescribed pain medication—his first introduction to opioids. “The drug use most likely had something to do with his need to relieve his pain,” Lisa says of the “fierce” headaches he suffered from afterward.

Then, during the pandemic, he cracked his heel bone in multiple spots while running from the police after he was almost caught doing graffiti in L.A.

“That’s what started his drug-seeking behavior, I think,” says Lisa, adding that Angus, who had to use a cane, refused further treatment. “It was hugely painful. He couldn’t figure out how to deal with it.”

Related: Angus Cloud's Friends Share in Emotional Interviews How They're Honoring Him — with Tony Hawk's Help (Exclusive)

Soon, Angus’s drug use was affecting his work on-set, but it wasn’t until Levinson suggested rehab that Lisa learned her son was struggling with addiction. Gearing up to film the show’s second season, Angus entered Levinson’s office one day.

“I looked him in the eye, and I knew that he wasn’t doing well,” says the producer, who has been open about his own struggles with drugs as a teen. “I said to him, ‘I love working with you, and we’ve got this amazing season planned, but I need you to be sober. You’ve got to get help, and you’ve got to get help right now.’”

HBO paid for his treatment, and Angus entered a 30-day in-patient program. After returning to set, he continued outpatient rehab for three more months.

“I could always feel that he didn’t want [sobriety] as much as we all wanted it for him,” Levinson says. “It’s the self-destructive side of addiction.”

Related: See the Sweetest Photos of Angus Cloud with His 'Euphoria' Costars

Midway into the second season, Angus fell into drug use again, and Levinson held another intervention. Following a long day of filming, Angus threw on the signature red hoodie Zendaya wears as Rue, the addicted teen on the show, and hopped in a car with Levinson and his wife to enter rehab again.

At a stoplight, Angus looked down at the hoodie and said, "Oh s---, I feel just like Rue," recalls Levinson. In the intense moment they found levity—a marker of their bond. “All right, well, do us a favor and don’t run,” Levinson told Angus, who burst out laughing. Rehab didn’t stick.

After the season wrapped in February 2022, they had a four-hour talk at Levinson’s home about Angus getting sober for season 3. “‘No, no, I’m good. I’m good,’” Levinson recalls Angus telling him. “I could tell he wasn’t interested. He didn’t want it.”

Angus continued using, and in May of this year, Lisa delivered the devastating news that his dad was dying after receiving a mesothelioma cancer diagnosis in February.

In the midst of shooting an untitled Universal monster horror film, Angus took four days off and flew back to say goodbye to his father in Oakland. He decorated a pillow for him using white block letters that read: “I [heart] U POPS.” The following morning, his dad died. Despite traveling in late July to attend Conor’s funeral in Ireland with his family, including his younger twin sisters, Molly and Fiona, Angus missed it because he was too high.

A week before his fatal overdose, Angus spread his father’s ashes in Dublin. When he returned to California, Lisa says, he was a shell of himself, withdrawn and suffering from constant headaches.

“There were deep troubles. He was not functioning and turned to drugs,” Lisa says. “His dad’s death isn’t responsible for his, but he clearly couldn’t cope.”

In her grief, Lisa has been buoyed by the outpouring of love from Angus’s friends and fans.

“He went out at his total power, his total beauty, his total influence,” she says. “He’s not just an actor who overdosed. He was a beautiful soul, and that’s why people miss him so much.”

Related: Zendaya Visits L.A. Mural Dedicated to Late 'Euphoria' Costar Angus Cloud After His Death

Before Angus was cremated at the Chapel of the Chimes Funeral Home in Oakland, several of his loved ones decorated the casket in his honor. A week later a memorial service was held for his family and friends, including Zendaya.

“He was one of the most unique and purehearted people I’ve ever met,” remembers the actress. “I don’t think a spirit like his could be defined.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

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