By Riley Eisenbeil
Staff Writer
With great sadness, the world is forced to say goodbye to Angus Cloud, an emerging talent whose light shone brilliantly. Best known for his television debut as the neighborhood drug dealer Fezco “Fez” O’Neill on Max’s acclaimed series “Euphoria,” Cloud captivated audiences with his authenticity and depth.
Born as Conor Angus Cloud Hickey on July 10, 1988, Cloud’s journey tragically came to a close when his mom, Lisa Cloud, found him without a pulse in his family’s home in Oakland, California on the morning of July 31, TMZ reported.
This news came just three weeks after he turned 25 and nearly a week after laying his dad, Conor Hickey, to rest in their ancestral homeland of Ireland after losing a battle with cancer.
When sharing some heartfelt words about her son’s life on Facebook on Aug. 4, Cloud’s mother assured everyone that “his last day was a joyful one.” He had been placing items around the house with the intention of staying home for a bit to provide financial and emotional support to her as well as his two younger sisters, Molly and Fiona.
“When we hugged goodnight we said how much we loved each other and he said he would see me in the morning,” she wrote.
Cloud's loss has been felt deeply among those who knew him, transcending the boundaries of both on-screen and off-screen relationships. He was more than just the characters he portrayed.
Before being scouted from the streets of Manhattan for “Euphoria,” he was just a teenager who moved to New York and found himself working in, what he described to GQ in a 2022 interview, as a “chicken and waffles joint” in Bushwick. Despite having some technical theater experience from high school, the idea of being paid for acting was a distant notion he never contemplated.
In addition to his role in “Euphoria”, Cloud also appeared in the comedy-drama movie “North Hollywood” in 2021. The following year, he graced two music videos for Juice Wrld's “Cigarettes” and for Becky G and Karol G's “Mamiii,” and solidified his presence by signing with United Talent Agency (UTA). His cinematic journey continued with his starring role in this year's drama film, “The Line.”
The shock of the actor’s sudden passing not only echoed through the hearts of his family, but also through friends, fans and fellow artists. In response, numerous expressions of grief have manifested through murals, heartfelt posts and spoken tributes, underscoring the profound impact of his departure.
The day after Cloud passed, Dominic Fike, one of his “Euphoria” castmates, honored him at his concert in Houston, Texas. He sat at the end of the stage strumming his guitar and opened up about the surreal feeling of losing somebody like Cloud.
“I haven’t had a lot of death happen around me, and this is the first time I feel like I knew the person well enough to cry over and feel something,” he began. “...I think if you zoomed out millions of miles, you would see this kid’s spark. You could see it from so far away, even if it was a short flash. He would light up a room, any room he walked in. He’s a f—ing good dude.”
Zendaya, another star of “Euphoria,” posted on Instagram the next day saying that she knows people use the lighting up any room sentiment for many people they love but, as she wrote, “boy let me tell you, he was the best at it.”
“I’m so grateful I got the chance to know him in this life, to call him a brother,” she added.
This level of love that Fike and Zendaya displayed for Cloud was a common theme. Other co-stars like Sydney Sweeney, Hunter Schaefer, Maude Apatow and Colman Domingo posted photos of him to share some kind words. As most of them talked about the difficulty of finding the right words to post, Apatow made sure to note that “words can’t really capture how magical of a person he was.”
Outside of his castmates, others also paid tribute to Cloud. At Lollapalooza this year, just three days after Cloud passed, E! News reported that Billie Eilish paid tribute to him by performing her and Labrinth’s song “Never Felt So Alone,” which was featured in season two of “Euphoria,” to the crowd. At the end of the song, she asked fans to put their phones down and hold their neighbor's hand.
“Tell somebody next to you that you’re grateful for them,” she said. “I want us all to be grateful and aware of what we have.”
It is very clear that Cloud was loved intensely both as who he played on screen and who he was as a person. He is not someone who will be easily forgotten, as he impacted many people around him. To honor this and to permanently display him, his close friends teamed up with Darin Balaban, a self-taught muralist and fine artist, to create a mural on Park and E. 19 St. in Oakland, not too far from where Cloud lived, TMZ reported.
Balaban knew Cloud personally and described him as always “smiling and calm” — they wanted the mural to represent that. The nine-foot mural creation brought the community together to share beer, pizza and stories about their friend. The mural has become a gathering place for anyone who wanted to celebrate or remember him, TMZ wrote.
To further honor him, Cloud’s mom urged everyone to do more good on the day-to-day. While Cloud did not live a long life, he lived a good life and it was clear that he will forever hold a special place in many folks’ hearts.
“To honor his memory, please make random acts of kindness part of your daily life,” she wrote. “Bless your hearts.”
