Zendaya, green gown, The Emmy Awards
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Given Zendaya’s impeccable performance as Rue Bennett on the hit HBO series Euphoria, it would be easy to assume that she wasn’t at all nervous for the show’s release in June. As it happens, though, that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

“Even though Euphoria coming out was amazing and exciting, it was also extremely stressful. It gave me a lot of anxiety every week,” the former Disney Channel star, 23, told Elle magazine in an interview published on October 9. “That’s something I deal with; I have anxiety.”

Zendaya also went on to detail how her anxiety affected the course of her career. “I wouldn’t try anything,” she explained. “I always had this fear of failing and not doing so well.” Fear of failing is something Zendaya carries with her to this day — despite achieving bona fide superstardom. 

Zendaya, white dress, Euphoria premiere
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“I never want to mess up. I’m trying to be the best version of myself without over-applying pressure. Then I start spiraling,” the Spiderman starlet confessed. Thankfully, Zendaya was able to take her stressors and pour them into her role as Rue.

“Rue is just a combination of my shit and Sam [Levinson’s] s–t, and together we created her,” she said. “I don’t feel too dissimilar from Rue. It didn’t feel fake to me … it felt like she was me in another version of my life.”

As authentic as her character felt, Zendaya revealed that being on Euphoria shaped her in a number of ways. “I think Euphoria taught me a lot about myself. It made me more confident in my own abilities because I doubted myself a lot,” she continued.

Sam Levinson, Zendaya
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“I was looking for something to prove I can do it. Euphoria served as that, in the healthiest way. I never want to plateau as an actress — I always want to be able to explore and push myself. [Being an actress] brings me to places and makes me do things I’d probably never do because I’m such an introverted person.”

As for season 2 of the series? Well, Zendaya assured that she ‘harasses’ Sam Levinson ‘daily’ for the official shoot date.

Needless to say, we can’t wait! In the meantime, we’ll be jamming out to the original soundtrack from Labrinth.