James Landry Hébert talks about starring in ‘Euphoria’ on HBO Max

James Landry Hébert (“1883”) chatted with #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos about starring in “Euphoria” on HBO Max, where he plays Harley.

‘Euphoria’ finale

On the season finale of “Euphoria,” he stated, “I cannot wait. I am so excited. I’ve never been more excited for a finale before. I’ve got some big scenes coming up in this episode.”

“It was just a bucket list check moment for me,” he admitted. “We filmed it at a ranch very close to my ranch where I would ride my horse. Showrunner Sam Levinson asked me if I could ‘ride and rope.’ Once he found out that I could do that, he wrote that into the scene for my character.”

“Sam basically asked me if I could ‘chase a certain character down on horseback,’ and I told him that I could ‘chase her down and rope her,” and a month later, he wrote that into the scene,” he elaborated.

“So, ironically enough, you will see me doing some of the most western things I’ve ever done in ‘Euphoria,’ despite doing all of these western films,” he added.

Playing Harley in ‘Euphoria’

On playing the nefarious Harley, he remarked, “Aesthetically, I like his mullet. When we were shooting the scene of the silver slipper, which was the first thing we shot, we had the mask on, and we were still finding the characters.”

“So, it was cool to not have to commit to the look before stepping into his shoes. There was an extra that had this killer mullet at the strip club. I told the extra: ‘I love your hair. Do you mind if I take a picture of it? I wanted to pitch that look to the team,” he elaborated.

“I brought the picture to them, and they loved the idea. So, they got me some extensions and I put them on, and I went back to the set, and I auditioned it for Sam. Once Sam asked me if it was my real hair or not, I knew we were sold, especially if he couldn’t tell the difference,” he explained.

Working with Zendaya

On working with Zendaya as the leading lady Rue Bennett in Euphoria, he said, “Zendaya is just so grounded, kind, humble, and generous, all while she is one of the biggest stars in the world.”

“I think Zendaya just really puts everybody at ease on set,” he admitted. “I feel like the way that she carries herself really gets the best out of everyone.”

Hébert on Sydney Sweeney

“While Sydney and I didn’t have any scenes together in ‘Euphoria,’ we did work together in the Quentin Tarantino movie ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.’  We were part of the Manson Family in that film.”

“So, there was a fun moment where I was riding my horse up to the trailers, and Sydney comes out of makeup and says, ‘Oh my God, a horse!’ Then, Sydney looks up and says, “Oh my God, James! I haven’t seen you since the movie we did with Quentin.’ So, that was just a cool moment for me,” he elaborated.

Closing thoughts on ‘Euphoria’

For fans and viewers, he expressed, “As fun and loud as the show is, I think it’s ultimately about these kids finally facing their consequences.”

“When you’re young and in high school and you have your parents, people take care of you, they save you, and they get you out of trouble. I think the characters are grown up now and they make certain choices as they are trying to figure out what to do with their lives, so the consequences are very real,” he elaborated.

“I feel that’s why things get as crazy as they do in ‘Euphoria.’ I just think Sam Levinson is such a brilliant filmmaker,” he said. “A lot of people get lost in the hype and all the wild things. I think that at the root of it, he is just extremely thoughtful. I just love Sam’s work, and I think he’s fantastic.”

“Also, I think everything that is behind all the splash on screen has a lot more depth to it than people would even realize,” he concluded.

For more information on actor James Landry Hébert, follow him on Instagram.

Read More: James Landry Hébert also spoke with this journalist about “The Wolf and the Lamb.”