INTERVIEW: Storm Reid jumped at the opportunity of being on Euphoria

From a child star to being one of the most promising teenage acts to keep an eye on in 2019, Storm Reid is slowly becoming a force to be reckoned with, in the American entertainment circuit.

Unlike some of her fellow Euphoria cast members, Storm isn’t the new kid on the Hollywood block. Her first major Hollywood movie was back in 2013 when she performed alongside the likes of Brad Pitt, Paul Giamatti and Michael Fassbender in the Academy Award-winning film Twelve Years a Slave.

In 2019, her name surfaced again in the media after she played a small role in director Ava Duvernay’s drama miniseries When They See Us. And thanks to her current role on Euphoria, she continues to be the talk of the town.

The sixteen year old shares her experience of being on the show and why she jumped at the opportunity of working on such a risqué project.

What can you tell us about your character?

I play Gia, who is Rue’s little sister, an innocent 13-year-old girl really trying to find herself. Early on in the series, she finds Rue in her bedroom overdosed so that is really traumatizing for her, and it’s a situation that keeps replaying in her head.

Gia is a really sensible person; even though she’s only 13, she has a good sense of what’s going on. I feel like she has a bit of resentment for Rue but she loves her endlessly and will go to the ends of the earth for her.

It’s challenging for her to be herself and love her sister, and she starts to go down the wrong path because she idolises Rue. I feel like she starts to go down the wrong path to relate to Rue. Like, ‘Maybe if I do this, I’ll understand how she’s feeling.’ It’s not like peer pressure, where Rue is trying to make her do things; she’s just trying to relate to her sister.

What appealed to you about the show and how did you get involved?

It was the thought of playing Zendaya’s little sister; I was sold immediately!

When I read the script, I could see how impactful the show was going to be and how raw and authentic it was, with the conversations that we’re having. When I got on set, I was like, ‘Wow, this is a lot’ and it may make some people uncomfortable but these are real-world situations.

I did two auditions with the casting director, made the pilot and then we got picked up. I think we all had a small idea when we did the pilot of how excited people were about the show. We were kind of confident that we were coming back.

When I read the script, I could see how impactful the show was going to be and how raw and authentic it was, with the conversations that we’re having.

What do you think sets Euphoria apart from other dramas about teenagers?

I would say the authenticity of our show. I’m not saying that the other shows are doing anything wrong or they are not conveying a certain situation, but I feel like you’re doing a person an injustice if you’re not showing them as a real person and showing the world, as the world really is. If you just have an opinion about it and that’s what you’re going to show, then it doesn’t really come off as authentic, and I think for my generation we are all about authenticity. We will push something away if we don’t feel like something is authentic and meeting our morals and values.

How did you find working with director Sam Levinson? He seems to take a very collaborative approach.

He’ll ask us questions like, “Would you really do that?” Or “Do you listen to this music?” He’s not a director who just has a vision and doesn’t want to depart from that vision. Of course, he has ideas about what he wants it to look like or how he wants it to feel, but he’s very collaborative. We were doing a small scene in the mom’s bedroom and we were playing music and I didn’t know the particular song so he turned on a song that I knew by heart so I could be more comfortable. It’s small details like that, that make you feel more like your character, but also more like yourself.