Barbie Ferreira as Kat Hernandez in Euphoria season two.
Eddy Chen/HBO Max
Euphoria star Barbie Ferreira, who played Kat Hernandez in the show’s first two seasons, is giving insight into her inspiration for her character on the Emmy-winning series.
The actress spoke to People magazine about her upcoming run in Broadway play Cult of Love opposite Shailene Woodley and Zachary Quinto. During their conversation, Ferreira reflected on her time on the show, following the news she would not be returning for season three. She noted that joining the series when she was young allowed her to bring her own experiences into the role.
“I was 21. I brought a lot of my vulnerability and my own exploration of my own sexuality,” she told the publication. “And it wasn’t too long before that I was in high school, so … it was very raw and real. I got to bring a lot of my own experiences to it. I’m really happy that it read.”
Despite not reprising the role of Kat, the model has an idea of where the character, who is still so important to her, would be today.
“Well, I’m 27, so that means she would be 22, so probably in college. Yeah, in college, living it up. Probably less, I would hope, less restless,” Ferreira said. “Kat means a lot to me.”
Looking back on landing the gig on the Sam Levinson-created HBO series, she noted it was “such a wonderful experience. It was my first acting job, really, a substantial acting role. I had little guest spots before. And it was really where I learned how to be the actor that I am, and it’s the start of this whole thing. It just was so wonderful to have a character that is so dynamic and meant so much to so many people. And I really hold that dear to my heart. And I hope I did it justice.”
Ferreira announced she was leaving Euphoria in August 2022 after reportedly clashing with Levinson during the making of season two. In April 2023, she addressed her departure at length on an episode of Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard, noting her exit was a mutual decision between her and the creator.
“I don’t think there was a place for her to go,” the actress explained at the time. “I mean, I think that there were places you could go. I just don’t think it would have fit into the show. I don’t know if it was gonna do her justice. And I think both parties knew that. I really wanted to be able to not be the fat best friend. I don’t want to play that, and I think they didn’t want that either.”
She shared that if the material had been there, she would’ve continued to play Kat “for as long as I was asked,” but the ensemble size, Levinson’s writing interests and her visions for the character complicated things too much.
“I felt [it] was a kind of a struggle for both parties. Sam, me — it was a struggle to find a continuation of her. That was actually really hurtful watching and seeing the fans get upset,” the actress said. “I don’t know. I just felt like maybe I overstayed my welcome a little bit. So, for me, it actually felt good to be like, ‘OK, I get to not worry about this, and we both don’t get to worry about this’ because Sam writes for things he relates to. I don’t think he relates to Kat. I relate to Kat. So, I had to follow my own path.”
After a long delay and the returning castmembers — including Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, Hunter Schafer and Colman Domingo — being encouraged to pursue other opportunities, Euphoria season three is finally set to begin production in January.