With a multi-hyphenate career, from Disney child star through singer through red carpet style icon through fashion designer to one of the most bankable Gen Z acting talents and star of the breakout success show Euphoria on HBO, Zendaya, 23, is certainly one of the hardest workers in showbiz.
But before season 2 began filming, Zendaya was afforded something rare in her life: a break. You and I might relish a break from work, but Zendaya is cut from a different cloth; she doesn’t like it too much!
Talking to Vogue Australia, Zendaya turned a question about how she was feeling at the start of the new decade into an opportunity to bemoan her break and express her eagerness to return to work.
“I’m feeling like I can’t wait to get back to work!” she said. “The past six months have been my first real break since I was a kid, you know? This is the first time that I wake up and have the day to just do stuff, and it’s super-weird. And if I’m honest, I don’t love it. [Laughs.] Everyone is like: ‘Oh, it’s good to get time off’ and I’m just like: ‘All right, I’ve had enough!’”
Zendaya plays the pill-popping troubled teen Rue Bennett on Euphoria, the hit teen show following a group of high school students as they grapple with their experiences of sex, addiction, friendships, love, identity and depression. If you’re a college student with an HBO account, chances are you’re hooked on Euphoria.
Despite—
or perhaps because of—its dark subject matter and boundary-pushing TV-MA (or mature) rating, the show has struck a chord with audiences of all ages, currently holding an 82% critical rating and an 83% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The actress herself, however, has been lauded as a positive role model. “I asked a couple of 20-year-olds what they would want to talk to you about if they had the chance,” Elaine Welteroth of Vogue told Zendaya. “One of the things they said was: ‘Tell her thank you for not ruining our childhood! There’s nothing more depressing than watching the Disney stars you grew up with as a kid go off the rails. It forces you out of your childhood too soon.’ And it’s true: you made that ascent so gracefully. Now, you’re the girl they want to be best friends with, but you’re also their role model.”
Zendaya, with her typical grace, was quick to point out that those who went through more troubled times shouldn’t be judged, either.
zendaya photographed by daniel jackson for vogue australia, march 2020 pic.twitter.com/jg7J5h3I3J
— gabriela (@hollygolightIy) February 22, 2020
With Euphoria season 2 around the corner, there’s no doubt Zendaya’s 6-month break will be over, no doubt to her workaholic relief.
In the meantime, however, she has taken the opportunity to work on personal matters. “So for me,” she shared, “it’s been about just being more grounded and working on things on a more personal level before the priority becomes work again. It’s an adjustment.”
The release date of Euphoria season 2 has yet to be confirmed, but if it follows the schedule of season 1, it may come around June.
I need Euphoria season 2 🥺😩
— Steph Q (@_stephquiroz) February 25, 2020
